McIntosh MI502 Class D Power Amp Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/mcintosh-mi502-class-d-power-amp

I partnered the amp with sources including a Primare PRE35 [HFN Dec ’19] for a balanced connection and Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD player [HFN Jul ’17]. Via both the result was a largely neutral sound, especially in the bass and lower-mid, and with the transparency to reveal the limitations of the source when given a CD rip of the title track of Prince’s Purple Rain [Warner Bros/NPG 9362-49132-0]. Pairing the McIntosh amp and Oppo disc-spinner created an easy-to-use two-box set-up that yielded a fine performance with Barb Jungr’s cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sara’ on SACD [Linn Super Audio Collection: Volume 5; Linn Records AKP 389], where the delicate handling of her haunting vocal was countered by the weight and body of the piano that accompanied her.