CaptnBob Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 The C-11 was Mac's first stereo preamp. Very attractive, too, at least to me. It had that glass over gold look, with big rocker switches. Sometimes a solid state preamp will actually sound better with a tube amp - the softness of the one will blunt the sharpness of the other. I have a Marantz 7-T that sounds much better through a Mc-225 than it has any right to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 The C-11 was Mac's first stereo preamp. Very attractive, too, at least to me. It had that glass over gold look. Sometimes a solid state preamp will actually sound better with a tube amp - the softness of the one will blunt the sharpness of the other. I have a Marantz 7-T that sounds much better through a Mc-225 than it has any right to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 8, 2003 Author Share Posted July 8, 2003 Outbid again! I tried to steal one of those MX-110s. I don't think it will happen. A very nice one just ended at $736. My snipe was for $726. I'm hesitant to go high until I find out the condition of the 240. Only if I get lucky and steal one. Kind of a relief that I didn't win if you know what I mean. I will look into the C-11. They don't seem to come up that often but looks like a good match also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Boy did I just have fun with Gary on the phone the conversation went like this ! Craig Gary man I hate to tell you this but this thing is junk ! Gary pause ...............Silence ................. man really Craig I'll give you $500 for it !! Gary You a$$hole Craig Craig I couldn't help myself LOL !! Gary So what is the verdict Craig Well .......................... There is absolutely nothing wrong with it !! All the tubes are fine , all voltages dead on spec .... I mean nothing electrically wrong with it at all. Gary Craig Well the on/off switch doesn't work big deal huh Gary So how does it sound ?? Craig Well the best way I can describe it is really thick and lush sounding. Not sure what I think yet would like to listen for a while. Also need to figure out if the switch is bad or wired always on for a preamp to shut it on/off. I'm sure the manual will say something. Also need to let it play for a while to insure everything stays good to go. Gary, Well keep it for a while and see what you think Craig Would 2 years be to long Gary Yea right LOL !! So MC lovers what should we or shouldn't we do to this ?? I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt the value of the amp but also don't want to leave it as a ticking time bomb. How reliable do the caps and other components tend to be in these old MC's ? Any problems area's that should be tended too ? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I have always been amazed at how MACs hold up over the years--even "barn fresh" they usually snap right to life and sound right and TEST right too. The MAC cicuit is so damn easy on tubes you often find them with close to 100% original tubes in them that all test as NEW. The s/s rectified models often need attention in this area, but not as often as you might think if you've been used to working on Fishers (!). Late 240s were stuffed to the gills with orange drops, but I think that was like '67 and up. I am running almost all ORIGINAL caps and resistors in my MC-30s which are 45 years old. My advice--DO NOT change anything out unless defective as you'll more than likely devalue the amp and degrade the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 LMAO! At first I was thinking "Oh sh!t. I just wasted $350." As soon as Craig said "I'll give you $500 for it" I almost dropped the phone. Then of course I called him an a$$hole and started cracking up. I knew immediately there was nothing wrong with it. Funny as hell. Any advice on cleaning would be appreciated and if anyone knows the process for re-stenciling the lettering that would be great too since it's basically gone. And of course what Craig just asked. Thanks Craig! I'll give you 2 weeks (but not 2 years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Oh, by the way MAC amps don't have on/off switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Forget about re-stenciling the letters. About 6-7 years ago I rebuilt the rustiest pair of MC-60s you've ever seen--took them COMPLETELY apart and rechromed the chassis and used these bake-on stencils that you can print with a laser-printer. They turned our pretty nice, actually, but NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE. When I sold them (about 5 years ago) the guy who bought them noticed that the lettering was redone and I had to carve a couple of hundred off the pair to make the deal happen---I might have been able to sell them for the same price all pitted and rusty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 Craig, Looking at the manual, you probably mistook the line voltage switch for the on/off switch. Left position is 117, right is 125. It's the switch just to the right of the fuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Well that explains it !! Pretty cool feature about the switch. Allan, The caps in this one are all the old Black beauty type from Sprague most of them are the color band type and all test right on spec in fact the entire amp seems A Okay which is pretty amazing ! With those caps in it I bet its from the early 60's. The tubes are not original the outputs are Westinghouse USSR but match perfectly and test strong and they even have that cool blue glow to them when on ! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 A little off topic...my younger brother (who already owns a MC2100) scored big time on another Mac, a pristine MC250. I just found out tonight after work...he won an eBay auction last week (was only $390 with shipping). It arrived UPS today and he was home already cleaning the dust off of it. Had the chassis bottom off to clean out the innards...it looked brand new underneath! No pitting or rust, and no caps or resistors fried to a crisp. Aside from years of dust, all the connections and wiring look great (and all original). The original owner he bought it from took very good care of it, and once he thoroughly cleans and polishes the chassis and chrome, it should look like new! Don't know what he has planned yet for this 30-somethin' year old amplifier, but we're all anxious for him to fire it up! These ol' Macs...whether SS or tubed, are solid as a rock, and built to last a lifetime! Very impressed, indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 ---------------- On 7/9/2003 8:31:10 PM Allan Songer wrote: Forget about re-stenciling the letters. About 6-7 years ago I rebuilt the rustiest pair of MC-60s you've ever seen--took them COMPLETELY apart and rechromed the chassis and used these bake-on stencils that you can print with a laser-printer. They turned our pretty nice, actually, but NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE. When I sold them (about 5 years ago) the guy who bought them noticed that the lettering was redone and I had to carve a couple of hundred off the pair to make the deal happen---I might have been able to sell them for the same price all pitted and rusty! ---------------- So Allan, I've seen some for sale with stenciled lettering but this is a big minus? I guess if it's not original, forget about it? I guess I'll just clean it the best I can and use the manual as my guide. Thanks for saving me the time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I suppose if you had disposable income, you could ship off your Mac to McIntosh Labs in NY to have it rechromed and stencilled over again (if they even do that...money talks, so I'd assume they would). Hate to imagine how much that would cost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Good Morning: As a Mac 240 owner to clean areas with no lettering: Simichrome metal cleaner, Harley metal cleaner, wadding cloth - contact me tomorrow, I'll find the name (Cotton-Eze?.) For the rest. get some of the Blue coral with fomblin spray detailer if you can find it or Meguair's Quik Detailer - NO WAX. Spray some of the above after cleaninig the pitted or rust oxidized areas of the chrome only. Protect the tube sockets. After spraying the product on the soft cloth, clean all areas, including transformers. Get some q tips, spray some product into a clean plastic cup, dip the q tip in and do the areas around the speaker terminal barriers, around the stereo, twin amp and mono volume controls and the flip switch (do not drip into the flip switch). Cut a 12 -18" long piece of soft cloth put product on it and clean between the transformers like flossing. You can use wax/pledge on the black bottom (sparay into the cloth), but not on the chrome. I have found that the silkscreening remaining, won't remain if you use those two, or similar products. If you need a new McIntosh logo, I have 2 of the "squared, gaelic style" lettering still in plastic from the factory. I need one of the non-squared. Lastly, use the 4 ohm tap, sound is better with Klipsch. Recommended Pre-Amps, Mac C 20, MX 110 or if you have to go SS temporarily, a Yamaha CR 1000, 1020, 800 or 820. They have jumpers you can remove so either can be amp or pre-amp. Sound is good, if mids bright, their loudness control works by dropping the mid, rather than boosting bass and treble. One was on AudiogoN, some on eBay. The 800 series is $200 or less, 1000 series $300. Have fun!!!!! Congrats, Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 Thanks Win, I'm printing out this thread right now. It will certainly come in handy when I begin cleaning. I guess the refinishing of my '72 heresys will have to wait. This just seems more urgent for some reason. I'll email you regading the lettering. Thanks again. - Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 ---------------- On 7/10/2003 8:19:23 AM dodger wrote: ..."Lastly, use the 4 ohm tap, sound is better with Klipsch". ---------------- If you don't mind me asking, why is the 4 ohm taps better than the 8 ohm taps for 8 ohm Klipsch? Should I try that with my Cornwalls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 18, 2003 Author Share Posted July 18, 2003 Sitting in the basement here listening to the 240 (bare with no pre) with my heresys and a cd boom box. Sounds like Craig described, very lush and deep. Even without being shined up it's still a cool looking amp and sounds suprisingly good considering the boom box and old, cheap cables and seems to be lacking in high end detail because of that. Right now my wife is in the family room reading the new Harry Potter book so I think I'll wait until later this weekend to hook it up to the corns and some decent components/cables. The 110 is in transit and should arrive Monday morning. I'll post a preliminary review later this weekend and a more thorough one after the 110 arrives and is checked out by my local shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 I can hardly wait...please keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 25, 2003 Author Share Posted July 25, 2003 I got a call today by my Tweeter buddy who sold me the 240. I told him it was in perfect working condition and he was actually pleased that I got a good deal. He was worried that he'd ripped me off and I was upset since I hadn't called him. His father owns a very reputable metal restoration company and he said his brother, who is in the family business, offered to restore the 240 for me on the cheap. My question is: Since Macs are more valuable the more original they are, should I leave it as is and clean it the best I can. It's pretty bad though. No real visible lettering and the chrome is basically shot. On the other hand, since it's in such bad shape cosmetically anyway, why not? He says it will look brand new when done (other than lettering). It would definitly help the WAF not to mention the HAF. Plus, I wouldn't have to do it myself which is a huge time factor. Any opinions would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Why not? You have to take the ENTIRE guts out of the chassis of course, so get out your soldering iron and be prepared to GRIND off all of the rivets that hold in all of the tube sockets and switches, etc. (I put mine back in with polished stainless steel pan heads). If you're not all that hot with a schematic I suggest you take LOTS AND LOTS of pictures before and during the disassembly. Figure on at least a day in both directions to do it right if this is your first time. As far as lettering, the stuff I used had to be BAKED on at 350 degrees for a couple of hours---it ended up looking really nice, but you could tell it was not original if you looked real close---I did ALL of the lettering and I found a font in Word that was almost EXACT. This is a TON of work. I did the one pair of MC-60s and I doubt I'd ever tackle this again, but if you're up for it you can make that MC-240 gleam once again--while you're at it you might want to powder-cost the bottom of the chassis with semi-gloss black--that's what I did and it looked GREAT! GOOD LUCK!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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