Another Unexpected Comparison

[AnotherJohnson]

As some know, I’ve been negative about the long term prospects for tubes. The countries where most production takes place look to me to be unreliable suppliers for Western markets. Of course Western Electric is in the US, but their tubes are quite pricey, and the units that use them are generally of low power.

So … over the last year and a half I’ve been selling and trading. My present main system is based on Burmester. I still use my ARC Ref Phono 3SE, and up until recently, I’d not yet found a new home for my ARC Ref 6SE preamp.

That has now changed. My main system is still as it’s been with Burmester at its heart. I am in love with that system. But the Ref 6SE that was living in my storage in its box has became part of a recent trade.

The trade included a virtually mint condition McIntosh MA9500 integrated amp that may find a home here as a non HT two channel TV sound system.

What’s an MA9500 you might ask?

For $12k retail you get a 300 Wpc amp with nearly 3dB of headroom, a preamp with 17 inputs, an 8 band equalizer that can be removed from the audio path, an adjustable MM phono, an adjustable MC phono, a DAC module that can be replaced with upgrades when upgrades are developed. You can drive a second amp from the preamp. You can feed a different preamp into the amp. It has an excellent built in headphone amp. It has a full featured remote, and other control options six ways from Sunday.

For some fun, yesterday I wheeled it into my main system and used it with my Sasha DAWs in place of the Burmester separates.

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It was interesting. Speaker cables were AQ Thunderbird Zeros instead of the custom tuned Transparent XLs. Power cord was stock instead of Transparent Conisseur level, and the area between the speakers was impacted by the presence of the cart, so it was not a perfect trial.

What I found was that it was quite articulate. And I was surprised at the efficacy of the bypassable equalizer. I was able to turn that into a credible Loudness contour control.

It was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. The Burmester separates gave a more believable approximation to a live performance, but for $68000, this should not surprise. If I were just auditioning the MA 9500, I could have been satisfied by how it acquitted itself.

The differences might be attributed to the loom and power cord differences, or even the presence of the cart between the speakers. When I was listening to the McIntosh, I liked it quite well … far better than the MA5200 I auditioned once before.

When I switched back to the Burmester, the differences were clear and really not in the same league. But the Mac should be wonderful for the two channel TV system. Its eARC port will take the TV audio and really improve the TV sound.

[AnotherJohnson]

FWIW, the Revel stand mounted M126Bes are headed to the TV system too. I’ve run them with the Mac, and they are better than I remembered from earlier pairs I’ve owned. Harman Luxury group has been blowing these out lately, and current pricing makes them a Best Buy in their category to my ears.

[admin]

For $12k retail you get a 300 Wpc amp with nearly 3dB of headroom, a preamp with 17 inputs, an 8 band equalizer that can be removed from the audio path, an adjustable MM phono, an adjustable MC phono, a DAC module that can be replaced with upgrades when upgrades are developed. You can drive a second amp from the preamp. You can feed a different preamp into the amp. It has an excellent built in headphone amp. It has a full featured remote, and other control options six ways from Sunday.

Geeze, I was waiting to hear how it also does your taxes!

That's pretty impressive and although $12k is not chump change, I think that is an incredible amount of value for price. Say what you will about McIntosh but they really figured out their business model. And let's not forget those sweet blue lights that look like magic in a dimly lit room. Looks great, congrats.

[AnotherJohnson]

On the down side, it literally weighs 100 pounds.

The current McIntosh models actually sound pretty good. It projected a well defined sound stage, bass was tight and clean, lyrics were very clear in both English and German. While the spectrum was balanced, at low volumes my dialed in Loudness contour enhanced listening.
This does not appear to be your father’s McIntosh. McIntosh have been advancing. The MA9500 is a current model. While the $12k msrp might seem like a lot, there is enough margin that if you’re “close” with your dealer, it might not set you back that much. Mine was part of a trade. I’m a fan of trading when it makes sense. At the end of a good trade, both parties leave happy.

[audiobill]

Looks great in your room, too!

[AnotherJohnson]

The room is at the beginning of its final form I think … I’ve got some new racks and some new gear to blend in. The TT station is off to the right outside of the picture in a zone of neutrality. I’m still quite pleased with The LP12/Lyra combos here, but I’ve added a Clearaudio Master Reference that I saved from a bad fate. I’m adding a Clearaudio TT2 to the Universal 12. No pics of the TT2 yet, but here’s the TT in its temporary home.

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[admin]

Wow, looking great!

[AnotherJohnson]

FWIW, the MA9500 is my third piece of current McIntosh.

I really like the MCT500 transport for playing SACDs through either the stand alone Mac DAC or through the DAC in the MA9500. If I’d liked the MA9500 better than the Burmester separates, it could have replaced four big boxes in my main system.

[AnotherJohnson]

Wow, looking great!

Thanks. The Clearaudio Master Reference is very cleverly designed. This one has a ceramic/magnetic bearing, and three symmetrically located motor pods that provide symmetrical loading via the three belts.

The motor pods are on one tripod that makes no contact with the tripod that supports the platter and arm boards. The motors are driven by a common, synched power supply.

It takes a bit of effort to set it up … but it’s not too hard to figure it out.

The anti skating force is magnetic. If you get it all aligned right, the arm returns to the entrance groove on lifting.

The latest Statement version is also really well done, but msrp is north of a quarter million bucks, so not really feasible with most budget constraints.

[audiobill]

My McIntosh MT-5 table is made in Germany by Clearaudio and has the magnetic plinth support and antskating as well. Works well.

Also, have you tried different taps on those nice autoformers?

[AnotherJohnson]

My McIntosh MT-5 table is made in Germany by Clearaudio and has the magnetic plinth support and antskating as well. Works well.

Also, have you tried different taps on those nice autoformers?

Yes, Clearaudio has a good partnership with McIntosh.

I used the 4 Ohm taps for the Sasha DAWs. I used the 4 and 8 Ohm taps in the Revel trials and preferred the 8 Ohm.

I’ve historically not cared for the Autoformers, but I have nothing but praise for the way they worked in my local trial.

I’ve removed the MA9500 for now.

The $137k Burmester Transparent Wilson setup is not $112k better than the $25k McIntosh AQ Revel setup.

But I don’t have that kind of money in either setup.

I’ve always thought McIntosh was a safe recommendation. But with their current offerings, I think they’re even more than safe … they’re quite good.

[audiobill]

Thanks-

[goonybird]

Inteseting as my crrent Speakers are KEF Reference 203 and the probable upgrade will be Kef Reference 3.
But I keep coming across Wilson Sasha, Watt Puppy's.
It appear sthey are a good match for CJ gear.

[AnotherJohnson]

Inteseting as my crrent Speakers are KEF Reference 203 and the probable upgrade will be Kef Reference 3.
But I keep coming across Wilson Sasha, Watt Puppy's.
It appear sthey are a good match for CJ gear.

Just about anything that doesn’t mind sub 3 Ohm impedance dips will sound good on a pair of Wilsons.

Dave once went to a show and set up to make it look like he was using very high dollar audiophile favorite electronics. But at the end of the demo, after all the ooohhs and aaahhs, and audiophile pronouncements about the exquisite pairing, he revealed he was using modest (sub $5k) solid state electronics. Many were stunned … and some were embarrassed.


I auditioned the Chronosonic XVX again a few weeks ago. It was being powered by a third world 100 Wpc tube amp. It was very articulate, and showed off every weakness of the amp.

Sasha DAWs or Vs are similarly capable. If you buy into the Wilson lineup at any price point you get the Wilson DNA. The higher you go in the line, the more spectacular the sound stage. But even with Sabrina X, you know they’re from Wilson.

FWIW, my Sasha DAWs have sounded great with ARC Ref 75SE, ARC Ref 250 SE, Burmester 911 mk3, and McIntosh MA9500. So from small tube amp to $35k solid state … all good. To my ears, the Burmester sounds the best, but I could happily live with any of them.

A used pair of Wilson recertified DAWs can generally be had for less than $30k in the US. If they’re used and not factory recertified, you might pick up a pair for closer to $20k.