Radiohead

LOL. That's hilarious Dean. I have actually emailed him in the past asking him if he ever planned on finding someone stupid enough to pay his asking prices and he responded with the craziest email. Look at what he is asking for his MC240. I just can't see the logic in someone thinking they are going to sell something at that price without awesome pictures to back it up. Actually, the thing that interests me is the pair of "supposedly" NEVER USED MC75's on eBay right now. That's not something you see everyday.

Ummmm....I like McIntosh.

SpyBot blows!!! It's just another "ad adder on" in the form of an ad eliminator program. May I suggest you try ADAWARE which you can also download from www.cnet.com I just got the new version(6.0) and it does the job, at least on my computer. I had SpyBot before that and, while it seemed to work for the first week, it just got worse after time.

Any good McIntosh preamp will make a difference. Try a C22, C20, or MX-110. You may also want to research the vintage Marantz route. I've heard good things about them.

Jim, What emblems do your 75 Khorns have on them? Mine didn't have any when I purchased them from the previous owner and I am interested in replacing them. Ryan

Dean, You might be able to save a few dollars to spend on tubes by picking these up instead of a new pair, which I assume you ordered. http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1064721334&class&3&4&

Thanks so much for the offer. I could really use a good solid pair of 5U4G's for my MC-30's if you have any laying around.

McIntosh was making tube amps for cars years ago but I'm not sure if they still do. Interesting nonetheless that Panasonic comes forth with a tube product. They are one of the last names I would associate with tubes.

---------------- On 7/2/2003 10:57:09 AM Tom Blasing wrote: The Evo still weighs less to make up for only having 271hp. ---------------- Actually they way the exact same weight. 3263 lbs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3033136263&category=3280 How's that wiring look Craig?

Quite true Dean. I didn't think of that.

Everytime I see Edster's INCREDIBLE setup it makes me realize again actually why I am going to college.

Check out the price on this 299A. For that amount one could throw in a trip to NOSValves and come out with a relative bargain. http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1062045239&class&3&4&

Cuffclean, What type of music do you mainly listen to because that should make a HUGE difference in the type of amps you are looking at? The MC30's and MC225 are excellent amps although I am partial to the MC240 as you can see in my sig. The reason for that is because both the MC30's and the MC240 run off the 6L6 power tube of which there are many different options to choose from. 6L6, KT66, 350B, EL37 and such can all be used in these amps to produce a variety of different outputs in sound quality. Typically the lower you go in wattage on the McIntosh power amplifiers the better the results get in sound...IMO. Also tube rectification plays a huge part in these units considering the MC30's are and the MC225, MC240, and MC275 are not. They run on a solid state rectifier bridge. With speakers as efficient as Klipsch you can and will notice the difference in sound between the tube and solid state rectified units. While not a huge difference it is definitely noticeable, especially in the midrange. I'm a McIntosh guy, as you can probably tell, so I am kind of partial and biased. I did have possession of an AES DJH AE-3 preamp and a pair of Laurels, the 300B equivilent of the Moondogs from Welborne Labs, for about a week a few months back. The clarity with SET is no doubt incredible but it wasn't to my liking personally. Perhaps later down the line I may come to appreciate that type of sound but right now I'm in love with dynamics. I really enjoy the added "power" I feel from the music when listening to my Mac units vs. a SET setup. The bass is more pronounced and the midrange on the Mac units is simply breathtaking IMO. Allan is a super guy in general and can provide a wealth of information regarding McIntosh units and the tubes that go with them. If you should have any other questions regarding them shoot him and/or myself a PM and we can probably help you out. There are also some other big Mac fans on this board so you should be able to find the info you are looking for from multiple sources. It is frustrating not being able to try a bunch of different setup's back to back at the same time to see which one you prefer. Either you'll have to win the lottery to do that or just take your time patiently trying out the different one's that peak your interest. Good luck.

I have to agree with Allan on this one mainly because I am biased. While the Eico and Scott units do sound marvelous for their age and price they are simply not on par with the level of an up to spec McIntosh unit, especially the MC30's. That tube rectification goes a long way in seperating the men from the boys. My MC275 hasn't seen use since the first week I bought it and the MC240, which I used religiously, now sits in the corner with a blanket over it playing second to the MC30's. The real test is hooking up your cd player directly to the 240 through the "twin amp" setting and then comparing that to the cd player hooked up direct to the MC30's. Night and day difference in the midrange there. The sad thing is that since I have gotten in to McIntosh my poor Eico sits lonely in the closet. I still have a great amount of respect for that unit but don't see it getting any use in the near future. Klipsch and Mac

Kid Rock Pam

Jim, I have the setup listed below in my sig at my house in the Woodlands if you want to come and take a listen. I know it's not Cornwalls but you could still hear what Heritage and tubes sounds like. You also have a great offer from Justin who I know lives closer in towards town than I do. Although the MC240 is hooked up right now I would be more than happy to dust off the HF-81 and bring it out of the closet for you to take a listen to. It really is stunning how good an affordable vintage tube amp can sound. At least this way you will be able to see an HF-81 in person and hear it for yourself before investing in one....assuming that is the direction you want to go. Shoot me a PM or email and we can work something out if this is of interest to you. Ryan

You have them hooked up to a Pioneer unit....BLASPHEMY.

I have a strong feeling someone from this board will definitely be picking these up. Triceratops...you said you went over and looked at them but how did they sound? What equipment was the couple using?

Ryan, You have mail.

Ryan, You don't by chance do any McIntosh restoration as a side business/hobby do you? I just purchased a pair of MC-30's and was considering sending them to Audioclassics but I heard they charge an arm and two legs. I just thought I would ask as it seems you have an appreciation for McIntosh units. Ryan

Dean, I think they only way to tell if they are truly tested or not is to test them yourself once the eBay transaction is over. I have purchased tubes before from sellers there but only from ones with an extremely high feedback number. I also go in to the user's feedback and click on the last twenty or so transactions they performed to see what kind of items they are selling and/or buying. There really is no guarantee but risk brings reward sometimes.

dndphishin...I meant to thank you for the complement on the quote in my signature that you gave me in another thread recently. It is one of my favorites as well. Funny thing you say NONE about the preamp. We are in the same boat. My C22 is malfunctioning right now, and has been since I purchased it used about a month ago, so I have it sitting off in the corner. I would like to get it repaired but it is not at the top of my priority list right now. So in the meantime I just have the Rega connected straight into the 240 and I love what I'm hearing. I am eager to know what I am missing, if anything, but not having that C22 in top working condition. I've been talking quite a deal with Allan Songer recently about McIntosh equipment and have been overly impressed with his knowledge in that area, specfically on tube matching with units. He turned me on to some KT-66's recently to use with my 240. They were a night and day difference over the McIntosh labeled 6L6's that came with the amp. He has encouraged me to fix the C22 but right now it's not happening. Dean...of course you can feel free to chime in here. The only reason I said Heritage is because that is what I obviously have. I am open to hearing any and all recommendations. Thanks for the input Chris. I, as well as others here, am eager to hear your review of the Pantheon when you have it up and running. I remember Kelly giving a far amount of praise to this unit before his departure from the forum. If you don't mind divulging please PM with the price range on this unit and how to go about contacting Jeff if I were interested in purchasing one. Is there some kind of wait list for this unit that you know of? Ryan

I am looking to hear from Heritage owners, specifically Khorn owners, about what preamps they have tried and tested. Which one(s) did you like the best and why? Also, please list your musical tastes and interests as well so that everyone here can gauge the feedback accordingly. I would really appreciate any and all input you'll may have on the subject.

I picked up a used Planet off of audiogon about three months ago. Up until that point I had been using a Sharp model cd player that was originally purchased for me when I was about 12 years old...nearly twenty years ago. The funny thing is that I felt exactly the way you did for a LONG time. I was relucatant to upgrade because to me a cd player was just a cd player. I figured that since I now had a quality pair of speakers, coming from a pair of Yamaha bookshelves, I owed it to myself and the Khorns to try something "better." I read the hype on this website for about a year before I finally went ahead and made the purchase on the Rega. The ONLY thing that disappointed me about my purchase was the fact that I had missed out on a few months listening time with the Rega by torturing my brain with the Sharp unit. Mobile was one of the bigger factors in swaying me towards the Planet. He hyped and hyped and hyped and hyped. I bought my Eico unit about a year and half ago off of ebay based on his advice so I figured I couldn't go wrong with his suggestions for a cd player. I emailed him about the week before I did the transaction telling him about my Sharp cd player. The response I received from him was classic. Sharp, witty, and humorous like always he banished me to the land of unmistakeably bad audio until I upgraded that flaw in my system. The Rega eventually showed up on my doorstep one day and I took it to the room and connected it to the Eico. Powered both on, let sit for about thirty minutes to warm up, pressed play and was blown away. Then a few weeks ago I picked up my McIntosh amps and did the cd comparison with those just for ****z and grins. The Rega absolutely STOMPED all over the Sharp. As a matter of fact...I almost feel embarassed for admitting I owned a Sharp for that long. To sum up this entire novel of a response here...get the REGA.