Anyone have an opinion of thses? I'm just starting my research, might pick one up on Tuesday. It's 100x4. I *think* they're underrated. I don't want to run into the same issue I have now with too little power but I've heard they potentially put out 125%+ what they're rated at. Would these compliment my Dyns for SQ? Any opinions would be appreciated. I'm going to end up with way too many amps, might be selling some new amps if this works out.

 

McIntosh Amps have always been very highly regarded for their sound quality. I doubt you will be disappointed. If you are, you can just send it to me.

 

What happen with the RF?

 

Got it, can't make up my mind what to use. I need to stop being lazy and install it to see if I like it but my system sounds so funky on the Ipod I couldn't compare if there's a change in SQ anyway. The new factory HU gets here Monday. If I end up not using the RF, I'll probably list it pretty cheap. I doubt it will have more than an hour worth of play time by the time I make a decision. I actually need money now so no more hanging on to stuff I don't use.

Edit: Sorry, to answer the question I'm being paranoid about the SQ.

As long as you send me those gunmetal a-specs we'll call it even lol.

 

I know a McIntosh dealer and he loves them. I don't know a whole lot about their mobile audio line, but their home audio products are highly respected in the industry.

 

Nice to see someone talking about these amps. About as rare as the old Soundstream amps, like my Reference 705. Which was HIGHLY underrated

 

Hmm, I have a 405. I had a 700 but it kind of went to Hawaii and died a nice warm death. Going to put a 600.4 rubicon in the TL this weekend. Anyhow, I guess we'll see the Rockford up on the BM soon. Does your McIntosh amp have the trademark meters? Is it the current line? If so, its like someone said in my thread, "Alpine and Dynaudio don't belong in the same sentence" or something like that. Rockford vs. McIntosh... LOL.

 

It's got the meters! I don't know much about it, getting it at a good price from a friend.

I've been reading so much conflicting info. Most people say an amp is an amp, it amplifies the signal and does not add it's own sonic signature. Then others say the amp definitely makes a difference in sound.

All I really need is an amp with no features other than gain control. If this is true, what's stopping me from getting a 150x4 $120 amp? There has to be a difference but I have just enough doubt to make me worried I might be wasting money.

 

If you come to find that you dont like the Mcintosh amp then I would be willing to trade you for my Zapco DC650.6.

 

This is how my ears see it.

 

Haven't seen a McIntosh in over 10 yrs! My buddy had one, with the lit meters, very good stuff.

 

Put me down for one that definitely thinks that it matters. I never thought so until I got some higher end components. Have you had anybody with components at the same level as your 342s, or higher, tell you that it doesn't matter? You don't see too many guys with higher end stuff using Crunch amps to run their components, but they could if a watt was a watt.

I don't know how Be or KRX2 compare to the 342s, but you can tell a difference between JL Audio and Audison, especially on the instruments and vocals.

I have never had a Mc, but I would if I could find one.

 

It definitely matters. Heck you will have both at the same time right? Just do a quick A/B comparison and I think you'll feel better about the money spent. I mean you bought dyn's, those weren't cheap I'm sure. I don't think an amp is an amp applies as much as say... speaker wire, etc. Granted there is a built in "tax", but it'll show. If you don't hear the difference, it appears there are a few people in this thread that will take it off your hands.

 

What I know about McIntosh as far as reputation and sound quality.....

A) McIntosh car audio components are among the best on the market.

B) New....their shit is UBER expensive.

C) The company as a whole is highly regarded with Audiophiles

D) Their MC431 four channel, 100w amp cost $1500 new (could possibly be the one you're getting based upon the info you've provided)

That's all I've got......

MC431.....

 

IHC, if you look on DIYMA you'll see the guys saying that a watt is a watt BUT there is more behind it than that. From the info I remember it went along the lines of that most amplifiers have processing in them to extenuate certain frequencies to make them a bit more prominent. As well all amplifiers have a level of distortion they add and the "worse the amp" the more distortion it adds to the signal thus changing the sound with random noise and as well by changing the actual sound.

 

Also add the longevity of the amps, the proper work that went into building them (ie perfect soldering, which if done badly or wrong can make alot of difference in performance, life and quality, even the quality of the components themselves make a difference) and the protection features (rolling back power at high temps without sacrificing dynamics, and ground short protection)

 

Subscribed to see what you plan on doing MATT!

 

and adding onto that with some quick refreshing from DIYMA, wattage and the number of amplifiers can play a huge role in changing sound!

If you have 1 amplifier that has a Max of 500 watts, that doesn't mean it's going to put out 499 watts out with clean power; it could put only up to 200 watts with clean power and no extra noise and after that point put out 200_ watts with more and more noise. Then on the other hand you have a good amplifier that can put out 400 watts and it'll deliver 350 watts of good clean power with no additional noise and the 350+ mark is where the noise starts!

As far as multiple amplifiers go, no amplifier is going to be the exact same so if you have 3-4 of them, each will be slightly different even if they are the same brand and were made on the same day by the same person. So by putting you gains at 1/2 or full on them will not register the same effect and you should measure it with an oscilloscope to ensure that you are not clipping and the outputted signals are matched up to be the same with some fine adjustments.

 

Take a DMM to radio shack and check out some $.04 capacitors and resistors... they are all over the board probably +/- 25%. Then, go to an electronics supply shop and check out some $2.00 caps or resistors and they will be right on the money. ...and this is without any heat added into the mix. Which do you want twisting your high-dollar signal?

 

Got the Mac today. It's not the one with the watt meters. It's huge and heavy! Also had the MEQ452 parametric EQ inside, looks expensive.

 

Here's some pics of the amp and the eq that came inside of it.






With the EQ removed:

 

I had one about 15 years ago, along with Carver amp. Both were rock solid, cranking insane amount of power with amazing clarity. I've heard from one of the owners of local sound shop, who still carries them, that they're not what they used to be. He said that they're still decent amps, but not as good as the ones from decade ago.

 

That's good to know. The last year this one was sold was '97 lol. I'm a little worried actually. It's very old.

 

Hook it up and see if you like how it sounds? I might be making another trip out there soon buddy. hopefully all the bugs will be worked out this time.

 

Definitely. I still owe you a night out and more than one beer lol. I'm not even replacing my Droid again, just waiting till the free upgrade is due. I can't believe Verizon has not been sued yet.

I'm leaving tomorrow for my cruise, get back Monday. Go to work on Tuesday and won't have the time to install it till the weekend. I'm going crazy just wondering how it will sound.

 

Nice pick-up! That is the same amp I've run in my last car for the past 8 years to power my components but is now sitting in my living room awaiting an install in the TL. I think you'll be very happy with the MC431. Can't wait to see where you plan to mount the thing because it is HUGE.

 

Older and sexy. That Mc is a MILF amp.

 

Lol.

I couldn't believe how big it was in person. I thought it had the footprint of my current JL 6 channel but it's twice as big.

One question that's been bothering me for a while. I'm glad to find someone that has owned one. This one came with the equalizer inside but no control for it. It will run ok with the eq box not installed, right?

 

[quote=I hate cars;13009272]Lol.



I couldn't believe how big it was in person. I thought it had the footprint of my current JL 6 channel but it's twice as big.

^ IHC how did you like the JL 6? I've been wanting to get a real user opinion on them before I pull the trigger... BTW been following your install thread..... love the infinite baffle idea... I will have definately have some more questions on IB soon....

 

[quote=nicourt;13009586]I have the older (and physically larger) e6450 6 channel. It's been a great amp for the past 3 years but one channel died recently.

I have several friends with the newer XD 6 channels and they seem to be ok. In fact, just listened to another one yesterday. The nice thing is they will fit under just about any seat. The biggest complaint I've heard is they don't push enough to the subs but that's as much the owner's fault as the amps's fault. SQ sounds fine but I haven't heard them on a really good set of speakers yet. There's nothing that stands out that's bad anyway. For a setup like mine, it would work fine since my subs require very little power. If you are using a couple 12s in a sealed box I don't think you would be happy with it.

 

Hah, what type of amps is your dealer pushing now? I never listen to my "dealers", they are just sales people pushing you to the highest margin products. Kind of like doctors and meds. I'm quite sure that McIntosh would not push out inferior products. They are a VERY high-end company with a reputation to carry, both in the mobile and home space and I highly, highly doubt that they would risk their reputation on car audio. It'd be like putting the Nakamichi name on a Sony transport.

And yes ideally an amp should just, well, amplify the signal with no addition to the sonic signature. However, that just isn't the case. The quality of internal components used, the layout of the circuit board, etc. Granted there is a "High-end" tax, but your ears don't lie. Blind test amps and you'll be able to hear the differences. All this is assuming that you have very high-quality speakers.

 

Sweet Amp, I was thinking of using those till I came upon the TRU 2200 & 4100 stage IV's, I'll never switch unless I go all MAC or the New Copper Series, If your worried about the AMP get it over to Steve Mantz at ZED and have him go through it, He is in Chatsworth,

I'm really looking forward to seeing how these TRU amp's sound now that I'm going to the Esotar 430 mid range & 650 mid bass.

MECA competition June 18 Beach Sound in SOCAL

 

He didn't say anything bad about their amps. He still likes them. He just said that they're not AS GOOD as they were 10+ years ago.
I would buy one (or two) in a heartbeat if I had the funds to build high end system.

 

The amp has always been run with the EQ installed so that I do not know. I don't have the same parametric EQ as yours in mine but do have a simple environmental EQ that has adjustments for 45hz and 150hz in the form of switches that have -4db -6db and flat settings. I would be interested in knowing as well.

 

I've heard the same thing about the older generation McIntosh amps being better than the current ones. Don't really have much experience with the newer stuff so can't really say if it's just hearsay or fact.

 

to me mac home amps are better, espeically int he price/performance ratio than their car counterparts...

they are good yes, but to me, they are kinda expensive for the performance but most importantly, they are FRIGGIN HUGE! which makes it hard to put into a lot of vehicles espeically the types of installs i like to do.

this is why i love the Mosconis so much, thin, and actually not that huge for the amount of power they put out