mcintosh mc402 or mc602

[errol van]

I've been looking at the info on these two amps and I would like to know if one is better sounding than the other? I know there's a 200 watt difference but is there a difference in sound quility? Thank you for your input!

[dakatabg]

I don't know the answer of that but I will assume they both will sound the same! Lets see what the other members will suggest you

[budgetaudio76]

the extra 200 watts should drive what ever speakers just a tad better as more current will flow through your systems veins.

Dont think it would be twice as loud though, just a bit better control at loud volumes.

[E-Stat]

I've been looking at the info on these two amps and I would like to know if one is better sounding than the other? I know there's a 200 watt difference but is there a difference in sound quility? Thank you for your input!
I suspect that there would be a qualitative difference between the two. Getting very good sound out of high powered amps is a real challenge and I confess that the really big Mac amps I've heard are not particularly good at generating a holographic image. Unless you have very inefficient speakers, I would probably opt for the smaller amp for a couple of reasons:

1. The MC602 is a ten year old design using tons of negative feedback while the 402 is current production.
2. While the 402 has 50% less output, the power supply is only 25% smaller. And neither one has particularly high capacity for the power output. My tube amps have double the stiffness of the 602 and only half the output.
3. The 602 runs class A only to 10 watts output which suggests relatively high amounts of crossover distortion.

rw