McIntosh 1500 Receiver left channel dry sounding

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by rhkwon, Mar 9, 2007.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. rhkwon

    rhkwon Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX USA
    I've got a MAC 1500 receiver that I just had serviced. I noticed that the left channel sounds a bit "dry" if you can call it that than the right channel. The right channel sounds fabulous. Tubey and very airy. I tried to switch the 3 small tubes and it made a little bit of an improvement. I know it's not the speakers because when I switched the speakers around, the "right" speaker sounded dry. For awhile I thought maybe my left ear was the cause but when I compare the two sides, I can definitely hear the right side sounding better, no matter on stereo or mono recordings.

    Could it be the tubes would need to be replaced? I believe they are the 12AU7 small ones. Any suggestions?
     
  2. Rolf Erickson

    Rolf Erickson New Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I have a MAC 1500, try the headphone output. See if the same there.. Also define dry

    If you would please eleborate on the sound of "Dry." I do not understand the meaning of this descriptive term as it relates to audio. Could it be "Bass Shy?" Is that what dry means here? That's all I could come up with. Try the headset output, see if the "Dry" is happening there. Thanks, R.E.


    This is'nt anything like "Feminine Dryness" is it?
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Ok, folks, I know I shouldn't have posted that (and I'll delete it) but lets give the guy a break. It's pretty hard to describe a sound in writing, isn't it?

     
  4. rhkwon

    rhkwon Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX USA
    Well, I guess the left channel does'nt sound tubey. It's bass shy and treble shy. Sounds kinda muffled also. When I first turned it on, the left channel would not play but after about a minute or so it did. Maybe I'm just too sensitive about this but for some reason, it does'nt sound right. I switched the outer tubes (where there are 3 tubes) and left the middle one alone. Still sounds the same. Also, on the back where it has the speaker on/off switch, it does'nt work and don't know if this is related to the problem.
     
  5. Stax Fan

    Stax Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    dry = no air, without atmosphere or a sense of the room (or very little anyway).

    wet = plenty of air around instruments, people, etc...you can hear the room...echo, reverb, etc.

    Doesn't that McIntosh have a solid-state preamplifier section? That'll add some dryness...
     
  6. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Take it back to the service depot and have them check it out. There really is something wrong!
     
  7. rhkwon

    rhkwon Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX USA
    Man, you got it completely! :righton:

    It's a tube tuner and amp all around. Maybe it's a tube or a filter?
     
  8. rhkwon

    rhkwon Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX USA
    Swap out meaning get all new tubes?
     
  9. Rolf Erickson

    Rolf Erickson New Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    The MAC 1500 is a "Hybrid" unit. A few transistors in the preamp section, and tubes

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    .....and tubes for the rest of the circuits.. Only a few transistors in certain parts of pre-amp areas. 4 devices in the FM tuner pre... Output section is tubes, most of the tuner is tubes..... This MAC 1500 unit is properly called: A "Hybrid" design type circuit. Partly tube, partly transistor. (But the MAC 1500 is overwhelmingly, tube)

    The problem is only in one channel, so transistors in the design is not the problem.. Since one channel sounds good to the owner. He has clarified the terms to saying "Bass shy, and Trebble shy," This tells me more about the problem. I will think on it.. R.E.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine