McIntosh MC602
The MC602 is a stereo power amplifier from around 2000. It sat at the top of McIntosh's solid-state line, announced as the company's finest stereo amplifier. It's enormous: 155 pounds (70.3 kg) net, 180 pounds shipped, per the owner's manual. The Japanese price was ¥1,200,000. Production years aren't recorded anywhere in the surviving material, so treat the "around 2000" dating as approximate.
The design is fully balanced from input to output. McIntosh described the double-balanced topology as essentially four amplifiers working in a symmetrical arrangement. The goals were near-perfect balance end to end, less reliance on negative feedback, and suppression of odd-harmonic distortion. Forty-eight output transistors sit on four large heat sinks, cooled by natural convection alone. The power supply transformer is rated for peak currents over 150A even into loads dipping to 1 or 2 ohms, and the filter bank stores 200 joules. Output is 600 watts per channel into 2, 4, or 8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, with independent speaker binding posts for each impedance on the rear panel. Inputs are balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA, selected by a slider switch beneath the jacks, both at 10kΩ.
The manual's spec sheet is the most reliable technical record here. THD is 0.005% maximum from 250 mW to rated power, 20 Hz-20 kHz, all channels operating. IMD is 0.005% maximum with peaks within twice rated output. Frequency response is +0/-0.25 dB from 20 Hz-20 kHz and +0/-3 dB from 10 Hz-100 kHz. Wideband damping factor is 100 at 8 ohms. Signal-to-noise is 93 dB unbalanced (120 dB below rated output) and 97 dB balanced (124 dB below rated output), A-weighted. Sensitivity is 2.45V unbalanced and 4.9V balanced. The front panel has the familiar blue meters, switchable between a watts display (6 mW to 600W/1200W/2400W), peak-hold, and lights-off. Protection is thorough. Power Guard engages when distortion would otherwise exceed 0.3%. Sentry Monitor guards the output stage against short-circuit and very low impedance conditions. Thermal sensors mute the input on overheat, a DC circuit cuts the autoformer if DC reaches the output, and a two-second turn-on delay suppresses thumps.
Documentation is thin for an amplifier this big. No period reviews have surfaced, and there are no independent third-party measurements in the record. Everything above comes from McIntosh's own documentation. One owner on a repair forum reported a blown right channel with failed output transistors, and noted the unit has no internal fuses and isn't a DIY repair. A "50th Anniversary" MC602 has turned up in resale listings, though what that designation signifies isn't documented. Secondary-market asking prices have run roughly $3,640 to $7,999 depending on condition and venue.
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