My inspire amps sound more life like. Warmer sounding with more realism. The Mcintosh 202 and C220 combo I was using sounded sterile in comparison with more background noise from the amps. The Mcintosh could make my Khorns dig a little deeper in the bass but it was negligible. Overall I found the Inspire combo to be MUCH better for my listening needs. I do miss my remote control though.