[McMan]

After coming across your thread, I decided to have a little experiment since I own an MC452 & MC275vi. I believe that the MC452 has a similar sound to an MC601, but that is my guess.

For the comparison, I hook up the MC452 and let the amp run for about a day before evaluating. The day after, I settled into the sweet spot and had a listen. Please, check out my signature below for the entire system. The only component that changed was the amplifier.

I heard that it was exceptionally quiet, clean, and precise. When the volume was low, the sound was great, and I could easily hear the different instruments throughout the sound stage. But, when you have 450 quality watts on hand, it is hard to resist cracking the system up. In no time, I had the watt meters bouncing around 45 watts with a vast soundstage. The soundstage was INCREDIBLE, but I never truly connected with the music and found that I would have to turn the volume to a certain point where I started to connect to the music. I enjoyed my time with the MC452 for the next couple of days and loved having the raw power on hand for movies.

But. I missed the MC275vi.

So, I removed the MC452 from the system and reinstalled the MC275vi. As soon as I turned on the system, the sound immediately connected with me again. For me, there is no comparison. The MC275vi draws me into the music, and before you know it, I am tapping my foot and bobbing my head. The connection between me and the music is incredible, and I am grateful that I found this sound.

So I would say bring an MC275vi home for a trial. I believe it would be worth your effort, money, and time.

On a side note, I hope one day McIntosh will make a full 150-watt monoblock tube amplifier with a meter on it, something similar to the MC901, but as small as possible. I would appreciate the meter because I have found that as I increase the volume, the system sounds better and better. I am concerned one day that I might break something because I am having to much fun with the system, so that the meter would be a fantastic asset.

I also agree with PH1 & PeterMusic