McIntosh A-116 (1953–1954)

Power output: 30 watts
Frequency response: ±0.5 dB, 10 Hz–50 kHz (at 30 watts, per advertising)
Circuit: Patented McIntosh output transformer
Companion model: McIntosh 50-watt amplifier

Not much information survives on the McIntosh A-116. There are a few magazine ads from 1953 and 1954, and little else. The record shows a 30-watt monaural amplifier, sold as a smaller companion to the McIntosh 50-watt model. It was built around the same patented output transformer circuit that had made McIntosh a name in professional and home high-fidelity circles.

An advertisement in Audio (May 1953, p.51) called it a "30 Watt Amplifier" with the "famous patented McIntosh output circuit." The ad claimed frequency response of ±0.5 dB from 10 to 50,000 cycles at full rated output, with harmonic distortion below measurable thresholds. A nearly identical ad in High-Fidelity (June 1954, p.83) described it as "designed expressly for those who demand professional performance in home sound reproduction systems." It again stressed the shared transformer technology with the acclaimed 50-watt model. The ads ran across multiple issues, which suggests the A-116 stayed in the catalog for at least a year as a more affordable way into McIntosh's early tube amplifier line.

Past those ad claims, nothing else appears to have survived in period print. That includes frequency response details beyond the ads, tube complement, power supply details and even the exact chassis dimensions.