I'm on my 3rd mac now, had the 5300, the MHT200 and now the MC58. Honestly I have a few decent amps and the MHT200 old mac receiver had an incredible sound thats hard to describe. Very sweet and emotional with super low noise and distortion. Great dac too
I am new to McIntosh. I just purchased a used C49 Preamp & a used MC152 Power Amp. They'll be up and running later this week. Glad to hear you like your McIntosh amps.
I’ve got an A 21+ coming in next week. For some reason I just don’t get the wow factor on MAC stuff. I’m very interested to hear what a difference it makes compared to my old AdcomGFA 555ii I’ve had for almost 30 years. I also own some more expensive stuff too.
I had the original Adcom 555 amp and after in depth studying on amps which was overwhelming to some degree, I went with the McIntosh MC152. Though Mac says its only 150 watts, it really is over 200 watts. The sound was bigger, a stronger bass, and overall sound was nicer with a larger sound stage. The thing about McIntosh is its character helps bad recordings sound better. Lot of recordings have a harsh top end or too much sss on vocals, etc. The McIntosh character helps round it off a little and it makes things sound better. The Parasound A21+ is a great amp in its price range, but their JC5 which has pure Class A up to about 12 watts sounds more pleasant and not as uncolored as the A21+
I have the exact same setup. The weakest link in the P6/A21+ combo is the P6 DAC. I now connect the Bluesound Node using analogs to the P6, smoother sound. The P6 DAC adds a touch of graininess to the sound. I didn't believe DACs couldn't sound that different but in this case they do. The P6 DAC is not the best sounding and some users on the forums shared the same exact view as mine. Use a different DAC and run it through the P6. You'll hear the difference. I am looking to just swap out the P6 for a better sounding pre-amp. The A21+ is solid, it just needs a pre-amp that actually makes the sound better as opposed to coloring it with a glare/graininess. I have a lot of setups and my P6/A21+ is connected to B&W 804 D2. It was easy to hear the difference in the DACs
Hmm, the P6 has a ESS Sabre 32 which is very good. I currently don't use it because I'm using a Lumin D2 streamer and a Marantz SACD. But, The P6 is an excellent Preamp with bass management, tone controls and I love it. Try to play with cables. If you are using cheap cables maybe that's where you will hear the difference.
@@hifisymphony It's not what DAC chip they use but how they implement it. My cables are fine. I mentioned that I heard a difference between the Bluesound Node using as DAC vs P6, so the speaker cables are doing their job of playing the signal as it is coming from the amp. The bluesound node sounded smoother without the grain of the P6. Yes feature wise P6 is killer, 10/10. I don't use the bass management and use REL subwoofers and let speakers run full range. I feel it's a waste to get an A21+ and not let the speakers run full range. They just sound so much better when not using the crossover. And if you spend 30-60 minutes trying to blend them in they will blend in. If you don't use REL then yes you have to go the route of the crossover, but even then I would let speakers run full range and only adjust the subwoofer crossover from where you're missing the low end speaker frequencies. You can measure your speakers frequency response in your room using your phone. Run a test tone that goes from 20Hz to 20kHz and see where your speakers actually start to play the low tones. It's not what the specs say, your low end frequencies will probably start a lot later than what the specs suggest. I learned a lot on my own. Your room plays a big role.
Before A21+ I was using a Rotel RB-1582 MK II amp (which I still own and love) and used the crossover of the P6 for speakers and sub. But now I run everything full range with A21+. You want to utilize the amp for what it can do. If you cross over the speakers then all that power I feel is not being utilized. I have heard all the theories that crossing over opens up the speaker and removes strain, true. But they also sound thinner as well since they are missing the low end heft. Shoot me a PM and we can chat more over the phone.
The P5 and P6 doesn’t implement the DAC properly. That’s why it’s grainy sounding. It might be a good chip, but it is well known there is a lot that goes into making a dac chip sound good.
Buena review. Tengo el 5300 y unos altavoces de 92dbs a 4 Ohm y suena maravillosamente bien. Supongo que otras cosas lo harán mejor. Pero esos ojos azules forman parte de la ecuación 😁
Hint is the better buy, neither have any SQ issues. It will mate with more speakers, more power, more features & flexibility. Mac is for aesthetics/prestige/longevity. The Hint will serve you well for a long time, many speaker companies use them at shows.
I wanted to connect my Sony Universal Player to an external DAC via HDMI to enjoy DSD from the player. My P6 has no HDMI input however so I connected the Sony to my 2.1 Marantz NR1200 Receiver, using the Marantz in a preamp role to Sony amplification powering JBL L100t3 mains and B380 sub. And, I've got to tell you, the cheap Marantz seems in all manner to deliver a sound as lifelike as I have heard from DSD and other sources, meaning it is on par to the P6., which delivers black as coal backgrounds from all sources. The point is the Marantz at $700 in preamp role seems to be a great value. I have no experience with any McIntosh product, but I'm sure the brand pleases.
hi martin, heard anything about kinki studio product? heard they are very good. if u have a chance to get your hand on it, and compare it with parasound, that would be very very interesting.
I’m a little confused. You keep calling the power amplifier an A21+ but unless you signed the name John Curl on the front of it yourself, I’m pretty sure that’s a JC 5, right?
I'm on my 3rd mac now, had the 5300, the MHT200 and now the MC58. Honestly I have a few decent amps and the MHT200 old mac receiver had an incredible sound thats hard to describe. Very sweet and emotional with super low noise and distortion. Great dac too
I am new to McIntosh.
I just purchased a used C49 Preamp & a used MC152 Power Amp. They'll be up and running later this week.
Glad to hear you like your McIntosh amps.
I’ve got an A 21+ coming in next week. For some reason I just don’t get the wow factor on MAC stuff. I’m very interested to hear what a difference it makes compared to my old AdcomGFA 555ii I’ve had for almost 30 years. I also own some more expensive stuff too.
Would you please provide an update on the comparison?
I had the original Adcom 555 amp and after in depth studying on amps which was overwhelming to some degree, I went with the McIntosh MC152. Though Mac says its only 150 watts, it really is over 200 watts. The sound was bigger, a stronger bass, and overall sound was nicer with a larger sound stage. The thing about McIntosh is its character helps bad recordings sound better. Lot of recordings have a harsh top end or too much sss on vocals, etc. The McIntosh character helps round it off a little and it makes things sound better. The Parasound A21+ is a great amp in its price range, but their JC5 which has pure Class A up to about 12 watts sounds more pleasant and not as uncolored as the A21+
DId you say that the McIntosh didn't sound as good?
Наконец-то я получил ответ на вопрос, который так долго меня мучал! Однозначно Parasound A21+!!!
I have the exact same setup. The weakest link in the P6/A21+ combo is the P6 DAC. I now connect the Bluesound Node using analogs to the P6, smoother sound. The P6 DAC adds a touch of graininess to the sound. I didn't believe DACs couldn't sound that different but in this case they do. The P6 DAC is not the best sounding and some users on the forums shared the same exact view as mine. Use a different DAC and run it through the P6. You'll hear the difference. I am looking to just swap out the P6 for a better sounding pre-amp. The A21+ is solid, it just needs a pre-amp that actually makes the sound better as opposed to coloring it with a glare/graininess.
I have a lot of setups and my P6/A21+ is connected to B&W 804 D2. It was easy to hear the difference in the DACs
Hmm, the P6 has a ESS Sabre 32 which is very good. I currently don't use it because I'm using a Lumin D2 streamer and a Marantz SACD. But, The P6 is an excellent Preamp with bass management, tone controls and I love it.
Try to play with cables. If you are using cheap cables maybe that's where you will hear the difference.
@@hifisymphony It's not what DAC chip they use but how they implement it. My cables are fine. I mentioned that I heard a difference between the Bluesound Node using as DAC vs P6, so the speaker cables are doing their job of playing the signal as it is coming from the amp. The bluesound node sounded smoother without the grain of the P6. Yes feature wise P6 is killer, 10/10. I don't use the bass management and use REL subwoofers and let speakers run full range. I feel it's a waste to get an A21+ and not let the speakers run full range. They just sound so much better when not using the crossover. And if you spend 30-60 minutes trying to blend them in they will blend in. If you don't use REL then yes you have to go the route of the crossover, but even then I would let speakers run full range and only adjust the subwoofer crossover from where you're missing the low end speaker frequencies. You can measure your speakers frequency response in your room using your phone. Run a test tone that goes from 20Hz to 20kHz and see where your speakers actually start to play the low tones. It's not what the specs say, your low end frequencies will probably start a lot later than what the specs suggest. I learned a lot on my own. Your room plays a big role.
Before A21+ I was using a Rotel RB-1582 MK II amp (which I still own and love) and used the crossover of the P6 for speakers and sub. But now I run everything full range with A21+. You want to utilize the amp for what it can do. If you cross over the speakers then all that power I feel is not being utilized. I have heard all the theories that crossing over opens up the speaker and removes strain, true. But they also sound thinner as well since they are missing the low end heft. Shoot me a PM and we can chat more over the phone.
The P5 and P6 doesn’t implement the DAC properly. That’s why it’s grainy sounding. It might be a good chip, but it is well known there is a lot that goes into making a dac chip sound good.
@@hifisymphony agreed. I have his exact setup and love the coax input on the P6 DAC.
Buena review. Tengo el 5300 y unos altavoces de 92dbs a 4 Ohm y suena maravillosamente bien. Supongo que otras cosas lo harán mejor. Pero esos ojos azules forman parte de la ecuación 😁
How is the Mc treating you?
Could you please compare Ma5300 to Parasound hint 6. For a fair review u should compare intergraded to intergraded.
Hint is the better buy, neither have any SQ issues. It will mate with more speakers, more power, more features & flexibility. Mac is for aesthetics/prestige/longevity. The Hint will serve you well for a long time, many speaker companies use them at shows.
To be fair Parasound P6 combined with A21+ is cheaper then a Ma5300
I wanted to connect my Sony Universal Player to an external DAC via HDMI to enjoy DSD from the player. My P6 has no HDMI input however so I connected the Sony to my 2.1 Marantz NR1200 Receiver, using the Marantz in a preamp role to Sony amplification powering JBL L100t3 mains and B380 sub. And, I've got to tell you, the cheap Marantz seems in all manner to deliver a sound as lifelike as I have heard from DSD and other sources, meaning it is on par to the P6., which delivers black as coal backgrounds from all sources. The point is the Marantz at $700 in preamp role seems to be a great value. I have no experience with any McIntosh product, but I'm sure the brand pleases.
hi martin, heard anything about kinki studio product? heard they are very good. if u have a chance to get your hand on it, and compare it with parasound, that would be very very interesting.
I will love to
I’m a little confused. You keep calling the power amplifier an A21+ but unless you signed the name John Curl on the front of it yourself, I’m pretty sure that’s a JC 5, right?
Never mind. I saw one of your other videos and it says A21+ on it. I didn’t think they put the JC signature on non JC units. Shows what I know 🫤
Is a A21+
Great, no testing. Just another video with too much talking
Testing?... Is my ears what do the testing.