Upgrade from 6700 Integrated to MC452 & C2600?

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hikerneil

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Feb 8, 2020
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Carlsbad
I currently have a McIntosh 6700 integrated amp that I have had for 3 1/2 years. I have been 100% happy with this unit. I have it paired with Martin Logan Montis speakers and my room has been treated for the very best possible sound. I'm extremely happy with my setup right now - the sound stage imaging and sound quality is as good as what I hear at any of the really expensive audio specialty stores in the area.

I am considering a change to McIntosh C2600 and MC452. A local dealer has a very special deal that I cannot beat. I listened to them at his store and they sounded good, but the room was not treated, and his speakers were no where near as nice as mine. He has offered for me to bring the two units home to listen in my room to prove that I will love it before I buy it (I will definitely do this before buying).

My question to others on this forum are:
  • Has anyone else made this same move (6700 -> 452 & 2600)? If so, is the change marginal, or is it dramatic? What would you say is the biggest difference before and after?

I'm not interested in recommendations for other speakers or other setups, I'm trying to find if anyone else has made this same move?


Thanks!
 
Welcome to the forum!!

I personally would absolutely take that deal. The 452 is one of the finest amps around and the C2600 is a wonderful preamp. There will be an ease of sound, bigger soundstage, more finess and improvement in the music delivery.​
 
Last edited:
joeinid said:
Welcome to the forum!!

I personally would absolutely take that deal. The 452 is one of the finest amps around and the C2600 is a wonderful preamp. There will be an ease of sound, bigger soundstage, more finess and improvement in the music delivery.​
Click to expand...

I think the same.
 
Welcome to the forum. I play on a lower level then you do, but I recently moved from separate amp and pre to get a hybrid McIntosh integrated. To me it was for a different reason. I grew up in Binghamton (in the shadow of the McIntosh factory) and have wanted to get into Mc gear. I have no dealers near me to actually listen to anything. The last dealer I was at was when we visited our son in Walnut Creek (Bay area) and there was a Magnolia there. They had tons of Mc but I was appalled by how badly they cared for all this gear. It looked like none of their gear had ever been cleaned even.
 
Well, I pulled the trigger and bought the C2600 and MC452 from a local dealer after he let me bring it home and test it with my speakers in my room. (I had listened to it in his store initially but was underwhelmed. I knew the particular display room at his store was poorly designed and the speakers were not mine, so I was hopeful things might be different at my house.)

I brought both pieces to my house and set them up in my room, on the floor in front of my stereo rack. I spent 60 minutes listening to my current gear, using a playlist of about 12-15 songs that I know really well. (My wife asked if she could join the evaluation process and she sat and listened to both the old equipment and then the new pieces as well.) I made notes on each song regarding good and bad points and the sound stage image that I saw for each song. I then rewired my speakers and server to the new gear and turned it on. It was immediately obvious that the new gear was better. While listening to the new pieces I looked over at my wife and her eyes were closed and there were tears coming down her face - it was that emotional and that much better. She has never taken an interest in my music room, but after listening to the near pieces she was shocked. I went thru my entire playlist of 12-15 songs and evaluated each, then I moved forward thru other songs as well.

The better sound can be described as: the female vocals (Diana Krahl, Eva Cassidy, and others) are much clearer and warmer - at louder volumes they just sound absolutely beautiful and perfect. Piano's that used to be too bright are no longer bright. I can play songs with big loud booming deep bass at a louder volume now and they sound better. There were a few songs before that were a challenge to listen to, but now are beautiful. I hear sounds and instruments that I never heard before in songs that I have played 50 times over the years.

One more point: it didn't take me long to decide that the new gear was better and that I was keeping it, so I totally disassembled my old gear and removed it from my stereo rack and then put my new McIntosh amp and pre-amp in the rack and I listened to music for several more hours. The sound stage improved - I am guessing it's because I had gear laying all over the room. (I had heard this could happen in a listening test and it definitely did for me, so be careful designing your listening test for new gear.)

All in all, I was skeptical going in to this idea of spending big $$ for new gear when I loved my old gear so much. I was 100% ready to take the new stuff back if it was not noticeably better than my old. In reality there was NO comparison between my old MAC6700 Integrated amp and the new C2600 and MC452. The pieces are not even in the same league. Little league vs. professional major league.

Thank you to those above who encouraged me to give it a try.
 
Fantastic. I’m not surprised it impressed you. Congratulations and enjoy your new Mc gear.
 
So happy for you. Some “upgrades” are not better, these kinds of upgrades absolutely are totally worth it. As you saw in your wife, great music on a great system is a wonderfully emotional experience. To me, there’s nothing better. Enjoy!
 
Congratulations. It sounds like it is a wonderful upgrade and sounds like your wife now appreciates the system!
 
It is really a pleasure to read you post.
I´m very happy that you are formally in love with the new gear.
I´m also a McIntosh guy C2600 + C302 and I´m very happy too.
Enjoy..!!! and please show as some picture of the set up.
Regards,
 
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