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MACKIE1975
Super Member
452 it is
462 if $$ is not the issue
462 if $$ is not the issue
I have a friend that works at a mcintosh dealer, so he could have either one, but he has the 452. He says it's smoother sounding than the 462. I have heard the 452 at his house and it sounds wonderful.
damacman
Resident Psycho
The only change between the 452 and the 462 is that the 462 has more capacitance in the power supply. So what you're reading and hearing is audio folklore, of which there is never a short supply.
Problem is that your MC7300 is such a fine power amplifier that you would be hard pressed to hear any difference other than that which results from less background noise. It has been my experience that this can be somewhat profound with certain types of speakers. But does that alone warrant the investment? Only you can say.
Problem is that your MC7300 is such a fine power amplifier that you would be hard pressed to hear any difference other than that which results from less background noise. It has been my experience that this can be somewhat profound with certain types of speakers. But does that alone warrant the investment? Only you can say.
kevzep
Its all about the Music
The MC452 would be the best value for money out of the two.
Once I got my MC452, the upgrade itch stopped. I think I have had mine since mid 2013, it still remains as the best power amp I have ever heard.
You will not be disappointed, and if you are very intimate with your system, you will notice a difference for sure.
My vote is the 452 for two reasons - Cost / Best Value for the Money & Sound Quality
The MC452 I heard was very impressive. The MC462 I heard was a bit more direct and it seemed to be missing some of the mid-range detail. That may be attributed to the room and supporting components.
Be that as it may I know there are a lot of MC452 owners who would never consider upgrading from that model.
The MC452 I heard was very impressive. The MC462 I heard was a bit more direct and it seemed to be missing some of the mid-range detail. That may be attributed to the room and supporting components.
Be that as it may I know there are a lot of MC452 owners who would never consider upgrading from that model.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
I heard a 462 a couple weeks ago at Audio classics and was very impressed. We were using it to drive the XRT 28's my friend just purchased from Steve using a C-53 pre-amp. . Using the new 5105 table and a Denon $400.00 moving coil and some of Derricks favorite LP's the sound was mighty sweet, detailed, and the bass was very solid. Using the C-53's graphic controls and my Spectrum analyzer we got the freq response with in +/- 4 db down to 40 hz and it rolled off from there. The speaker positioning just wouldn't support any lower frequencies. At my house My XRT 28's go down to 16 HZ quite easily. The 462 sounds like my friends 152 but of course the 462 has more muscle. Light and airy and very detailed with a real firmness with plenty of control. I prefer my MC 830's as they are real power houses at 4 ohms easily putting out over 600 watts. But thats me. I always prefer Direct couple Macs because my older speakers I bi-amp and I like the extra control an amp with high damping factor has. Its not necessary with MY XRT 28's, but the idea of lifting a 462 is beyond me any more. So having to light weight 830's is ideal for me. Any way I have heard the 452 and I really like them, but there is something special about that 462 we were listening too. Especially with the Big JBL's that were there, too. If you prefer horn speakers they work very well with the 462. You don't need all that power, I think the most we used was 30 watts where with the 28's we got close to 100 watts a few times with my Favorite Telarc CD's. My favorite audition amps have always been the 1201 and 1.2 K, They work well at 1 watt or at a 1000. So they never strain. But I will say the 462 easily holds its own putting out over 500 watts per channel.I will mention though the 7300 was a special amp at the time. It wasn't complicated like the 2255, and could handle more complex loads , impedance mismatches than a 2255 could and was a bit smoother in the highs. I could see keeping a 7300 for a very long time. But the 452 an 462 are just better at what they do and with the right pre-amp your system will have the potential to be so much better at any power level. It also might be time to be thinking about a MEN 220. I use a MQ107 because my room is not symmetrical my friend uses a Ashly 3102 for his ML-2's and now his XRT 28's and room voicing makes a big difference if done with grace and not carried to far. I have Room perfect in my MX 151 for the HT system and room perfect is a great choice to get the best sound from your speakers. Rooms can really compromise a speakers potential. Used properly a MEN 220 can go a long way to make the sound so much more authentic and true to the source.
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Sam Stone
New Member
I appreciate everyone's responses to my question. May change my mind and hang on to the 7300. I have never had anything to compare it to. I purchased it on ebay 20 years ago. I paid $1800 for it. It was shipped in a flimsy box surrounded by crumpled newspaper. It had been dropped by the shipper and the face plate was shattered. The insurance was paid in full and I took it to a repair shop 400 miles away to see if it was salvageable. For $250 I got a new face plate, a cleaning and was good as new. IT has been driving B&W CDM 9NTs for the same 20 years. I would like to upgrade my speakers as well. Perhaps my $$ would be better spent in that direction. Living in the sticks makes it hard to demo speakers.
TWIIII, I appreciate your mentioning the room correcting issue. My listening room is about 12x19, carpeted and sheet rocked walls. I've done my best to soften it up.I will look further into that issue.
Thanks again!
TWIIII, I appreciate your mentioning the room correcting issue. My listening room is about 12x19, carpeted and sheet rocked walls. I've done my best to soften it up.I will look further into that issue.
Thanks again!
My Mc452, is absolutely sublime!
stahle
Active Member
Like others have said, it boils down to how much you want to spend. My friend has the MC452 and I have the MC462 and that's because I purchased mine later. They sound identical to each other, the only real differences are that the MC462 has more power to spare due to the substantial increase in dynamic headroom and used MC452's can be had at a lower price especially given the fact that the MC462 just recently went up in price to $10,000.
grillebilly
Empty Head
Since the 452 isn't a current model and you would have to buy used, chances are whatever you pay for a gently used model will be no more than resale if you don't notice an improvement.
So if the money is sitting somewhere not making money there's little risk in a test drive.
So if the money is sitting somewhere not making money there's little risk in a test drive.
MACKIE1975
Super Member
Marketing!
damacman
Resident Psycho
Sold my MC7300 yesterday. Demoed it to the new buyer on the XRT22s up to the point the PG lamps were a flashin' ... on some Yello no less. Although its 25% the power of my mono 2600s, the 7300 was flat out gettin' it done.
OMG what a great power amp. The new owner is happy.
OMG what a great power amp. The new owner is happy.
Sounds like you chose well.
As some others have said, the main difference 452 -> 462 is a larger capacitor bank in the power supply increasing the dynamic headroom by IIRC 1dB. Really more of a spec than useable unless you really are using all of the power and need a louder microsecond burst of loud.
However the output transistors also changed, and a few other things so it isn't just the capacitor change. My opinion however is that they are the same amplifier, McIntosh had to do something to keep this model fresh in the eyes of the press.
VS the MC7300? My favorite amp in some ways, has more current capacity than the MC452/462 and really is excellent, I just couldn't justify keeping it when I bought my new amp. I do miss the ability to bridge the channels, even though I never used the feature, which they dropped on their new 2-channel amps.
As some others have said, the main difference 452 -> 462 is a larger capacitor bank in the power supply increasing the dynamic headroom by IIRC 1dB. Really more of a spec than useable unless you really are using all of the power and need a louder microsecond burst of loud.
However the output transistors also changed, and a few other things so it isn't just the capacitor change. My opinion however is that they are the same amplifier, McIntosh had to do something to keep this model fresh in the eyes of the press.
VS the MC7300? My favorite amp in some ways, has more current capacity than the MC452/462 and really is excellent, I just couldn't justify keeping it when I bought my new amp. I do miss the ability to bridge the channels, even though I never used the feature, which they dropped on their new 2-channel amps.
