Stereophile reviews the MAC7200 Receiver

"Its power, resolution, dynamics, and transparency are among the best I’ve heard."

Similar to our integrated amplifiers in that it delivers 200 Watts per channel and comes with 14 inputs, our MAC7200 Receiver distinguishes itself with its built-in high-performance AM/FM tuner that Larry Greenhill of Stereophile stated is designed to "provide reception of strong signals without distortion and also noise-free reception of distant, weak stations."

Greenhill paired the MAC7200 with his Quad ESL-989 electrostatic speakers, and during long listening sessions the MAC7200 "ran cool" with its heatsinks only getting "faintly warm" while its "FM tuner proved to be very sensitive and selective." He lives 19 miles away from San Francisco and the MAC7200 was able to pull in 25 FM stations, with 17 of them strong enough to fully "quiet" the tuner and "produce a black background with minimal multipath or noise." This performance made it "one of the most sensitive and quietest FM tuners" he's reviewed, and equaled his DaySequerra FM Reference tuner in both "sensitivity and selectivity" as well as rendering the music "punchy, dynamic, and involving." He stated that the MAC7200 gave the DaySequerra "a run for its money."

But there's more to the MAC7200 than just an AM/FM tuner. When connecting his Linn turntable to the MAC7200's MC phono input "the sound was clean and dynamic, with great hall ambience, spacing, and three dimensionality." Greenhill was then "surprised how well the MAC7200’s DA1 [Digital Audio Module] performed." Livingston Taylor’s cover of "Isn’t She Lovely" on CD from Ink "was dynamic, transparent, involving, and holographic." He was next "bowled over by the 3D imaging" of Ēriks Ešenvalds’s Translations as performed by the Portland State Chamber Choir with Ethan Sperry conducting. Finally, the MAC7200 "painted a wide 3D soundstage" for the male chorus on John Rutter’s "Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace" from Requiem and performed by Timothy Seelig and the Turtle Creek Chorale.

Greenhill proclaimed the MAC7200 "belongs in Class A of Stereophile’s Recommended Components list" and added "its power, resolution, dynamics, and transparency are among the best I’ve heard." While offering many exceptional features beyond just listening to radio, Greenhill said the FM tuner in the MAC7200 is its "jewel. Its sensitivity, selectivity, and ability to quiet with an FM signal equaled and in many cases bettered my FM Reference tuner."

Click here for the full review.

(Excerpts taken from original review by Larry Greenhill / Stereophile / January 2021)