McIntosh MC275 issue. Tube popped. Distortion now audible... Thoughts?

Eagerly waiting to hear more on the preamplifier theory.

- SS does not necessarily guarantee there will no more likelihood of problems in the first 8 months any more than tube, which seems more likely a result of a manufacturing defect than from typical tube wear.

Firmware issues not uncommon with later gen McIntosh equipment that runs on it. Service of this nature must only handled in-house because the dealers don't have the ability to do these types of repairs. Just be glad it doesn't need to be shipped back to Binghamton like many unhappy owners had to do with the likes of integrated amplifiers weighing 100+ lbs.

Agreed with @KT88 , outright replacement is an unreasonable expectation after 8 months' time, regardless of original cost, frustrating though it might be.

SS or not, it's always a good idea to keep standby gear on hand if going without is going to put a major damper on life in the interim. In the OP's case, an MC250 could deputize for the amp and perhaps a C27. Neither are very expensive either.

 

Luckily, I have Ken from McIntosh coming, as he is doing a residency at my local shop.

They always take great care of me, and he is always amazing. I’m in the best hands possible and have zero doubts I will be taken care of as I always am... with absolute professionalism and care

Looking forward to my rig being back up and running soon!

 

Well, the 275 had to be taken in for repair... After troubleshooting, it became obvious it IS the amp. Will know more in a few days, but for now, I have a two channel Integra popped in so I can at least listen and enjoy. Had the Integra powering a pair of Atmos speakers in my home theater, and when I upgraded recently to a new AVR, it became moot. That is, until I remembered I had it, and needed a two channel amp! LOL!

So, I will be able to enjoy my system in the meantime, and test the theory of "how important is an amp?"

As always, I appreciate everyone's advice, feedback, and opinions. I will update once I hear what the issue is. Plus side... Ken and my local shop are just THE BEST. Very lucky to have them as my go to. Enjoy the weekend!

 

Good to have a spare amp.

 

Better to remember you have one! Lol!

 

FWIW, the Integra doesn't sound bad, but it is no substitute for the 275. Imaging, soundstage, and tone all seem to have taken a hit. This will be a good exercise in giving me a further appreciation for my rig. Still, I am just happy to be able to listen to music

 

Hoping for a speedy recovery or better yet replacement of your amp!

Just FYI to readers, the three red leds under preamp tubes is a safety mode shut down feature for this amp. It shuts the amp and lets you know which output tube has failed by the led locations. Glad you have a trusted McIntosh dealer...

 

FWIW: IMO, anyone who is serious about running tubes should both own and know how to use a tube tester. The allows you to quickly determine if a tube has failed, and which one it is, without powering your amp on again (which can cause further damage). Knowing whether a tube failed, as well as its mode of failure, can really aid in determining whether the amp needs to take a trip to the shop or not.

I also feel that when running a tube amp it is very nice to keep a backup amp around for those rare occasions when failures do occur.

 

Well, my baby returns tomorrow. Intermittent tube short that was “fooling” the startup process which checks for such things.

New resistor installed, new tube, and it has been running at the shop all day with ZERO issues.

Looking very forward to having my baby back

 

She’s back! Working perfectly! I am a happy, happy camper

Once again, thanks everyone for your ideas and suggestions!

 

Thank You Wired4Fun for your post. Same exact issue happened to me with my 275 v6. I've contacted my local authorized service tech. We'll see how it goes. I've switched my 2 main channels to a couple of spares on my Bryson 9B. All I can say is WOW! I certainly have gotten use to the warm sound of tubes & cannot wait until the Mac is back.

 

Asking 75watts from a pair of non British non USA tubes is asking an awful lot, then duplicating it on a stereo chassis with PC boards is a recipe for catastrophic disaster especially if it sees daily use. McIntosh loves people like yourself! 6k for an MC275 what a joke!

 

Just another nice person making the world a better place.

 

Exactly! I always keep at least one spare amp around. You never know when a tube is going to pop, and put your favorite amp out of service for a while.

I learned in my early days of using tubes that this is just one of the downsides which one needs to expect will happen on occasion. But as Murphy would have it, as soon as you get a spare amp, your main amp will often then run without a hitch for the next decade plus. This cycle then gives you enough time to let you become over-confident about your amp's reliability. And so you eventually sell your spare. Soon after you do that though, it finally blows again, leaving you without tunes for several weeks.

 

Hi could you update us on what needed to be fixed?

 

This was so long ago, but the issue was soldering. Apparently one bit was just done with too little solder and it caused a short.

a drop more of solder and the issue was resolved.

I’ve since moved and completely redone my rig, but the 275 was great while I had it.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply, curious what you've moved on to.

 

Looks like he is now using an MC462. @Wired4Fun, were you using the C2600 with the MC275 as well? I am using the C2600 --> MC275 now. Curious how the MC462 would compare.

 

I moved about a year ago and completely changed my setup. I had a C47 when I had the 275... My newest upgrade is happening next month, and will be as follows:

C2600 being swapped out for C2700
Mc462 being swapped out for dual 611's
Rear speakers, currently 707S2 will be 805D3's
JLe112 is being swapped out for a Fathom

Cheers!