Somehow I ended up on an audio forum’s email list. Once a week they hit me (& you?) with some topic.
I have read the forum a few times. I’ve never contributed. I dunno how they even know of me. I guess there is a spy living in my computer. If that’s the case, I would have thought by now the Blackhawks would have called for advice. They shouldn’t be spending almost $8m for goalies, in a hard cap league, on a last place team, that’s rebuilding.
Which Integrated?
The topic this week started with, “Which integrated amp should I get?” Most people recommended McIntosh or Hegel. A couple others were mentioned.
Most of the comments were, McIntosh is the most valuable line out there and sounds the best. You should buy Mac. Some of the people were saying Hegel is better because it isn’t as expensive as Mac and sounds just as good. A few said NAD is the best. The posts started mild mannered but got increasingly hostile.
This went on for quite a while. What’s sad is, there was no INFORMATION. It was all seat of the pants pontificating. In other words… it’s all a waste of time. Nobody was actually giving info to the guy who asked about which and why.
Audio Emporium
When you are shopping, please consult a knowledgeable dealer- like Audio Emporium. Sure, we have gear and want to sell it. We can help you make sense of the confusion. You’ll make a smarter purchase and have top notch support.
Let’s take brand names and marketing out of the equation. What do you get for your money? Why do these products sound different?
McIntosh MA8950 (200×2)
The Mac is an American monster AB amp with autoformers. Autoformers have a warm, mellow sound. Autoformers do not provide the tightest GRIP for bass control or lightning transient response. If you want THAT, you’ll want an amp without autoformers. But perhaps you’ll want the smoothness that autoformers supply. It has an EQ built in, but that won’t change the fact that autoformers have a signature that you make like, or not.
Hegel H390, $6500 (250×2)
H390 is an AB amp made in China. It’s a third cheaper than the Mac. It doesn’t have autoformers. It has SoundEngine 2 which is Hegel’s own electronic circuitry to compensate for miss matched output transistor distortion characteristics. It’s tighter in the bass than the Mac, or any amp with autoformers. It also sounds cooler / leaner instead of heavier/fuller.
NAD M33 $5000 (200×2)
The NAD is a streaming integrated. It’s a class D design made in China. It has a leaner, cooler, dryer sound than either of the above. It has a great streamer built in. If you’re looking for the convenience of a nice built in streamer with fun readout, it might be for you. But if you have ballsy speakers like Brystons, it won’t bring the muscle out of them that they’re capable of.
My Recommendation….
While all of these integrateds are “good”, why not save a few dollars and get the best value of the bunch? By the way, these all come with nice DACs on board.
Atoll IN300 Signature, $4500 (150×2)
Atoll is made in its own house, in France with a 3 year warranty. It’s a class AB amp running more into class A than any of the above. It uses a pair of huge 440VA transformers which they have custom made for low loss in Spain. Hegel and NAD run a single smaller transformer.
IN300 uses over 86,000uF of filter caps (of Atoll’s own design with faster ESR than off the shelf caps) which lead to a thicker, more muscular sound than the amps above. Atoll runs Mundorf caps in their own shielded mu-metal housings to avoid interference with the rest of the amp. Atoll uses through hole parts instead of surface mount parts or loads of ICs.
Atoll runs a dozen hand matched MOSFET output transistors. Atoll does this work in house in France. There’s no need for a computer circuit, that has some endemic time lag, to try to filter out the distortion differences among transistors. Atoll uses a circuit board of nickel and gold. It is meticulously built in France with symmetrical construction and little running wire. It’s exquisite compared to what the Chinese do.
With Atoll, you get the heaviest punch, biggest kick and fastest transient response of the bunch. The sound is beautiful as well, though not conspicuously “soft” like amps with autoformers.
If you need service with Atoll you can deal with us or their service center in Chicago. You will get prompt service.
If you need service on Hegel you get in line at a service house in Austin,Texas. NAD is the same story but in Syracuse, NY. Expect 30 days before someone will look at either. Mac service out of warranty runs over one year.