Looking for some advice, I found what I believe is a good deal on a 4 year old MC-7205. The unit is in very good condition with no blems or glass problems, meters & lights work properly. I primarily listen to music but also do some home theater from time to time. I really like the DVD-A and SACD so the five channels make sense. I've looked at the Outlaw, Sherbourn, Sunfire and B&K but some people say to spend the money and get the Mac. I currently have a Pioneer Elite VSX53 that I would continue to use as a pre-amp for the time being. I have Paradigm Studio 100 V3's and for sources I have a Music Hall MMF-5 table and the Marantz DV-9500 unidisk player.

I can get a seven channel 200 watt brand new Outlaw for less than half the cost of the 4 year old Mac - AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! :confused:

Help me.

Thanks

That "cost" thing is one of the Mc's apparent shortcomings, but for what it's worth, the MC-7205 will probably be left in your will to someone.

Do you think $2,800 is a good price? One sold a few days back for 2,900 on audiogon but I don't have a feel for what a fair price would be. :scratch2:

Thanks for the input BBH!

I really liked my Mc-7205, and just sold it on Audiogon last month for $2700. It was very very minty, and I had ordered a replacement double box from Mcintosh to ship it in as well.

The Mc7205 amps don't come up on the used market to often as owners are usually very happy with them.

These amps are rock solid and very nice. I really liked mine, and would have kept it except that I started to read "AudioKarma.org" and then the intoxicating smooth words of Ron C. spoke of the MC207 and I could not resist. I had to have one, so I bought one along with a MX119.

The only danger of buying a McIntosh is that you will want more......

Michael

Audiokarma folks,

Well the deal is done. I backed away from the MC-7205 once I found out that the power was 120W @ 8 ohms since I was looking for 200W + at 8 ohms - but not before I got bit by the Mac bug!

Initially I was interested in the MC207 but I was struggling with the $$; as I learned more about the quality of the Mac and what a truely competitive amp would cost, the pain numbed a bit. Still trying to find the "best value", I researched, looked at and listened to (as many as possible) less expensive amps including Adcom, Anthem, ATI, B&K, Outlaw, Parasound/Halo, Rotel, Sherbourn and Sunfire; a handful of similarly priced amps including Halcro, Lexicon, Simaudio Aurora; and a few higher priced amps including Krell, Simaudi Titan, Theta and a very brief sniff at the rump of the BAT (a sniff was all I could afford). I even built a spreadsheet with all the specs and notes to keep my head clear. THERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT AMPS OUT THERE!

I am not an expert audiophile by any means, just a passionate lover of good music that is faithfully reproduced. I prefer a "warmer" sound with accurate midrange and I also tend to fatigue quickly with amps that are "crisp", "bright" or "sharp".

Much to the spousal unit's chagrin, I spent most of our week's vacation researching amps, reading reviews and going to Hi-Fi shops wherever I could find them. The Anthem, B&K and Sherbourn were the closest candidates in the lower priced segment, the similarly priced Lexicon impressed me, and the Krell driving Focal's was the only mega buck amp that I actually listened to. The Krell was powerful and very quiet but seemed overly "brutish" if that makes any sense at all.

So I returned home from vacation, went straight to my local Mac dealer and bought the 207! :D Now the bank account needs an IV...

Any bets on how long I can hold off on the Mac Pre/AV?

Thanks for the help!

congrats and welcome, I am sure you will fit in very well around here.

I like my Mc-207 a great deal, though now I an thinking about adding a MC-402 for the fronts!

It was a good purchase. It will prove itself a good decision when in a couple of year you look at the resale value vs the other amps that you were considering.