Review of MA 5200

[Phil446]

Follow-up on my new McIntosh ma5200,

After a week of occasional listening sessions (jazz, folk, classic) , I have to say that I am pleased with the sound. Most of the time, I listen at low level (30%) and find that the sound is detailed with appropriate bass, the mid is soft and treble subtil.

Although I think it pairs well with my Monitor silver 8 which have a good effenciency, I still think that there is room for improvement with different speakers. I was really impressed with the Ryan 620 or 630.

I am just curious to know how the ma6700 or the ma7900 would perform when listening at low level?

 

[gsevilla]

Here's my follow up with MA5200 and Bowers & Wilkins 805D3 speakers (sources are a McIntosh MB50 music streamer and a Wyred4Sound upgraded Sonos Connect).

After a few weeks of listening, I realized that I wasn't getting the most from this set up. In fact, the treble frequencies on some recordings were unbearable. As I read and learned more about hifi, I decided to add some room treatments to my bare walls and a REL T/9i sub. I heard an immediate improvement. The harshness of the treble was reduced by the room treatments and the overall sound "thickened" with the sub. I was using some Blue Jeans bi-wired cables, so I decided to try out some better cables. I bit the bullet and ordered some Wireworld Eclipse 7 speaker cables. I figured I could return them if I wasn't blown away. I did not return them. I didn't sleep the first night with the new cables. I called in sick to work the next day. I spent that night in an euphoric state of audio bliss (no drugs or alcohol involved). OMG! I have since added a full loom of Wireworld interconnects and power cables. I could have experimented with other brands and maybe saved some money, but what the heck, I'm enjoying the music way too much to care at this point. I don't have the audiophile vocabulary to describe the results. There's a huge size/clarity/punch/kick to the music now. It all came together in a way that amazes me. I've read about the "synergy" that people seek when putting together a sound system. No wonder some of you spend the kind of money I've heard mentioned around here. I get it now. Within my modest means, I was able to put together a nice little music system that amazes me every time I turn it on.

 

[Phil446]

Thought I would give a final comment on my new ma 5200, very musical and easy to listen for hours....without listening fatigue.

Paired with a New Rega planar three (Elys 2) and Monitor silver 8.

Future upgrade will be CD player and maybe speakers (Ryan floorstanders)

 

[gsevilla]

Phil446,

Have you listened to the MA6700 or MA7900? I'm happy with my MA5200 but wonder if I'm missing something huge. I don't think my speakers would benefit much from the 200w of the more expensive models. The B&W 805D3 are rated at 125w maximum and I never go higher than 35% volume so I don't see what the benefit would be from upgrading. I also don't need the extra inputs. I wonder what I'm missing?

 

[Phil446]

Hello Gsevilla,

No, I haven't had a chance so far to listen to either of these two but I plan to do that in the near future. Like you I find that the ma 5200 sounds really good on most of my music, the only exception would be on old jazz vinyls or old jazz cd, where the recordings were not done with good quality.

The ma6700 and ma7900 have some sort of tone controls (ma6700 has bass and treble and ma7900 has equalizer with 5 controls) and obviously that must improve the listening experience (I think), plus both have a choice of mm or mc phono preamp which gives the possibility to upscale the turntable phono cart without having to resort to a additional phono preamp.

As you mentionned, I wonder what we are missing, I have read a few comments on different forums that the ma5200 does not quite sound like a McIntosh with their famous autoformers, wonder if I would be able to ear any

For now, my next move will be to work on my room accoustics and eventually replace my old Yamaha cdc 575 CD (20 years old) player with something more up to date.

Regards!

 

[gsevilla]

Added a second REL T/9i sub last weekend. The improvement is obvious. Compared to one sub, bass is more focused. There's a "sharpness" to the bass now that wasn't so clear before. I'm using the Speakon high-level connection (from speaker posts) to the subs. Each sub is getting it's own left and right signal. I set crossover at 50Hz and seven clicks on the volume knob on subs. Placed both subs behind and a little to the outside of each speaker. My space is not completely symmetrical, so the subs seem to sound and look good there.

Every addition to my system has been a revelation. The more I learn, the more I spend, the better the sound. I started out with a $10k budget (MA5200 and speakers). Now, I've reached $20k but the improvements have been very obvious and worth it. First it was sources, then cables, then one sub, and now two. The only "free" improvements have been my room treatments and that's only because I'm using some camping mattresses for sound absorbption. They work, and since I'm single, no one is complaining. I think I'm done... ;-D

 

[charne@sprin]

I purchased an MA5200 in November as an upgrade from my Yamaha A-S2000. Couldn't be more pleased. Beautiful effortless lush sound from Martin Logan bookshelf speakers. It's in my office, runs all day every day. Using mainly audio CDs and Internet Radio (Grace Digital tuner), and more recently FM and HD FM (Sony XDR-F1HD tuner) as program sources. Beginning to look at the MAC6700 as an upgrade -- but it is far from a done deal. Overall, very happy with my MA5200.

Update: Still pleased with the MA5200 -- but have replaced the Sony XDR-F1HD tuner with a McIntosh MR88, and the Martin Logan speakers with Wharfedale Diamond 225s. Looking at a McIntosh MB50 to add to the system. But the MA5200 remains the foundation in my office.