fgarib Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 Hey there?! Was running an interesting (if slightly fiery!) topic "What's all the fuss about?!?" detailing my ventures in buying a pair of MC-30's. It's a closed topic. Was that because of the Craig / DON Showdown? Do the moderators do that often? Or am I one of the lucky few? Was going on sunday and quite looking forward to putting my views and results up on the forum... Oh well! -F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 Yeah, the moderators closed it, but it's nothing that you had anything to do with. So, when you are ready to resume, post a new thread to resume your discussion. We've come this far, we are just as curious as to how this turns out as you are in the amps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 too bad there isn't a place where we can BS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 no colin THERE ISN´T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 Just restart your thread D0N won't be posting in it. The discussion can go on. Did you try to get the MC30 to your place for a audition in your system ? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 When and if a thread gets carried away, bickering, trolling or baiting for the sake of baiting, then the moderators close down the thread. That is what happened here. Feel free to repost your original question, updates on your progress, or futher questions you may have. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgarib Posted March 13, 2005 Author Share Posted March 13, 2005 Ok, It's my 101st post, and I have the MC-30's that I was talking about. Finalized the price right at $2000, subject to the audition at my house for a couple of days. I'll write in more detail later when I have had time to screw around a bit, but the sad news is that there is a hum in both channels. In one of them, you can hardly hear it when you really put your ear to the relevant Khorn. The other, however, is loud. And I didn't hear them on the Snells where (at the owner's house). What could it be? Remember, I'm completely new at this. I remember someone on this forum telling me that the tall silver things (see how new I am at this?!? ) could be the problem. If so, then I'm kinda stuck because I don't know if I'd be able to get that part here. Gonna try swapping speakers to see if the hum follows the amp. Meantime, any comments would be highly appreciated. However, turning the gain up on the one channel that does work.... Sweet. Very sweet. No imaging to speak of yet cause I'm just listening to one channel, but plugged in a Diana Krall cd, and it was good fun. Really good. And right off the bat, the spark that ignited the last topic was put to rest. Absolutely, unequivocally, and undeniably, there is NOOOOO lacking bass whatsoever! Smooth, tight, and er.. plentiful! Give me a few tips as to how I can get the darn things up and running. Thanks, -F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 Fauzi, You've gone "Crazy"!!!! The only cheap trick to try is reverse the plug on the loudest humming amp. That sometimes works. Tube amps are more prone to humming than SS. SS amps are more prone to Hissing. The Khorns being so very efficient will show these up more than power hungry speakers. I just thought of another very slight possibility, make sure the end of the cable with the shield connected is at the pre amp end. Hoping everything works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 If the amps are humming something is wrong. Properly designed tube amps like the Mcintosh in proper working order do not hum at all zipp zero nada. My VRD amps for instance average a 1.6mV of noise on the outputs. In other words dead silent unless you put your ear right up to the speaker. Has the MC had 3 wire AC cords installed ? If so get some cheater plugs also try ricks suggestion but that will surprise me if it does any good. On the amp with a louder buxx make sure the IC's are making a good contact with the jack. Also wirk each tube in its socket they could of lost connection on the trip to your place. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgarib Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 Rick, Thanks for the info. Will give them a shot when I get home. Craig, I will try to fiddle with the tubes themselves and "jiggle" them into place. Interesting thing is that right now I have them lying on the floor next to each other with the pre and cd player on a small rack behind them. Hence there are cables running back and forth all over the place. Maybe there's magnetic interference from the pre to the speaker wire, though I doubt it. But, as I was saying, the interesting thing is that when I moved the power cable for the non-humming (or lesser humming) amp, there was a quiet thunking sound, and it too developed a hum... until a moved the cable around some more, and then it disappeared. Not so with the other amp, though. That continued to hum no matter what I did with it. What about the silver tower things? Filter capacitors, is that what they're called? Can those be replaced easily, if they need to be? -F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Yea they can be replaced but man at $2000 I would expect them to work properly. Of course like you said you don't have allot of choices where you live so the market could be way higher for them there. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 On the LOUD humming amp, check the speaker connections to the amp. If ANY part of the speaker lead touches the chrome chassis, there will be a fairly loud hum. I did this when I first got mine, and had a hard time figuring it out, but I finally located it. Some of the older MC-30 speaker leads are close to the chassis and are just screws, where the newer lead panel "protrudes" and has "dividers" between the screw leads. The older ones have more problems with a loose speaker lead/wire strand causing a hum from contacting the chrome. A "U" type connector should make connections easier - bare wire doesn't work so well on the old Macs. On the SLIGHTLY humming amp: first try adjusting the "hum" on the adjustment pot on the amp. If that doesn't help: If the filter capacitors (tall silver cylinders on the corner of the amps) are original on these, they should be replaced. Old filter caps can cause some mild humming in these amps as well.....replacing mine made them SILENT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgarib Posted March 16, 2005 Author Share Posted March 16, 2005 Rick / Craig / Audible Nectar (LOVE that name!) Thanks a lot for all your input. With a heavy heart, and tons of self-persuasion, I have convinced myself that 2k is just waaaay to much to pay for an amp that still needs a little bit of work. Tried a ton of things, short of changing the filter capacitor, but nothing seemed to work. So, after many evening of not having my KHorns hooked up to anything but humming tubes, and an SS pre, I finally re-connected my McIntosh MA 6400 SS integrated. WOW! That's all I can say. Each time I fire this thing up, I wonder why I ever thought about changing it. Last night, I had an extended listening session with Sade crooning right in front of me... Most fun it was!! Anyways, so I remain tubeless for now... but without much regret. Does it get warmer with tubes? Probably. Does it nicer than this? Not likely... at least, I can't imagine it being worth the headache that I was about to get into. Next time I travel though, I'm sure I'm going to get thinking about venturing down tube alley again. Until that time, however, Mac SS is king for me. Regards, -F PS: Does it really get warmer? I really, really can not imagine it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 If you could not kill the hum with simple measures, you did the right thing Fauzi. Your day will come and you will be able to step into the warm glow. In the meantime, light up the night with your Mac 6400! In truth, it's all good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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