With this hobby the 'craziness' NEVER ends. : ) Be curious to hear your feedback on the 252.
MA 252
- Thread starter barsur
- Start date
With this hobby the 'craziness' NEVER ends. : ) Be curious to hear your feedback on the 252.
Very nice...Looking forward to getting mine in a couple of weeks and hooking up my Marantz TT15S1. Let us know how you like yours.
Thanks for the pics, especially w green led taken off the tubes!
ron-c
Addicted Member
Can the green be turned off?
ron-c
Addicted Member
Green is normal operation, Red is Power Guard or Sentry Monitor which is shorted wire or speaker. Orange is warm up. If you shut the amp off then the function LED tube indicators will be off.
Ron-C
Billnapabill
New Member
Here’s my MA252 hooked up to a set of SVS Ultra’s. For me, McIntosh knocked it out of the park with this unit. The price was ok, the unit provides rich, full music quality. I’ve never owned a tube unit before but had heard several and I am impressed with the “fullness” of the sound this little jewel puts out. I love the ability to tune each input separately, so when you tune in the Phono channel it doesn’t change the CD channel settings. I also like the simple 2 controls on the face of the unit, all you have, normally, is input selection and volume. You press and hold the input selector to get into the input settings, names, and display mode. Just set it and forget it. I like the tubes with the led indicator on them, they actually have a function. They are normally green but change to orange if there’s chipping or a heat problem. I can’t find anything about this amp to criticize, I would have liked to have had another speaker output and a selector switch, A,B or Both, but i can’t say that would have prevented me from this purchase.
monkboughtlunch
Super Member
Seems like a near perfect integrated amp (with the notable exception of lacking line output jacks to record vinyl).
monkboughtlunch
Super Member
What brand of output transistors does McIntosh install in the MA252?
pwrfulpete
New Member
I'm currently powering a pair of Kef Ls50s with the MA-252...nothing but good things to say about the sound. I'm very interested in opinions of mating this amp with the xr50's as a possible upgrade to the Kefs'; would this be worth the upgrade? I understand listening is subjective, but appreciate feedback...
Darell
New Member
Perfect match in heaven with XR50...I am very much enjoying its fullness, huge soundstage, and Bass is well define!
pwrfulpete
New Member
thanks! I'll see if i can get to dealer to audition...seems some of the other thread posts on the xr50 indicate they need power to bring out the best sound, since you have the same amp your feedback is appreciated....
pwrfulpete
New Member
btw its my first piece of mc gear so I'm curious to know how this product sounds amongst the "classic" mc family by comparison; My reference system is magnepan 1.7's powered by psaudio M700's.....this pairing also made me realize proper power to the speaker makes all the difference, previously i was driving the maggies with a 50w tube ARC; absolutely no comparison - the M700's totally transformed the listening experience.
Billnapabill
New Member
Some wondered what the remote looked like, here it is along with the other things in the box besides the amp.
Finally able to see/hear the 252 in person this past weekend. Aesthetically I like it even more in person than I expected! This was at my local Best Buy/Magnolia, and I had a tired five year old in tow, so I wasn’t able to really get a hands on view. The sales guy was very helpful and knowledgeable, and answered many of my questions. Unfortunately the demo unit was hooked up to a large pair of Sony floor standing speakers that sounded a bit bright. Not a good judge of ability or what it may be like in my system with my Wharfdales.
Eventually plan to return to the store and measure the 252 and figure out if/where I could place it - and take my headphones for a trial listening session. Sure would love to jump right in, but so many factors need to be considered...
Eventually plan to return to the store and measure the 252 and figure out if/where I could place it - and take my headphones for a trial listening session. Sure would love to jump right in, but so many factors need to be considered...
Last edited:
gssound
New Member
Is this unit available at Best Buy? Yikes! I didn't think they usually stocked McIntosh equipment.
It doesn't seem to come up online.
Can anyone suggest a place to purchase/hear this unit in the NYC/NJ area?
