01 · MA9500
Three hundred watts at every tap
Autoformers make the full rated power available to 2-, 4-, and 8-ohm loudspeakers.
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The MA9500 is a 300-watt-per-channel solid-state integrated amplifier built to organize a large analog and digital source collection. Autoformers deliver the full rated output into 2-, 4-, or 8-ohm loudspeakers.
Ten analog inputs include two balanced, six unbalanced, and separate adjustable moving-coil and moving-magnet phono inputs. The replaceable DA2 module adds seven digital inputs, including HDMI ARC for television audio and MCT for a compatible McIntosh transport.
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The full-featured solid-state integrated
The MA9500 is a 300-watt-per-channel solid-state integrated amplifier built to organize a large analog and digital source collection. Autoformers deliver the full rated output into 2-, 4-, or 8-ohm loudspeakers.
Ten analog inputs include two balanced, six unbalanced, and separate adjustable moving-coil and moving-magnet phono inputs. The replaceable DA2 module adds seven digital inputs, including HDMI ARC for television audio and MCT for a compatible McIntosh transport.
An eight-band analog equalizer, Home Theater PassThru, HXD headphone listening, and balanced and unbalanced outputs make the MA9500 a powerful one-chassis alternative to a conventional preamplifier and power-amplifier stack.
A perspective from Pearl Audio
The MA9500 is easy to understand once you stop calling it merely an integrated amplifier. It is a 300-watt McIntosh power amplifier, a very complete analog preamplifier, two phono stages, and a DA2 digital front end sharing one chassis. It is the solid-state answer to the same question the MA12000 approaches with a tube preamplifier: how much of a serious system can you put in one box without making the owner feel boxed in?
I particularly like the eight-band equalizer here. You can leave it out of the circuit, of course, but a small correction on an imperfect recording is sometimes worth considerably more than another round of theoretical purity. The MA9500 gives you that control and then gets out of the way.
Three things to know
Autoformers make the full rated power available to 2-, 4-, and 8-ohm loudspeakers.
Separate moving-coil and moving-magnet phono inputs join six line inputs, two balanced inputs, and seven DA2 connections.
The front-panel analog equalizer can make a careful recording or room adjustment and can be bypassed completely.
The McIntosh difference
McIntosh gives its technologies names because each solves a specific problem. Here is what each one does, why it matters in a system, and what you may notice when listening.
On the MA9500
On the MA9500
On the MA9500
On the MA9500
On the MA9500
C55 OUT → MC462 IN · Explore the demonstration →
On the MA9500
Component H × W × D: 9 7/16 H × 17 1/2 W × 19 3/4 D inches Packaged H × W × D: 17 H × 29 1/2 W × 29 D inches
Both provide Autoformer-coupled power, seventeen inputs, DA2, two phono inputs, and eight-band equalization. The MA9500 is fully solid state and rated at 300 watts per channel; the MA12000 uses a four-tube preamplifier and is rated at 350 watts per channel.
Yes. It has separate moving-coil and moving-magnet inputs, and both provide adjustable loading.
Yes. The DA2 HDMI ARC input accepts audio from a compatible television and can coordinate basic power and volume through HDMI control.
Yes. The dedicated MCT input accepts conventional CD audio and the DSD64 stereo layer from a compatible McIntosh transport.
Yes. The eight-band analog equalizer can be engaged for adjustment or bypassed for a flat signal path.
Yes. Home Theater PassThru assigns a selected analog input to a fixed volume level so a compatible theater processor controls the front channels.
No. Its DA2 accepts digital sources but does not act as a network streamer. A separate streamer can connect to a digital or analog input and then be selected like any other source.
With a compatible television connected through HDMI ARC and HDMI control enabled, the television remote can coordinate normal power and volume functions.
Yes. The variable balanced and unbalanced outputs allow an external power amplifier to be added while the MA9500 continues to provide source selection, volume control, phono, DAC, and equalization.
HXD introduces controlled acoustic crossfeed for headphones to make hard-panned recordings behave more like they do when heard from a pair of loudspeakers.
Allow open space around the component, keep ventilation openings clear, and leave additional room behind it for terminated speaker cables, source connections, control cables, and the power cord. Pearl Audio will confirm support and clearance during system planning.
Use the Audition control on this page, call Pearl Audio, or email us. We will confirm a private listening appointment and prepare a system appropriate for the MA9500.
The MA9500 weighs 101 lbs. McIntosh purchases begin with a Pearl Audio consultation so we can confirm loudspeaker matching, source connections, placement, ventilation, and system control.
Arrangements may be completed at the store or later by phone or email, with pickup at Pearl Audio or local delivery and installation within the Portland, Oregon service area.
The Pearl Audio Experience
A high-end audio system should be heard, thoughtfully matched, and properly set up. Pearl Audio stays involved from the first audition through installation and long-term ownership.
Hear the MA9500 by appointment in one of Pearl Audio’s two professionally designed demonstration rooms, with time to compare and ask questions.
Portland-area delivery and installation help ensure that placement, connections, ventilation, and system configuration are handled with care.
Pearl Audio supports everything we sell for as long as you own it—whether the answer comes by phone, in your home, or through factory service.
Trade-in assistance and qualifying 100% Trade-Up options give you flexibility when your listening priorities or system change.
