McIntosh amps

Howdy!!! A trusted set of ears has suggested that a McIntosh solid state amp might be a good match for my current situation - 16 month old son and spouse acceptance factor precludes a tube amp right now. Anyone experienced with the glowing blue meter beauties? Earliest SS amps from Mac were given a thumbs down, so let's limit this to late 70's and up - keep this around a grand and consider my speaks - Dynaudio monitors that are around 87db sensitivity with a watt...

 

Thanks for the suggestions - the 240 is probably too fat to tuck behind the entertainment center that houses my stuff, and the heat from tubes would be too great to put the amp in where my pair of Dynaco ST-150's reside. As for Steve, well, you figured out who the trusted ears friend was! He didn't have a model number handy, just the suggestion that the early SS amps should be avoided...

 

Now I'm curious! Why do you have 4 channels of amplification? Are you bi-amping or running a quad setup or what?

 

I have a solution

My advice is avoid the McIntosh transistor amps with the blue meters and find a woman compatible with tube amps.

 

Hey Mazort, that's only a partial solution! What're ya gonna do about Indy Mike's 16 month-old son?

 

Fail to see the problem

I cannot help but feel that any 16 month old will benefit from proximity to a tube amp...

 

No this has got me curious I have been using an early solid state Mcintosh MC 2505 for about a year now. I don't have tubes to compare it to but I can say that with the MAC C-28 preamp it brings more life to the music than the Yamaha receiver they replaced. Both of these pieces were made from the mid sixties to late seventies. I think this set sounds great. But if Steve gives these early MAC pieces a thumbs down it's got me wondering if I'm missing something? I would like to try a MAC tube amp but money's too tight right now to switch components as long as the current set is running alright.
Brad

 

No no, Brad, that's not what Steve meant.

He LIKES Mac SS amps like yours.

He is NOT crazy about the really early ones; the ones that look like the tube 240, but is really solid state.

You've got a great setup!

 

Hmmmm, hard boiled bunch we have here (hear???) - one at a time - Fab Four Fan, I bought one of my 150's used in 1981 for a buck a watt - better than the Pioneer/Sansui/Technics stuff on the new equipment racks by far - never have had to do a thing to it other than replace a couple of bulbs that burned out - I beat the s*** out of that thing and it still works fine. I toyed with the idea of rewiring for mono operation and snagged a second, cleaner one a year ago - rewired the first and left the other alone (my son eats a LOT of spare time up, and this site is like a magnet!) My preamp is ok, the Sony DVD/SACD player I snagged is sweet sounding and the amp is the weakest link right now... Mazort - a good woman is far more desirable than having a rack full of glowing bottles - when we move to new digs someday I'll get a house with a full basement where I can have all the hardware I dream of now (my dad built a pair of EV Georgian folded corner horns in the 50's and I think someday I'll do some serious upgrading to them...) Number 1 son is a joy to behold and I don't want him to fry his fingers on a red hot tube amp - youch! The Macs that look like the Mac tube amps were the ones Steve said to steer clear of - the later stuff is hunky dory...

 

Some of the early SS MAC amps that look like tube amps are the same as the models with the meters. For example the MC 2100 looks like the tube amps but the MC 2105 has the glass and meters. Both are almost the same design electronically.
Just as my MC 2505 (glass/meters) is the exact same as the MC 250 (looks like the MAC tube amps).

One thing I have wondered. Would there be any benefit of bi-amping my system, using my current amp to drive my woofers and a MAC tube stereo amp or 2 monos to drive the tweeters?
Even in my small room I have to turn the volume on the pre to the 1 o'clock position for normal listening. Thought maybe I could use some more power and maybe add a little tube magic at the same time?

Brad

 

Gary,

I'm using Nordost flatwire biwired to my speakers. I'm not sure of the name of the cable to the cd player off hand. The dealer recommended it to me when I bought my new Rega TT a couple of years ago. I'm a little sceptical of cables, or atleast my ability to hear any differences.

Brad

 

Hardware & Software

Indy Mike, I respect your decision. One's choice of compatible hardware and software is a personal matter...

 

Amen, brother mazort! Gotta pick and choose for trade offs in everything we do, and the glowing bottles will come someday! I grew up in a house where a Dynaco ST-70 and Pas-2 preamp did the work (darned older brother snagged those in the 70's - nuts!), so I have a definite imprint for the tubey magic...

 

It's amazing how Audio gear has come full circle. I remember going to my local audio store & listening to the Mac's, Marantz & Dynaco tube gear. In a few years, tubed gear all but vanished being replaced by the transistor junk (as in harsh sounding). Shortly after tubes went the way of the dinosaur, I happened on a store selling NOS Dynaco gear. I was struck by how wonderful the music sounded compared to the then "top of the line" transistor gear. Granted today's SS gear has made great inroads on improving the sound. But for now, tubes are again the darlings of the high end industry & justifiably so IMHO. I have Mac and Cary Audio tubed gear and I don't think I would want to own a SS amp again. If it's in your budget, try the new Mac MC2102, a 100 watt per channel honey of a product. Used it is usually around $3300.00 on Audiogon. It may very well be the last amp you ever buy.