The McIntosh MA352 is one of the more powerful 2-channel hybrid integrated amplifiers that is made by the coveted McIntosh Laboratory. The MA352 hybrid design consists of a vacuum tube preamplifier and uses a solid-state stereo power amplifier to drive your loudspeakers. This unique design combines the best of both worlds, providing its listeners with exceptional sound quality and performance.
Matching the McIntosh MA352 with the right speakers is crucial in bringing out the best sonic performance from this hybrid amplifier. We will need to find out more about the MA352 sonic strengths and characteristics, with this data, we will then be able to prepare a list of the best speakers that you can go for and partner them with your McIntosh MA352. This speakers’ list will be shared with you later on after we have learned more about this McIntosh hybrid integrated amplifier.
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Sonic Characteristics and Important Specifications of McIntosh MA352
The MA352 has the iconic and striking McIntosh visual look, with its dual scale blue Watt meters, the illuminated tubes that lit up like its logo, and the polished stainless steel chassis. All of these aesthetics make the McIntosh MA352 look elegant and enchanting where it will be the main highlight in your listening room. It is a powerful hybrid integrated amplifier where it has a power output of 200 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms and 320 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms. With this level of power, the McIntosh MA352 can drive most stand-mounters and floor-standers which also widen the potential speaker choices for us.
It also has an impressive frequency response of 10Hz-100kHz (+0, -3dB) and comes with features to provide more value to its users. Features such as Home Theater PassThru enable you to integrate the McIntosh MA352 into your current HT system. There are also up to 2 subwoofer outputs which we find pretty cool as this will help us to improve the overall bass performance and cover more areas in a listening room. For headphones users, you will be delighted to know that there is a High Drive headphone amp with the Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD). Another notable feature will be the Moving Magnet phono input which has adjustable loading.
The McIntosh MA352 effortlessly fills the listening room, the soundstage that it projects is spacious and wide packed with lush musical details. The stereo imaging is impeccable and has the precision to position each musician correctly with ample spacing and separation. There is that vividity and realistic music performance which the MA352 hybrid integrated amp is providing to us where we can’t help but feel we are at the venue where the actual performance is. The realism is incredible and it simply hooks us right into the music which we really find very enjoyable.
The level of detail which the MA352 amplifier can muster also helps to provide us with an engaging music presentation. Intricate music details and subtle nuances not only differentiate each instrument in high definition but also makes them sound realistic and further improves the immersion. The bass performance of the McIntosh MA352 adds weight to the overall sound reproduction and gives us satisfying impacts when needed. The midbass punch is tight and palpable, which would do fine in a home theater environment. Still, we will suggest connecting 1 or 2 active subwoofers for a better HT performance.
The sound quality comes with a touch of warmth and the sonic delivery is smooth which is great for long hours of music listening as you wouldn’t need to worry about listener fatigue. The highs are sweet-sounding and never have it once sounded harsh or hard. The vocals reproduction is emotional and alluring as well. The overall sound reproduction of the McIntosh MA352 makes it suitable to handle almost all music genres without being too dull or aggressive. With this data, we can now share with you the list of the best speakers to match with the McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amplifier.
McIntosh MA352 Specifications
- Power Outputs: 200 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms, 320 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms
- Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.03%
- Frequency Response: 10Hz-100kHz (+0, -3dB)
- Inputs: 1 MM Phono input, 3 Unbalanced inputs, 2 Balanced inputs
- Outputs: 2 Subwoofer outputs, Headphone output, Unbalanced Variable output
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 445mm x 251mm x 443mm (17.5″ x 9.9″ x 17.4″)
- Weight: 29.9kg (66lbs)
Best Speakers to pair with McIntosh MA352
The KEF Reference 1 is one of the best speakers to match with your McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amplifier. It is a beautifully designed stand-mounter and has incredible sonic prowess. The MA352 has more than enough pristine power to make the Reference 1 sing. Like the hybrid integrated amp, the KEF Reference 1 is suited to handle almost all sorts of music genres with its powerful music delivery and exemplary stereo imaging. The scale and weight of the sound reproduction from the Reference 1 bookshelf speakers can compete with most compact floor-standing speakers. The KEF speakers also have refinement and composure in their music presentations.
More Details at Amazon – KEF Reference 1 – Satin Walnut (Pair)
The Klipsch Cornwall IV is another amazing pair of speakers to partner with the McIntosh MA352. The high speaker sensitivity of the Cornwall IV enables the MA352 to effortlessly drive these floor-standers to incredibly high volumes where you can absolutely feel the sonic energy and musical presence been delivered. The lively music performance of the Klipsch Cornwall IV also has high levels of clarity, giving you a crystal clear overall sound reproduction. The bass performance is excellent as well, it is punchy and agile. The Klipsch Cornwall IV is certainly well-matched with the McIntosh MA352 hybrid amplifier.
More Details at Amazon – Klipsch Cornwall IV in Natural Cherry
The Q Acoustics Concept 500 is a well-made floor-standing speaker and offers plenty of insights where a massive amount of details are been produced without sounding congested or muddle. The McIntosh MA352 sonic characteristics will fit well with the Concept 500 performance and the floor-standers can make use of the hybrid amp warmth to further deliver a slightly more full-bodied music presentation. The low end of the spectrum is authoritative and the speakers can dig deep into the bass extension, producing them out with prominence. If you want to retain the smooth music delivery and warm sonic characteristic, the Q Acoustics Concept 500 is worth your time to check them out.
More Details at Amazon – Q Acoustics Concept 500 (Silver Ebony)
Dali Rubicon 6 is a fantastic pair of floor-standing speakers which has tight and fast bass delivery without compromising the accuracy. These agile floor-standers will be an ideal choice for McIntosh MA352 owners looking to instill a faster music pacing and a more expressive music presentation. This does help to provide a more energetic performance and an even more detailed delivery. The McIntosh MA352 sonic characteristic will ease a bit of the brightness and adds warmth to the overall sound reproduction which makes it sound a bit fuller. The Dali Rubicon 6 are revealing speakers but don’t sound clinical.
This is a pair of flagship floor-standing speakers designed by Elipson which is a reputable French HiFi speaker brand. The sonic characteristics of the Elipson Legacy 3230 are quite similar to the McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amplifier. It has a very balanced music presentation but still has the innate ability to bring out the emotional energy from the music, not to mention, the subtle musical details are also been produced in spade. With such a rich music presentation on a spacious open soundstage along with the sonic prowess of the McIntosh MA352 amp, you got yourself an amazing stereo sound system that can produce 3-dimensional music performance.
You might also want to check out speakers made by Bowers & Wilkins as they are mainly well suited to pair with the McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amplifier. You should also take a further look into the Klipsch Heritage series as their high efficiency and sonic characteristics make them amazing speaker partners for McIntosh amplifiers. Matching with the McIntosh loudspeakers might be a safer choice since more than likely their sound signatures will match really well with one another and should integrate with each other seamlessly. For subwoofers, we will suggest checking out the JL Audio Fathom series or SVS sealed sub such as the SVS SB-3000.
More Details at Amazon – SVS SB-3000 (Black Ash)
To Conclude
We will suggest going through the list first and pick a few of them out so to arrange an audition. During the speakers’ auditions, you will be able to determine whether or not you like the sound quality that they are making. Do use your favorite songs or music so it will be easier for you to tell the difference in the sound quality of the various speaker models. Feel free to use this speaker list as a reference when searching for other loudspeaker models or brands.
