The new McIntosh MC451 is a dual mono amplifier equipped with both semiconductors and tubes (and this time not only in the preamp stage).
In fact, the MC451 features two output stages per channel. First, there is the semiconductor-based section with an output of up to 300 watts, intended to provide sound to the bass units. Then there is the 150 watt section built with tubes, this drives the mid- and high-frequency units. Nice detail is that you can manually set the crossover frequency if desired. According to the manufacturer, the sound image can thus be adjusted to the type of music. According to them, rock music comes into its own when a larger part runs through the semiconductors, while jazz might do better with more influence of the tube section. It goes without saying that the whole unit has the characteristic McIntosh appearance including large blue lighted VU meters. The price of the MC451 is $14,000