Mcintosh dealers and owner's views ?

[Craighorn]

After two weeks with the Klipschorns hooked up, I have sold off the AMC gear, and am running the Aragon 8008st/YBA pre-5 combo. I am looking to use the aragon/yba for my Cornwalls in the Family room...

Any suggestions about Mcintosh Solid State Equipment... new... used... ? That works best with the K-horns ? ...And if anyone can direct me to a dealer in Mac that will work with me on pricing ? We have no local dealer in Erie, Pa...

Thanks for any help... !

[Tony Boone]

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On 5/26/2003 7:39:27 PM Craighorn wrote:

Any suggestions about Mcintosh Solid State Equipment... new... used... ? That works best with the K-horns ? ...And if anyone can direct me to a dealer in Mac that will work with me on pricing ?

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I just bought a mc2125 amp (125wpc) and am running it through my La Scalas. I can assure you that such an amp would work on your Khorns nicely.

I was using a Hafler dh220 and just got the Mc amp about a week ago. For a solid state amp it sure sounds clean. If I understand the definition of the word 'transparent' as often used here I'd say it's also 'transparent' sounding. Great imaging and sound stage. Very good stereo seperation.

I'm going the tube route. McIntosh tube route that is. I've seen several on ebay that are in excellent shape. At some point I may be willing to sell this amp but not until I can afford Mc tubes.

Check out ebay for used Mc equipment if you're into vintage stuff. I don't think you'd be disappointed.

Regards,

Tony

[Tony Boone]

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On 5/26/2003 8:09:49 PM mdeneen wrote:

And, as anyone can attest, you need to hire six furniture movers to lug the dang thing around.

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No doubt about it. It's one heavy amplifier. Almost dropped mine carrying it from the car to living room. It's sitting on top of one of my La Scalas at the moment. Have to find a place to put it.

Anyone need a pair of Magnepans? lol

Tony

[Craighorn]

Now you guys really have me thinking. One of the reasons I sold the AMC stuff was there was a problem with the Klipschorns.. they were noisy... I even bought a line conditioner from Balanced Power Tech... and still noisy... how does the McIntosh tube stuff stand up... ???

We are very familiar with ebay... my wife has 182 positive feedbacks in one year... and we have never sold anything there... maybe that is why she is ok with this stero gear...

Thanks again guys !... any more advice ? This is good stuff !

[jtice]

I'd like to hear someone address how the McIntosh tubes (say MC240 for example) compare with the other popular vintage tubes such as Scott 299, Eico HF-81? Is the big demand and price tag justified by greatly superior sound quality or is it more of a cult status/collectable thing driving the prices?

J.

[dodger]

Greetings:

With the exception of the MC 30s, I've owned my McIntosh 60s and my two MC240s since the early 1970s - back when a pair of 60s cost me $209.50.

Over the years, I've had friends in stereo stores, borrowed all types/brands of equipment and have not found any that sounded better than my McIntosh (have McIntosh C20 pre-amp.)

IMHO, tube equipment now HAS reached cult status, but the prices of McIntosh and Marantz are partially due to the equipment being sold to outside North America dealers/residents and then being sold back at ludicrous prices. Do I think tube McIntosh is good with Klipsch ? All I can say is there are a number of Klipsch employees that would love to own Tube McIntosh.

I've owned an MC 2105 - sounded "flat" to ME, others say they love it. I now own a 2120 (a 2125 with no meters), that sounds close to tube - couldn't find a 2125 (would like to.) Close to tube to ME. The absolute closest to tube in a SS, I have found was the SONY V - FETS made in the 70s.

Email me and I can give you the name of a reliable tube Mcintosh dealer - no arm and a leg prices that will also give you a warranty.

dodger

[Audible Nectar]

"Getting an MC-SS amp for your horns is a bit like going to the racetrack and betting the most heavily favored horse to "show." Safe, but not thrilling."

I agree with the idea MDeneen is trying to convey, but I will look at it in a different light.

I am someone who wants it both ways......SS guts, with tube smoothness. I find the old school McIntosh SS amps (those with the autoformers) are the perfect middle between tube and SS sound. No fussin' with tubes, just plug and play. Sure they are heavy, but SS amplifiers are purchased in pounds per watt, and the Macs are certainly a heavyweight contender!

I'm not so sure I would personally go to an authorized dealer for a new unit - I went for the budget-oriented used approach. As long as the amplifier is fully functional, you can sell it easily for what you paid if you don't like it. Mac holds used value very well.

Sometimes the best solutions are the easiest solutions. With the McIntosh SS amps, this is certainly the case in my system........my Mc 250's are not under any threat of replacement, and I don't expect them to be anytime soon.

As for specific vintages, the 250, 2505, 2105, 2120 all seem to be safe bets....just make sure it's a Mac with the autoformers - which are said to be more tubelike than the non autoformer models.

Mac + Klipsch = Yummy

[LonestarBlues]

I own a Mcintosh MC 7150 solid-

state autoformer amp-early 1990's

model. I bought it used in 1999, my first entry into highend equipment. I also bought a demo

Mcintosh C38 preamp in 1999 to mate with the MC 7150 amp. There is an excellent sonic synergy between a Mac amp & preamp. Mcintosh makes excellent full function preamps that also have a

warm & smooth sonic signature. I own a harem of 8 pair of speakers collected from 1977 to present day. I have used Advents, JBL, Yamaha, Optimus, Bose & 2 pair of Klipsch Cornwalls all with excellent sonic results. The Mcintosh sonic signature is warm and smooth(as butter) midrange & treble-tubelike to my ears. The Mcintosh is very inoffensive-what some people might call boring sound-not to me. It does not have the ultimate bass slam or hyper detailed treble response of some other solid state amps. It is an all around good performer. I love the retro styling of Mcintosh and the big blue watt meters. Unless you have money to burn, I would go the used route buying Mcintosh. New Mcintosh is quite expensive, used Mcintosh can also be expensive. But be careful if buying used-I don't do ebay purchasing stereo equipment. Been burned twice by people with excellent feedback-one small transaction & the other on a

Mcintosh MR 80 tuner at over $1,000. The Mac tuner was in excellent physical cosmetic condition but was in need of repairs. Represented as working perfect and had been purchased from Audioclassics. The seller would not respond to any emails

after the sell. I contacted Audioclassics & they agreed to fix the tuner at a reduced rate. Audioclassics is a class act shop

that deals in lots of used Mcintosh and stands behind what they sell. But they also charge a premium for that-they are expensive. MR 80 tuners can be a ***** to repair & there are now obsolete parts. Audioclassics was unable to fix the MR 80 tuner after 3 attempts. They picked up all the shipping charges for sending & returning the tuner after their first repair was not sucessful. I wound up trading the MR 80 for analog MR 77 tuner & Magnum Dynalab ST2 whip antena. I took it in the shorts and lost money on that ebay purchase. Caveat Emptor-let the buyer beware. I have had excellent results buying used stereo gear from Audiogon. Used Mcintosh dealers with warranties- Audioclassics, The Stereo Shop of Hartford Conn.-bought my Mcintosh MCD 7009 cd player from them used in pristine condition wth a 6 month warranty. Audioconsultants of Chicago, Ill.-bought my demo Mcintosh C 38 preamp from them in pristine condition with a warranty. Mcintosh Audio out of Knoxville Tenn. sells & repairs used Mcintosh-they are like Audioclassics, they are expensive

but stand behind what they sell with a warranty. Both Audioclassics & Mcintosh Audio are

listed on Roger Russell's (ex Mcintosh engineer) excellent Mcintosh product & history related website. There are several things to consider when buying used Mcintosh. The glass faceplates are

prone to bubbles after they get old. Mcintosh faceplates are reverse silkscreened on the glass

faceplate. Original double Mcintosh packing boxes or Audioclassics exact copy are a must prerequisite for shipping. The glass faceplates are fragile and can get broken when not properly packed-ie Mcintosh double boxes. I personally will only use Fedex Air to ship stereo gear.

Audioclassics shipped the MR 80 tuner out to me by UPS after their 2nd attempt at repair. They were supposed to use Fedex Air only. Shipping guy messed up. Well UPS-United Parcel Smashers cracked

the faceplate & then had the gall to declare Mcintosh factory double

boxes as inadequate packing. Audioclassics dealt with them after they denied the initial claim & got a new faceplate. I have Llano Phoenix mosfet/tube hybrid amp in place of My Mcintosh

amp now. It has a different sonic signature than the Mac-wider dynamic range-stronger low bass response-it has bass slam, smooth tube midrange & treble but has more upper treble detail than the Mac. It also sounds faster. Right

now I prefer the Llano over the Mac, but then again I am excited because the Llano is a new toy to me and I am experiencing a new sonic flavor. I am keeping the Mac if that tells you anything-it is a damn good amp. I will wind up eventually getting another preamp to run the Mac in a 3rd system.

Regards, Mike

[Q-Man]

I know a McIntosh dealer in Florida who will deal and ship to you. The only catch is that you most

go pick it up and buy there it if you want the factory warranty. If you buy it by mail you will only have a warranty through him personally. I know from personal experience that he will keep his word. He is also a McIntost authorized service center. I had to send the first amp he shipped to me back to him, it had a meter problem. He asked if I wanted a new one or to have it repaired. I elected for a new one. Then I didn't like this amp. , because it didn't have enought power for me. He took it back again, and ordered me the next one up the food chain. This time I took the six hour drive to pick it up. Since I was buying a $4500.00 amp. I decided that I wanted the factory warranty.

McIntost won't let any of their dealers sell out of their territory so what he does isn't exactly right , BUT!

The amp I ended up with is the Mc206 which retails for around $4500.00 to $4700.00 I got it for around $3600.00 plus tax. That's another issue,if he ships you don't pay tax.

I can find his name and number for you if you like.