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Ma 6200 mcintosh with tubes


Llem

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Hi ,having an ma6200 tha can be used also as preamp or power amp i'm thinking  of trying tubes in the chain with my klipsch fortes ii .Which is the best part of my 6200? Is it better to buy a tube power amp ( sound valves st70 for example) or a tube preamp and the ma6200 pre?

Thank you

Edited by Llem
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go slowly... if you want to try a tube amp just get that section first, perhaps something that can pair well with a tube pre when and if you decide to go down that rabbit hole. A lot of folks believe the preamp is more important and has a more audible effect than the amp itself.

choose your topology and give her a listen... I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

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Thank you, the ..."problem" is that the ma6200 is imho an overall very nice sounding unit that you have to spend some money to maybe achieve an improvement with an extra unit. For now i won't look for a pair of separates (pre - power amp) just one unit to combine with my Mac. 

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if you're happy with mac gear, just enjoy. no need for more amplification.

 

are you 'missing' some additional qualities... that's tough to say because not everyone can hear the differences and if they can, they might not like what they hear.

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On 3/22/2022 at 6:44 PM, Schu said:

if you're happy with mac gear, just enjoy. no need for more amplification.

 

are you 'missing' some additional qualities... that's tough to say because not everyone can hear the differences and if they can, they might not like what they hear.

Agree, I'm happy i have it for 10 years already without changing it. Just hearing things about that tube sound with Klipsch heritage, and also about a fuller sound at lower volumes with a bigger autoformer Mac like mc2100 ,2205 etc

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For what it's worth, I went from an McIntosh MX110 and MC240 to an McIntosh C41 and MC152 (vintage tube to modern solid state). I am running Forte IIIs.

 

I did not notice a huge difference between tube amp vs solid state amp. The differences I observed was better and tighter bass. I am not sure if its the solid state topology driving this or the increase in watts -- 55 to 200+. I came away thinking the Forte's like watts.

 

Now, on the preamp side, I did notice a big change. I chalk this up to the much lower noise floor of the C41 compared to the MX110. Did I lose some tube magic? Yes. But, what I got back in return was sharper, clearer, mids and highs. However, at very loud volumes, it was not subtle or soft with the solid state vs the tube pre. This might be an artifact of the Forte IIIs themselves? 

 

Both the tube and solid state electronics worked very well with Forte's. Good luck on your journey -- you can't make a wrong choice.  

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42 minutes ago, mdm7eb said:

For what it's worth, I went from an McIntosh MX110 and MC240 to an McIntosh C41 and MC152 (vintage tube to modern solid state). I am running Forte IIIs.

 

I did not notice a huge difference between tube amp vs solid state amp. The differences I observed was better and tighter bass. I am not sure if its the solid state topology driving this or the increase in watts -- 55 to 200+. I came away thinking the Forte's like watts.

 

Now, on the preamp side, I did notice a big change. I chalk this up to the much lower noise floor of the C41 compared to the MX110. Did I lose some tube magic? Yes. But, what I got back in return was sharper, clearer, mids and highs. However, at very loud volumes, it was not subtle or soft with the solid state vs the tube pre. This might be an artifact of the Forte IIIs themselves? 

 

Both the tube and solid state electronics worked very well with Forte's. Good luck on your journey -- you can't make a wrong choice.  

Helpful thanks.

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