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MC-30's RESTORED - look who won !


Born2RockU

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"I'll never sell mine unless my family needs the money & there's no furniture left & I'm already driving a ****box."

" 'ben: They are that good ????' "

DAMN RIGHT.

As far as I'm concerned, this is one of a handful (half dozen?) of amplifiers that make my "you got to have 'em hooked up to your Heritage klipsch" list. McIntosh tubes on your Klipsch are just a match made in heaven - and the sweet sounding 30's even more so.

Be warned, though - getting the most out of these can cost you more in tubes than the amps. The good news is those tubes will reward you - as my very limited rolling experience has already shown, and many posts here on the forum can attest - and those tubes will last for years, as Mcintosh tube gear tends to be easy on tubes.

Ben's right on the packing - pay the seller whatever is necessary in materials to get them to you safely. You'll want them EACH double boxed (one amp per package) - and the amplifier wrapped in 6" thick large bubble wrap (Amp > bubble wrap > box > another layer of bubble wrap > bigger box - from inside out). Lay the amplifiers on their sides, so the outside of the trannies are on the bottom. Also, have the tubes removed from the amps and pack those in a separate box.

Prices tend to go higher on all-original McIntosh. Since they were modded/updated, they went for a good price. Not necessarily a bad thing - although you may wish to have these bench tested by either Terry DeWick in Knoxville, TN, or Audio Classics in upstate New York (both Mac authorized), especially if you are not well versed in repairing these things. Terry DeWick refurbished mine. I recommend this because 1) you want your amps to perform to specifications 2) you want the amplifier's critical safety parts replaced for safe operation, and 3) there may be parts that should be replaced for best possible performance (the filter caps often need replacement in these old 30's). It's a little more money now, but it sure is nice to know that when you start off with these that you have amplifiers that are operating and sounding thier best. Plus, since these parts are still currently available, it's a good idea to do any necessary parts replacement now, as certain parts may become more difficult to obtain in the future.

Even though these are "refurbished", unless they've seen a McIntosh knowledgeable tech (or you know how to do these things), the work/operation should be verified.

When I bought mine, I just had the seller send them to Terry for the checkup - then had Terry forward them to me. This gave me amplifiers with spec sheets in print, stating that my amplifiers exceeded McIntosh original factory specs, and that these were ready to go for years of future service. It also saved me an extra leg in shipping, as I was sending them to Terry anyway - so I simply had the seller send them to Terry's.

Finally, a quote stolen from Charlton Heston regarding what I think of these:

"FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS....."

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kittybuddy :

Thanx for NOT bidding on them.

How much were ya planning on bidding up to ?

I swear I put a snipe on them at $1765.oo !!!!!!

( insane, but I wanted them that bad!! )

My jaw dropped when NO-ONE-ELSE bid past $1202 !!!!

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dbflash :

Your money back from my FREE cd ????

Is it that bad...or you are just wondering where I got the money for Mc-30's?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will definitely keep you posted on the outcome of these amps.

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......." where the $$$ ? ", you ask......

... why, I have a fertal money-tree on my ranch !!!

2.gif

NOT !

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I am glad ya like the B.L.T. "Dreamship " cd !

1.gif1.gif1.gif1.gif1.gif1.gif1.gif

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I heard them on Heresy's and actually this sounded like the ultimate one looks for in a tube power amp: warm, yet detailed; beautiful soundstage; detailed mids and highs (strength of klipsch) without that shrillness, painfulness that can easily occur with Klipsch. Actually I just recently heard them, after I already knew I wanted them, so I am biased. O one more thing, for a relative small wattage, it handled rock with no problem, no clipping, even at blowdrying volumes. A while ago, as many forummers may remember I walked eye open in an ebay fraud and got scammed (non-existing second chance offering), the scam could be followed 'live' on this forum. And I still will not rest until I have a nice pair. If I may take this opportunity to ask all of you again to keep your eyes open. I know some of you already do, Thanks for that!!! 1.gif

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------------------

  kittybuddy :

                                    Thanx for NOT bidding on them. 

                        How much were ya planning on bidding up to ? 

                          I swear I put a snipe on them at $1765.oo !!!!!!

                                                ( insane, but I wanted them that bad!! )

                                My jaw dropped when NO-ONE-ELSE bid past $1202 !!!!

--------------------------------------------

I would of gone as high as 1500 so It is a good thing I did not bid becuase all that would of happened is you would of payed more and I still would not have mc 30s. now comes the hard part waiting for them to get there so you can hear them. ENJOY1.gif

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Audible Nectar :

Gilbert :

Thanx guys for commenting.

This guy is taking his sweet-time double-boxing them.

I paid immediately after the auction ended (within 5 minutes)...

...and the guy hasn't so much as boxed them up yet.

This is incredibly "heart wrenching"...

...and i also asked him over 10 times to call me.

When I leave the feedback on EBay towards this deal,

it will reflect his inconsideration.

NO "postive" feedback coming from me.

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Suggestion:

RELAX. Take a deep breath, and do not be an ahole to the seller - yet.

Packing a pair of Mcintosh 30's takes time and proper materials to do the job right. If one is not experienced in doing this, one discovers that there is much more to this job than meets the eye.

Doing it right requires double boxing and wrapping them in 6 inches thick of bubble wrap, as to not get damaged in shipping. Tubes should be removed, bubble wrapped, and shipped in a separate box.

Shippers can be hell on such gear. Trust me on this one - you don't want this job rushed, you want this done right. If the seller needs that time to do it right/collect materials and so forth, give that seller the leeway. You do not want an irritated seller packing up your Macs, you want a seller who genuinely desires your amps get to you as they left.

For this reason I always suggest:

1) Allow the seller (especially if inexperienced, as appears to be the case here) the leeway/time to do this right.

2) Offer to pay any costs associated with packing these amps properly (and trust me, packing stuff gets expensive - I spent over $75 in packing materials alone to ship a MX-110). You don't want your seller to "go cheap" here.....so offer to buy/pay for whatever materials he/she needs. Ignore whatever deal was offered regarding shipping price - six months from now, you won't care that you spent an extra $75 on shipping materials, cuz you'll have those beeeuuuutiful Macs.

3) Often, inexperienced ebay sellers aren't too super swift when it comes to quick responses when auctions finish. Many times, the seller doesn't realize/look ahead to what is going on in thier lives 7 days ahead when the auction is posted - or sometimes, stuff happens (seller works out of town, etc.). I usually leave a message by email and by phone (if available), then allow the seller time to get back to me. On a purchase like this one, I would have talked to the seller in advance of my bid - usually smoothes out some issues before I even win the bid on the item. But I wouldn't lose my marbles - just yet. Give the seller a few more days.

If you need any help on how to pack these up, I can walk you or your seller through the process. Feel free to ask if necessary.

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Take you time, it will probably take the seller a while to figure out to properly package the amps. Mark Deneen uses a layer of polystyrene on the top and bottom of his boxes to make them sturdier and to protect the equipment.

I used this idea when I shipped my Mapletree preamp overseas. I also used bubble wrap and peanuts. It took me three attempts to get the packing right and keep the shipping costs within reason. If it is within North America, it won't be so bad.

Be patient, a good packing job is more important than a rush job, even though you want the amps yesterday.

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