[Charles]

Originally Posted by audioquest4life

Posting a comparison of the mighty MC2301 and the newcomer giant MC3500. I am anxiously waiting for press, owner, and dealer reviews to see if I want to get the MC3500s and sell my lovely sounding MC2301s. The 2301s sound absolutely beautiful and I thought they would be keepers for life. Now, McIntosh offers the MC3500 and I am salivating to hear how they will sound. I am not going to do a lateral move...it has to be an upgrade in sound quality. That is the million dollar question. The specs on paper lead one to believe that the MC3500 should be quieter and somewhat more dynamic. Yet, how dynamic, and how will they mate with horns, hybrids, and normal speakers? My head is going to explode thinking of all of the things I am pondering. Lets keep posting updates as we become aware. Happy listening.


Power output
MC 2301 300watts@2, 4, or 8 ohms
MC3500 350watts @2, 4, or 8 ohms (+ 50 watts)


S/N below rated output
MC2301 117dB
mc3500 120dB (+ 3db)

Dynamic Headroom
MC2301 1.2db
MC3500 2.4dB (+1.2db)


Rated Power Band
MC2301 20Hz-20kHz
MC3500 20Hz-20kHz

Frequency response
MC2301 +0, -0.5db from 20Hz-20kHz, +0, -3db from 10Hz-100kHz (+30kHz)
MC3500 +0, 0.5db from 20Hz to 20kHz, +0, -3db from 10Hz to 70kHz

THD
MC2301 0.5% max THD at any power level from 250mw to rated power, 20Hz-20kHz, ≤ 0.25% harmonic distortion at 1kHz
MC3500 0.3% max THD at any power level from 250mw to rated power, 20Hz-20kHz (-.2%)


Damping Factor
MC2301 >15 wideband
MC3500 >25 wideband (+10)

Circuit Configuration
MC2301 Quad balanced; unity coupled
MC3500 Unity coupled

Circuit design
MC2301 Vacuum tube
MC3500 Vacuum tube

Tube type
MC2301 KT88
MC3500 EL509S

Output type
MC2301 Unity coupled output transformer
MC3500 Unity coupled output transformer

Safety
MC2301 Sentry monitor tube protection
MC3500 Power Guard Screen Grid Sensor (SGS)/Sentry monitor

Speaker binding post type
MC2301 200amp, 3 way
MC3500 Patented solid cinch speaker binding post

Weight
MC2301 116lbs
MC3500 121lbs (+5lbs)

Unit Dimensions (W x H x D)
MC2301 17-3/4" (45.09cm) x 12-5/16" (31.27cm)
MC3500 18" (45.7cm) x 11-13/16" (30cm) x 21-5/8" (54.9cm) x23”

audioquest, my source at Mac volunteered that the 3500 is significantly more powerful than the 2301, to the amount of 200-250 watts. He was not sure if it would equal the 550 watts continuous watts per channel of the original 3500. This is not dynamic headroom but continuous watts.

Best

Charles