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FORMIDABLE McIntosh MA9500 Integrated Amplifier DAC Phono stage REVIEW

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This is my review of the McIntosh MA9500 Integrated amplifier with a built in DAC and phono stage, and its a very formidable bit of gear weighing nearly 46Kg with 300 watts of power regardless of the speaker impedance. McIntosh have also included an equaliser with 8 frequency adjustments for tuning your systems sound.
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:03 MA9500
4:56 Equalizer
8:34 Sound Quality
14:16 DAC
15:18 Phono Stage
16:26 Final Thoughts
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The HiFi System seen in this video
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Опубликовано:

14 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 98

@igaldins Год назад

McIntosh is a musical amp, it will sound beautiful with most music genres and most gear. Will power most speakers available and will look expensive even if you don’t like the design. Will protect your speakers from damage with the power guard system. I would say it sounds alive and real. And as a bonus the tone control is not ruining the sound harmony (like many other amps), this is something special! You can really tune the sound to your liking. One more bonus , for me at least, It’s not getting warm.

@mikejames-drummerreginacan1386 10 месяцев назад

In 1985 I bought a 1970's Mac C-26 Preamp for $300 Canadian. I used it DAILY until 2019 (I used it for music but also for regular TV sound). I then sold it for $400 Canadian. It still worked and it still sounded good. McIntosh is not the "flavor of the week", I think they design for long term ownership. Great review, Thanks !

@trey81373 Год назад

I’m glad you mention the vocals through the Mc. That has been one of my favorite and most surprising aspect of my MA8900. It’s almost like vocals are processed via it own separate channel. They are so clear and independent of the other instruments. It’s very unique to McIntosh and quite lovely.

@klaymoon1 Год назад

I'm not a fan of McIntosh house sound, still I'm often attracted by a McIntosh. They are just so beautiful and built well.

@marcusaurelius2988 Год назад

How would you describe the McIntosh house sound?

@frankierodriguez8661 Год назад

There are lots of Hi End systems out there, more expensive, say Burmester within the wattage, etc but McIntosh was the real trailblazer in sound, design and power, and they keep manufacturing some of the best and most desirable sound systems in the world. You can never go wrong with any of their products. Thanks for the lovely vid.

@jearley22 Год назад

Thanks for your thoughtful and honest review. I recently bought the MA8950 (200WPC), essentially the little brother to this amp. I find it to be excellent and versatile. Im only running digital at this time but after hearing your thought on analog, Im anxious to try that as well. You do a great job with your reviews. Cheers

@3dimensionsofmusic3D Год назад

Big props to you for lifting that amplifier and not dropping on your 🦶. I have an MC312 and I need my son to come over and help. No handles on it either. Nice review. Greg

@davidstein9129 2 месяца назад

Thanks for this illuminating explanation & demonstration of this very cool Mc Integrated Amplifier.

@gertjanvanderkooij9242 Год назад

i own the macintosh ma 7200,it is still blowing me away

@borlach321 Год назад

How do you think it compares to Luxman and accuphase? Lots of competition in this category.

@russellbrikowski6139 Год назад

Thanks Terry, great review

@chico1287 Год назад

Great review Terry and very insightful..Thx. I didn't know a lot about MCintosh amps except they are expensive with a nod to the hifi past. The heft, power, functionality and flexibility of this beast seems to really hit the high end expectation and value mark. I always thought high end kit comes with a less is more approach , but this Mcintosh really ticks a lot digital and analogue features.

@sbwlearning1372 Год назад

Most amp manufacturers are so stingy with power and features. At least if you paid the money for The McIntosh you'd never worry about power, tone controls, balance , only having 3 /4 inputs, headphone sockets etc etc etc. A lot charge the same price as the McIntosh, give you a quarter of the power and a tenth of the functionality.

@darrenbarugh9218 Год назад

Another great review Terry. The Gryphon Diablo is a little heavier than you remember. With the DAC and phono stage it comes in at 40.3 kg. Still not as heavy the MA9500. You need a strong back for this gear! 😂

@ianmartin8432 Год назад

Might have been worth mentioning the truly excellent built in headphone amplifier. A great feature often overlooked.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

The reason I didn't I explained here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uV6cf777NNE.html

@davidstein9129 2 месяца назад

Can you say a little more about the 3 dimensional soundstage that this amplifier presents & the bass response..the upper ,mid & low end bass reproduction? Also, what model amplifier do you believe McIntosh has built inside the casework of this MC9500? Thanks again.

@smith_grind5269 Год назад

Great video. Worth mentioning it’s not a parametric Eq. I have the MA12000 which is a superb hybrid integrated. Worth a review? Your ears quickly become familiar with boosting/cutting eq without stepped attenuation. I rarely leave the eq settings the same given that source material is often mastered and eq’d very differently.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

Yes its not parametric as its done in the analogue domain but it works the same way raising or lowering fixed frequencies with a fixed and q value.

@smith_grind5269 Год назад

@@PursuitPerfectSystem fully parametric Eq has adjustable Q for more precise control of bandwidth when cutting or boosting specific frequencies. Particularly handy when attenuating unwanted frequencies. This has a fixed Q and not adjustable

@davidfromamerica1871 Год назад

One thing about McIntosh. Some units are now plug and play consumer upgradable.

@davidstein9129 2 месяца назад

Is the feel of the attenuation knobs on this product very similar to those of McIntosh's Preamps & Power Amplifiers? IDK.

@Simplyveej Год назад

Why is Terry so nervous about mentioning even the mildest negative? Be bold and fearless my friend :)

@summerforever6736 Год назад

Not soo easy to be reviewer He has to be careful what to say

@bhupendraparekh6225 Год назад

If he's to "honest", he may not get kit to review again.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

Let me please answer this, the only thing I was slightly cautious about saying in this review is the knobs on the front being plastic because they might not be and that would be something said in error. So I checked myself just in case. Other than that I was not nervous to say a thing I never am and I don’t have to worry about not being sent kit. It doesn’t work like that in the industry despite what people think. So long as what you say is fair just and correct no one has any issues with it.

@sbwlearning1372 Год назад

@@bhupendraparekh6225 Trying to find a review on the internet that actually says "This amp/DAC /cd player etc etc is overpriced and sounds terrible "

@keithmoriyama5421 Год назад

Props to Mac for not just keeping their tone controls but, expanding on the EQ system. Now if they would only let a real sound engineer pick out the EQ points that would really make the system. Instead of multiples of 50Hz, multiples of 30Hz are much more musical.

@mrg1911 Год назад

You do wonderful reviews, so I have to ask..... Money no object, would you rather own McIntosh (Solid State Integrated), or Luxman (SSI) 509x for example? Thank you sir!

@bobb.9917 Год назад

I have a McIntosh MC152 Power Amplifier driven by a Schiit Freya+ (that I replaced the tube stage's 4 cheap capacitors with V-2 ODAM Capacitors AND the cheap resistors to 8 Audio Note Tantalum Film Resistors 😬.)…and a Schiit Loki Max remote-controlled Equalizer that has presets so I can control the tone from my listening chair and push a button to zero the frequencies and to 2 favorite settings! 🤓 My MAC Power Amp has VU Meters and tasteful, well performing buttons only…none of those 1970s silver knobs! 😮 I LOVE my amp! MAC rates it at 150wpc into 2, 4 or 8 ohms….but it has been independently tested at 2 reputable facilities at 250wpc! So…they are quite conservative with their power ratings.

@davidstein9129 2 месяца назад

What kind of ambient lighting do you use again? It's great looking. I wonder if it is available to the general public at the retail level.

@summerforever6736 Год назад

Great video again!

@gastonguev Год назад

Thanks Terry, I have a big dilemma: Deciding between this Diablo300 vs Mcintosh MA12000, considering only the sound, and trusting that you have heard both amps, which one would you choose? Thank you for your valuable support.

@smith_grind5269 Год назад

I own the MA12000. It is a stunning hybrid integrated. Extremely musical, clear and detailed presentation with velvety smooth delivery on vocals. Easily outperforms MA 9500 imo

@gastonguev Год назад

@@smith_grind5269 Thank you very much for your kind opinion and recommendation, see, have you compared both amplifiers?

@toddwillard8927 Год назад

Do your research on the forms. The Gryphon is the overwhelming favorite from what I’ve seen. But the best way to tell is to listen to them both obviously.

@sampahtetapsam21 Год назад

When will u review new Monitor Audio Platinum

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

Nothing planned for the near future sorry, lots of other great stuff is though

@JamesWilliams-gf8gm Год назад

I think where Mac comes into its own is long term listening. It can be cranked for hours on end and never seems to wear out my ears but they are not dark. Not sure how they do it.

@michaelmityok1001 Год назад

Again a very useful review but would have liked a bit deeper comparative analysis versus the Avid. Solid amp apparently from a solid company with an often unmentioned bonus feature - strong resell value which is a rarity with hifi gear.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I did that more in the Sigsum review so it didn’t make any sense to go over the same stuff here too.

@sbwlearning1372 Год назад

Bought a lowly arcam a85 second hand for 300£ 5 year later sold it for £225. Bought my RUARK acoustic Templar 2s 25 years ago £750 new. Sold them last month for £250. Ki signature new £500 20 something years ago. Sold it 3 year ago for £205 with a known skipping fault.

@mrsinghsstereos6662 Год назад

Liked the older mcintosh Amps but not a fan of the recent integrated offerings with built in DACs . Incidentally my power amp weighs 47kg and costs twice as much as this mcintosh.

@summerforever6736 Год назад

Wow You soo rich

@klaverro Год назад

Very good and honest review again. I am not a fan of McIntosh but it's an established manufacturer with a great history and very impressive amps. Other very interesting amps for a (duo)review could be Accuphase E-4000 (out this month) and Luxman L-507Z. Maybe something for a series of amplifier tests (like your speakers review)?

@InPursuitOfLiberty Год назад

Before I bought my McIntosh MA12000 last week, I demo'd the McIntosh and the Accuphase E5000 back to back. Both are integrated amps and both are great products. To me I found the McIntosh MA12000 to be more musical and much more engaging than the Accuphase. The Accuphase E5000 is a fine amp but it sounds too thin and lifeless at least to my liking. This all said, the 8 EQ on the McIntosh MA12000 works great and helps tailor poorly recorded music to something better.

@youclement8124 5 месяцев назад

@@InPursuitOfLibertyexactly the same for me with MA9500 and ACCUPHASE E4000

@dman7776 11 месяцев назад

Do you prefer the sound of the MA9500 or a Luxman Class A amp like the 595?

@robertrevelo1624 Год назад

I had the same frustration with the equaliser my self when I tested it and to make matters worst when you activate the eq on and off it seems the volume drops down in a big way when you compare them both almost enough to not wanted to use it anymore, if you like this feature I suggest to only use a fraction less or more or the bass or the treble in which they are the only knobs you should be using anyway otherwise you change the tonality of the recording therefore would not sound natural how it was suppose to sound, basically if you find yourself using the eq all the time this is not the amp for you!... The luxman A900u does not do that at all check it out!!

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

The room and speaker interaction changes the sound of the recording anyway, measure some speakers in rooms. Applying some eq is minor by comparison

@shb8124 Год назад

I don't think you're nitpicking at all I think you're pointing out the actual practicalities of living with a thing, those 'little' things can become total pains in the ass on a daily basis. Tbh though I'm not a Mac fan, it's just gaudy imo, like the US supersizing their other famous big Macs but that's just personal opinion.

@bhupendraparekh6225 Год назад

McIntosh vs Accuphase, who wins, no idea but seems a perfect match up. Wonder how far short a Rega Athos comes up against this big McIntosh.

@sbwlearning1372 Год назад

Underpowered at the price I felt as was anything with the Naim sticker on it

@danieloherrick6332 Год назад

Maybe a pair of Graham Slee monoblocs with the Graham Slee Majestic DAC/Pre will blow you away? Thanks

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

When you have listened to many systems and some in the half million pound + range they kinda spoil it for ya,

@dman7776 11 месяцев назад

One thing that bothers me is that the unit will never turn off. It only goes into standby. Doesn't that cut short the lifespan of the unit even if it's low power?

@ScottsLifeOffGrid Год назад

I really like the green lights in the corners of your room

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

Thanks Scott I am working on making that better as we speak :)

@klaverro Год назад

Like it too. Last week I also bought some lamps (Philips Hue Play black duo) that can give all the colors you want and match the music. Gives a great atmosphere!

@klaverro Год назад

@@PursuitPerfectSystem The use of indoor plants also gives it a homely feeling. (I hope those plants aren't plastic, although your space seems to lack some daylight for having a real green zone...;-) )

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I cant have real plants in here really with how everything is for me, no light being one thing, this room used to be a bat cave cinema if you have been with the channel for over a year. The fact you wasnt sure if they were real happy days, decent looking fakes, they were expensive but will last longer than real ones :)

@johnqin9765 10 месяцев назад

Should I go for 9500 or 12000.... someone help me choose plzzzz

@Eyerex Год назад

Is McIntosh Hi-Fi as prevalent in the UK as in the USA as every time you see pic's and vid's of peoples Hi-Fi in the USA there's nearly always a few McIntosh Hi-Fi components

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I think it’s a popular brand all over the world

@razisn Год назад

@@PursuitPerfectSystem I would disagree with that. Nowhere near as popular in the UK and especially in Europe as in the States.

@rodtsie Год назад

What would you say is better...Gryphon Diablo 300 or this MA9500??

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

They are totally different amps Evan, I can some people preferring one over the other depending - best to listen to them with your speakers at this price level, its a huge amount of money to put down.

@arize84 Год назад

I'm increasingly finding these types of reviews frustrating. Pretty much all modern hifi equipment sound great in isolation. There are great sounding gear at all price points. The question really is how does the gear perform relative to competitors in its price bracket. Telling me it does not sound as good as a more expensive integrated or sounds better than a cheaper integrated is not particularly useful. Or comparing a built in DAC to $5K DAC; unless the built in DAC compares favorably to much more expensive DACs; what's the point of that comparison. I apologize for sounding negative; but the hifi review space is full of "this gear sounds amazing" without ever putting "amazing" in any kind of quantifiable context.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I find these kinds of comments equally frustrating - because you have glossed over lots of important things here in the review. A comparison to another almost equally priced amplifier, slightly more expensive is what I said. Its a £1000 more expensive which at this end of the market is not a big difference as a %. So that is a very realistic comparison. Then comparing to the much more affordable NAD is because the NAD is exceptional for the money so how much better does more money spent get you. Being honest I do not have the luxury of having multiple £15000 amplifiers here all at once to do wide comparisons, its just not possible so comparisons to what I have available is what I did,. For DACs the TT2 is my reference DAC so of course that is what I compared the built in DAC to, I compare every DAC to it where possible. Then please find the time stamp where I said the word "Amazing". I am always very careful and selective of the words I use in a review to make sure they are accurate and not over selling what the product offers, especially when something costs this much. I try and remove my emotion from the equation when describing the sound but have to include some emotional opinion otherwise there is no opinion its just words. If you spend considerable time with really nice gear like I do then it becomes harder to find the criticisms because this exceptionally good hifi all round as you would expect for spending this much money and it comes down to nit picks. Which is why I started the review explaining this.

@arize84 Год назад

@@PursuitPerfectSystem I appreciate the prompt response. My comment on everything sounds "amazing" was a general comment and to be clear, I don't apply that to your reviews. I also appreciate the reality that at these price points, it's challenging to have a bunch of high $ gear sitting around for comparison; I wish it were not the case as the reviews would be more helpful. Part of my frustration stems from regretable high $ DAC purchases I have made in the past based on reviews and forums; purchases that I came to regret because these pieces where ultimately outclassed by much cheaper components, even though they all sounded great on a stand alone basis. I still stand by comment that in general there are too many reviewers stating that a particular gear sounds great without enough context. Finally, I have been a long time viewer of your channel and let me take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I think the context criticism is very fair and I will take it on board for getting better as what I do. Thanks

@abdullahimangroup893 Год назад

Please review accuphase e800

@jimdavis5230 Год назад

Wow the strain on your face when you picked the amplifier up.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I lifted this to try and show the physicality of the amp as a whole, because its so big and heavy its not really possible for to place it on a table to do video of it. I was thinking about the shot not about lifting it and forgot 75% of the weight is at the front. I had also just lifted a 30ish Kg amp to do the same shot so the jump to 46Kg really took me by surprise because its much heavier as a 1 man lift :)

@robertbartolomie857 Год назад

If you take a picture you’ll know exactly where you set the EQ.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

Yes that would be the best option here I think but there will still be some element of guess work involved and I would prefer a better visual indication or the click system I mentioned would do it.

@johnshaw359 Год назад

10k is a frequency to leave alone...15-16k is more useful in my experience, but a nice thing all the same.

@yardleylfc Год назад

I'm sure it sounds very very nice.. At the price I think its pretty ugly though..yes I love high end audio too...surely for this price I would expect it to look like lovely furniture at yhe same time..surely.. Glad you got to hear it though.. I couldn't discredit it sound am sure.

@nasdkhan254 Год назад

Wow

@lsaideOK Год назад

VU meters have no benefit for me. I don't want to look at my power source when I am listening to music. So the less distracting the better!

@berylhemmings7003 Год назад

Change the blue light/knobz to Gold

@pierre-philippejulien6298 Год назад

I can see that ,he’s not impressed by the Mac . For McIntosh is either you like the sound or you don’t. Experienced audiophiles usually don’t like McIntosh sound because for the same money they can find better out there.

@PursuitPerfectSystem Год назад

I didnt not like MC, its a great amp, I dont know what made you think that, I always try and stay level headed in reviews to be as impartial and non influential as possible. Sometimes I do get very excited about gear but the more reviews you do that becomes less frequent sadly because your own expectation goes up and up

@Skye_the_toller 4 месяца назад

What a statement! Serious audiophile do not like McIntosh? On what planet are you? Some very serious like… some do not… very few brand are least expensive for this level of performance… when you calculate the total cost of ownership… many very good product cannot keep their resale value as MC does… it is part of the cost!

@nealandkriz5078 Год назад

By all accounts, please DO nitpick with an amplifier in this category. People who want it will buy it anyway and the ones that are on the fence most likely are rich people who want a certain level of quality

@Youtuber-ku4nk Год назад

I really don't like the equalizer being there.

@carolineleonard8214 Год назад

Not really a fan of this house sound. On the EQ movement . Why not put a tiny China graph pencil mark on the nobs and take a photo. Sound engineers did the same thing with Polaroids for donkeys years, even after full automation and instant recall. Simply because of the trust in machinery and it's failure, especially on tour. The Devialet Expert 400 is excellent for less, however, it's a different type of excellence and aesthetic.