McIntosh MA6300 Integrated Amplifier
Amplifiers  Integrated
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Add your own review for: McIntosh MA6300 Integrated Amplifier
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 For pretty much any audiophile, owning a McIntosh is the pinnacle of audio "pride of ownership". The distinctive, almost retro looking blue meters conjure up notions of old school stereo systems in our father's or grandfather's rec-room or living room. Heck, my dad owned a McIntosh (a huge console unit that ran the entire length of the wall in our living room). So owning a Mac is pretty much in my genetic makeup.
The problem is McIntosh (for most of us anyway) is that it is expensive.
Really expensive. But you get what you pay for right? Especially with a good, old fashioned, hand-crafted, made in America piece of audio gear.
In the case of MA6300. Not quite..... The 6300 is the entry level integrated amp in the McIntosh line. The entry level for McIntosh is where a lot of audio brands top of the line end.
I picked up this amp thinking that the Mac "house sound" would be the same across the board. I'd heard tons of other McIntosh amps, from the 6600 to the 6900 integrateds, the 402 power amp, all the way up the ridiculously expensive 501 monoblocks. Listening to the amp at my local retailer also confirmed this belief.
At first I was quite enamoured with the amp. Infatuation is fleeting, however. After spending a lot of time trying to get this amp to sound "right" I really began to regret my decision. This was not a Mac sounding amp at all. It was grainy... it had the typical "solid state grain" that was very prominent to me. Another problem was that I couldn't get it to image properly for me. The only way to get it to really "open up" was to turn it up. Way up. Turn the volume down to a reasonable listening level and the soundstage and image would collapse. To the point where one channel actually was slightly louder than the other. Very frustrating.
What did I like about the amp? Well, the construction was impressive. Fit and finish flawless in typical McIntosh fashion. The blue meters were cool, although how reliable they actually were are kinda suspect. They looked neat bouncing and down though. The packaging is also impressive.
What didn't I like about this amp? Well.... the sound for one thing. For the price it takes to get into an entry level McIntosh I was expecting to be slayed... absolutely blown away. An amp to keep for a lifetime - an amp for my son to see, and when he grows up says "my dad owned a McIntosh, it's in my DNA to own one too". This is not the amp for that.
A couple of other nit-picky little things: The plastic jumpers in the back to switch between an integrated or a pre/power configuration are bad. Among the cheapest I have ever seen. The remote is not the solid piece of American engineering I would expect. It actually screams "Chi-fi" OEM to me.
Now that I think of it, my dad also taught me never the entry level of anything. This is especially true of cars and expensive integrated amplifiers.
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Review added by: dmitchell
Added On: 1/1/2012
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Comments
Added By: Nick
How much does this amp retail for again?
Comment Added: 1/24/2012 3:22:14 PM
Added By: Dave
Around 4k here in Canada.
Comment Added: 1/24/2012 3:30:18 PM
Added By: mdanoff
What is your associated equipment?
Comment Added: 4/3/2012 1:22:23 PM
Added By: Dave
At the time my associated equipment was an MCD201 CDP, an MCD301 CDP, Totem Sttafs and Monitor Audio RS6.
Comment Added: 4/3/2012 2:12:39 PM
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