McIntosh MC1.25KW 1,200 Watt Monoblock Poweramp Review

The MC1.25KW Quad Balanced Power Amplifier is one of McIntosh's most advanced amplifiers. Redesigned from top to bottom, it replaces the venerable MC1.2KW as the most powerful McIntosh single chassis monoblock amplifier. A simple glance at this 158 pound (71.7 kg) amp is enough to convey its power and performance capabilities, but when you hear it - then you’ll truly understand what it can do.
The MC1.25KW outputs 1,200 Watts of pure power into a single channel with a nearly imperceptible total harmonic distortion of 0.005%. This astonishing amount of power is fully available to 2, 4 or 8 Ohm speakers via McIntosh Autoformer™ technology. A pair of these amps can anchor a home audio system that can rival nearly any stereo system in the world.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
2:33 - Advantages Of Having Monoblock Amplifiers
4:27 - Quad Balanced Power
6:13 - MC 1.25 KW Power Amp Powerhouse Qualities
8:49 - The look & Design Of The Amplifier
10:25 - The Glass Screening Process
11:29 - The Industrial Design
12:03 - Outro
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[@WoodyONeal]

I cannot imagine any case use scenario where that much power is remotely needed.
I appreciate McIntosh, but why?

[@GramophoneMD]

Hi Woody, true - that much power is not "needed" to get to fairly loud levels. But when you hear a high-end system sound amazing, you realize why a high quality amp is in the system. Switch to a modest amp, even at quieter levels, and you'll hear the difference

[@Lad236]

Peaks,lows, highs even at low levels have such power in reserves that let the audiophile experience be felt as a whole body experience. Not blaring sound but a sound as a music experience that can only be experienced by pure music alone no hiss no crackling especially when you can get the full potential out of the monitors the way they were designed to be heard. A true audiophile experience is not easily forgotten

[@jackhuang1434]

How about mc900 dual mono in one chassis....it will even sound better than mc1.25kw.

[@violethifi]

Agree and likely the MC451 should also be in that conversation.

[@GramophoneMD]

That would make for one mighty large chassis!

[@Whywhatwherehowwhen]

I’m a professional mastering engineer so I spend about 8-10 hours a day working on music in a purpose built suite. Once you go above what people like me use you’re wasting your money. We ultimately decide how the finished track sounds and we do it on gear that’s a fraction of the price of this stuff. It’s completely insane what people are willing to spend on this type of thing and I guarantee you they can’t hear the difference between mono block and stereo amps, different cables, power conditioners etc. It’s all over engineered bollocks. Look at Sterling sound (number one mastering studio in the world). They can afford anything they want and use active atc speaker systems that cost less than a pair of these amps. 😂

[@GramophoneMD]

The ATC importer to the USA is a friend of mine, and their products are really good. Having said that - this system is of course far more costly than most. But it's also an incredible sounding system that hopefully you will get to hear one day

[@Whywhatwherehowwhen]

@@GramophoneMD I’ve heard the focal grande utopias with the naim statement system which is about $500,000 and it’s no better than a tuned, active atc system in a northward acoustics designed ftb room. That’s the issue with hifi, people spend 80-90% of their budget on the system and 10-20% on the room. In professional environments it’s the other way around for a very good reason.

[@Whywhatwherehowwhen]

@@GramophoneMD another big rip off with hifi is with DACs. The most expensive d/a converters used in recording and mastering are about $8000. You can spend several times that on a DAC but the audio will only ever be as good as the converter that captured it 🤦‍♂️

[@elderinmoi1571]

A review from the company that makes the product …. Hmmmmm.

[@GramophoneMD]

Hi Elder, perhaps "product showcase" is a better term. Still, people enjoy these reviews, so we're glad to keep doing them