Review of MA 5200

B

barsur

Active Member
In the new Stereoplay (is like the german Stereophile) there is a review of the new MA 5200. Review is excellent, the MA 5200 achieved 58 Points for Sound which is the same result as the MA 7000 some years ago. Best ever reviewed integrated amp is the T&A PA 3000 HV with 61 Points.

Power for 8 ohm was measured with 130 Watt and for 4 ohm the MA 5200 achieved 206 Watts per channel (1 khz, k=1%) . S/N Ratio was 100 dB.

The MA 5200 achieved a Stereoplay "Highlight" award.

Best regards

Martin
 
Martin,

Not bad for 100 watt at 8 ohm factory rating. MA5200 is supposed to be a secret so don't tell anyone, it is a giant slayer.
Did they like the High Drive headphone amp and 32/192 DAC?

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
You know between this headphone amp and the DAC I'd love this amp. Alas I can't afford one but maybe some day.
 
Ron.....can you tell us if the DAC in the 5200 is the same that is used the C48/50? ......MA6700/7900? Thanks.
 
'cisco said:
Ron.....can you tell us if the DAC in the 5200 is the same that is used the C48/50? ......MA6700/7900? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in knowing this as well.


Just a bit of relevant eye candy for the thread;

I really like that Mac has given it some of that 'open chassis' design.
XL_MA5200_Front_Top.jpg
 
Compared to other high quality integrated amps, the MA5200 provides a lot of features and performance for the money. :thmbsp:
 
The new integrated amps all use the same DAC. MA5200 fits in a lot of small spaces where multiple or taller models do not. Plus, it pretty much performs like separate components.

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
I know I am not supposed to, but how much is this new integrated? My first McIntosh was MA-5100 and I would not mind this new version for my smaller system if it is priced to be affordable.

Vahe
 
Thanks Ron.......it's great that Mc decided to introduce a piece of gear that doesn't require 2 people to lift. :D

.......now only if Mc would put a 200 watt amp into that chassis to go along with my 48. :banana:
 
vahe said:
I know I am not supposed to, but how much is this new integrated? My first McIntosh was MA-5100 and I would not mind this new version for my smaller system if it is priced to be affordable.

Vahe
Click to expand...

$4,500 when it was announced. Thinking back over the years, the MA6500, which was introduced almost 15 years ago, sold for $3,300. The MA5200 is a whole lot more product.
 
I'm still mystified as to why McIntosh lists only an "8ohm" power specification in the owners manual AND identifies the speaker terminals as "8ohm". Anyone? ..I'm not aware of many other $4500 integrated amps that have only an 8ohm rating. ..Yes, it's somewhat reassuring to know that Stereoplay tested it for 4ohm output, but seeing a such a spec from Mac would settle the issue.
 
william.keith said:
$4,500 when it was announced. Thinking back over the years, the MA6500, which was introduced almost 15 years ago, sold for $3,300. The MA5200 is a whole lot more product.
Click to expand...

It's definitely a more modern design with balanced inputs and one push/turn knob that takes the place of multiple knobs and buttons. Some old farts like me still prefer the one step process of pushing one button or turning one knob instead of going through a multi-step process to achieve a function. I also still love the two sets of speaker outputs on the MA6500. McIntosh would have made a bigger splash with this product if it was priced under $4000. I'd love to hear one in action. Until then, I'll gladly keep my excellent MA6500.
 
ron-c said:
Martin,

Not bad for 100 watt at 8 ohm factory rating. MA5200 is supposed to be a secret so don't tell anyone, it is a giant slayer.
Did they like the High Drive headphone amp and 32/192 DAC?

Thanks,
Ron-C
Click to expand...

Hello Ron,

they didn´t mention the headphone amp. But they talked about the excellent DAC, but mentioned that the coax S/PDIF is a little bit worse than the line Input. This surprises me, because I have the C50 and the DAC sounds perfect, exact the same like a line Input with a MCD 301.

They mentioned also that the DAC in the MA5200 is a Burr-Brown PCM 1795 and that the D100 has a ESS ES9016 and that the MA5200 doesn´t need any burn in time due to the Thermanl Trak NJL 3281 transistors. I noticed the same with the MC 452 and the MC601 that the new power amps of Mcintosh don´t need any burn in time at all. It sounds always great!

Best regards

Martin
 
Love it. It would sure be nice if it had some of those Parasound P5 features such as sub out. At least a pre out without the jumper out/in deal. Otherwise this unit is most desirable.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears the MA5200 does not have tone control (bass, treble), right? Those seem to basic features of an integrated amplifier.
 
audiouser14 said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears the MA5200 does not have tone control (bass, treble), right? Those seem to basic features of an integrated amplifier.
Click to expand...

Right, apparently it does not. Oddly enough, only Mac's entry level integrates and their TOTL flagship preamps don't have tone controls; everything else in between does.
 
Same question also. I'd be interested to hear from folks that have had more experience with the MA5200.
 
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