McIntosh MA252

Description

McIntosh MA252 2-Channel Hybrid Integrated Amplifier

This beautifully crafted integrated amplifier includes our Hybrid Drive™ technology that uses the best of vacuum tubes and solid state to produce the best sound performance. The preamplifier stage uses two 12AX7a and two 12AT7 vacuum tubes housed inside stylish protective cages; the output stage is a direct coupled solid state amplifier that delivers 100 Watts per channel into 8 Ohm speakers or 160 Watts per channel into 4 Ohm speakers. An all analog design, it comes with 2 unbalanced, 1 balanced and 1 Moving Magnet phono input for turntables. All 4 inputs can be given user-friendly names in order to simplify user control. Bass and treble tone controls help fine tune your music to your personal preferences. A full range subwoofer output is included for use with a powered subwoofer to further enhance low frequencies.

The MA252 features our McIntosh Monogrammed Heatsinks™ which are connected to advanced high current output transistors. These transistors eliminate the typical amplifier warm-up time so that the MA252 is in peak operating condition from the moment it’s turned on. A powerful control microprocessor is used for smooth system operation, along with some of the latest audio-grade circuit components that deliver the best possible sound.

Thanks to its solid state output, the MA252 is our first product containing vacuum tubes to include our patented Power Guard® technology. Power Guard monitors the output signal for signs of over driving and makes real time micro adjustments to the input signal to prevent harsh sounding clipping that could potentially damage your speakers. If Power Guard is activated, the 2 vacuum tubes connected to the affected audio channel(s) will flash an amber color; they will return to their normal green color when the clipping has stopped.

Other McIntosh technologies found in the MA252 include Sentry Monitor™, High Drive headphone amplifier and gold-plated speaker binding posts. Input selection, bass, treble, tone bypass, balance and input offset levels can be adjusted using the front panel knobs or the included remote control; all settings and input selection will be shown on the OLED display. The entire unit sits atop a beautiful polished stainless steel chassis with a classic McIntosh-styled die cast aluminum name badge attached to each side. Contact your local dealer to learn more.

Click here to see the bigger brother – McIntosh MA12000 2-Channel Hybrid Integrated Amplifier

Click here for the McIntosh website – McIntosh MA252 Integrated Amplifier

Our recommendation

If you have always wanted to own a McIntosh, the MA252 is the sort of amplifier you can buy with your heart. Its retro styling and visible valves make it a sculptural piece of hi-fi: something to enjoy looking at as much as building a system around.

We would recommend it for a straightforward system centred on a turntable, with perhaps a CD player or streamer alongside. The appeal is not an endless list of features, but a distinctive, beautifully presented route into the McIntosh system you have dreamed of owning.

Speaker matching still deserves care, particularly with unusually demanding loads. But with a suitable pairing, our advice is not to get lost splitting hairs: choose the system that makes you want to sit down and listen.

The wider view: McIntosh MA252 reviews in brief

The MA252 was McIntosh’s first hybrid integrated amplifier. Valves run its preamplifier stage and a solid state output stage gives 100 watts a channel into 8 ohms or 160 into 4. It is an all analogue design with a moving magnet phono input and a headphone socket. The valves sit in cages on the top and glow McIntosh green, and if the Power Guard circuit has to step in to stop clipping, the two valves of that channel turn amber.

What Hi-Fi? published the review Australian Hi-Fi magazine wrote of it in September 2020. Its testers heard firm, well-paced bass from the solid state side while the valves warmed guitars and voices, and they could play it very loud without the sound turning hard. They noted how little noise it made, wrote that it brought a piano into the room and summed up its manner as “never once sounding clinical”. Their lab measured more power than McIntosh claims.

Don Shaulis of Stereo Times bought one for a second system in 2018 and reviewed it with Quad electrostatic speakers, a demanding load. He found it fast and dynamic, with real impact from an upright bass and so little noise that he could hear a singer breathe between lines. His overall impression was “a well-balanced and always enjoyable presentation” that he could listen to for hours without fatigue.

He did miss some inner detail when a full orchestra played. What Hi-Fi?’s complaints were small ones about a confusing standby light and speaker terminals it found rough.

Our own advice is to build it into a simple system around a turntable, with a streamer or CD player beside it, and McIntosh’s MT2 is the turntable we would put with it. There are no preamplifier outputs, so it stays a one-box amplifier, though a subwoofer output is there for more bass. Anyone who needs more power can look at its bigger brother, the MA12000. We can arrange a listen and help match the speakers.

What the reviewers say, in a nutshell

• What Hi-Fi?, September 2020. First published by Australian Hi-Fi. Powerful, quiet and musical with valve warmth over a solid state grip. Only small complaints about the standby light and the speaker terminals.
• Stereo Times, Don Shaulis, May 2018. He bought one himself. Fast, dynamic and very quiet with demanding electrostatic speakers. Fine value, though not the last word in inner detail.

Read what the critics say about more of our integrated amplifiers in The Hi-Fi Review Bible.