steve Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Well, I took the plunge and just bought a new McIntosh C2200 preamp..and I absolutely love the sound! So I was thinking about getting one of their amps to go with it. I'm running an SET 300B 8 watt amp now, which is smooth (not trying to start the SET debate here) but the amp I'm looking at is Mac's MC275 75 watt tube amp. Will I notice an increase in bass output?? Thanx for all hep. Regards, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Congrats on the 2200, I have been coveting one of those since they came out, if you decide it sucks sell it to me! LOL...re: a 275 versus 300B SET, it is hard to say what it will do to bass reponse, what 300B amp do you have? I suspect there may be a bit more slam but without knowing more it remains hard to conjecture. No chance of auditioning the mcintosh amp? (you bought a preamp, they should let you audition the amp). warm regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Hmmm, let me ponder that question for the weekend and get back to you on Monday. That's a tough one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Yes, I believe you would have better bass with the McIntosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 You will notice your music come to life and sound absolutely real. No flame wars required. By the way what 300B amp will you be selling soon? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 Thanx all..Paul, it was an honest question..I'll ignore the sarcasm. However, what kind of slam shall I expect, and will I be sacrificing any of the mids? Thanx Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triode Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 You'll probably have more bass slam, but overall the music will be less intimate and less enjoyable. I'd keep the SET and get a Powered Sub-Woofer instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 he ALREADY has a Subwoofer ..... i'd say ... ifn' ya want "slam" ... you need at least 200 wpc ... considering you have K-Horns .. it gonna be tough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Once I saw the title of this post, I couldn't get to Parrot's response fast enough. Low and behold, he didn't disappoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 You'll get tons more bass slam but will most definitely give up transparency and detail in the mids. I think you'll know pretty quickly which you prefer since they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 Tony and Craig..I have the Assemblage SET300B..made by a division of Sonic Frontiers..If I do decide to get the Mac I'll sell it..I'll also be selling the Scott 130 pre Craig..will probably offer it here first. I didn't audition the C2200, bought it on faith. The place inn Anchorage carries Mac gear, but they don't keep any tube equipment on hand..so I can't try the MC275. What with the clarity of the KHorns Gary, do you think I'd really lose that much of the mids/his? I certainly don't want to spend that kind of cash and not be happy. Sure do like the preamp though.. Thanx all for your advice. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Jumping from a 300B SET to a 6550/KT88 push-pull monster is a HUGE jump--about as big a difference as can be imagined. The new 275 isn't worth the money. The ORIGINAL 275 was the worst sounding tube amp McIntosh ever made and they certainly didn't improve it any! There are MUCH better amps out there for MUCH less. I know it's easy to fall in love with all that shiny stainelss steel (no chrome on the new one!) and black paint, but I think it would be a big mistake. If you DON'T like it you're stuck with an amp that you'd be lucky to get 70% of what you paid for it! If you want a McIntosh tube stereo amp, look for a nice, clean MC240 or MC225. Better still, find a pair of MC30s. All of these options will cost you less than HALF of what a new MC275 runs and if you don't like them you can sell them for what you have invested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Just in the interest of being fair and balanced, below are some comments from Stereophile's Sam Tellig. I have no dog in this fight since I've never heard this particular Mac. Tellig has had a lot of wild ideas in his time, so I'd be skeptical of his rave. He's also a huge SET fan. For what it's worth: The McIntosh MC275 is a startling amplifier. From the moment I turned it on, I understood why it stayed in production for a dozen years, and why mint-condition used MC275s often fetch up to eight times their original purchase price This is a classic. Long after most other amplifiers, tube or solid-state, are forgotten, the MC275 will still be a classic. What's so special? The history, for starters. This is one of the most famous high-end amplifiers ever made. It's also, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful amps ever made. The Mac 275 reminds me of a late 1950s or early '60s Cadillac. I'd have to own one of those on looks alone. At $4000, the MC275 isn't cheap. The price is high partly because of the US-made Richardson KT88 output tubes. (The tubes are no longer made by Richardson in the US, but I understand that Richardson will be producing KT88s in France.) The tubes cost McIntosh more than $115 a pop that's over $500 per MC275. Of course, McIntosh has to pass along the cost, but I'm told they haven't marked them up. They make their margin on the amp itself, not the tubes. Actually, cheapskate or former cheap-skate that I am, I found that a quartet of Shuguang Golden Dragon KT88 Super tubes worked just splendidly in my McIntosh MC275, so the original Richardson tubes are preserved for posterity. (You can also use 6550s, though I wouldn't. I tried some and greatly preferred the sound quality obtained with either brand of the KT88s. Time will tell about the reliability of the Golden Dragon KT88s, but I think they're fine-sounding tubes.) What's really special about this amp is exactly the quality that I missed in the 9Wpc Cary 300SEs namely, the quality of dynamic drive. These amps have an amazing amount of forward thrust. They punch out the music in a lively, exciting way lots of push/pull going on! And not just on jazz or rock. Classical music, too, benefits from this added power or thrust. There's more of a foundation on symphonic pieces. Cellos sound more exciting on string quartets. Even most solid-state amps sound weak or wimpy compared to the Mac. It's big, beefy, ballsy. It's like a 1960s Cadillac. All of this dynamic drive is fine. The good news is that it's not at the expense of midrange and treble sweetness or overall transparency. The amps are smooth, sweet, maybe just a tad rolled off on top, with superior resolution and detail. Compared with some amps, however, the sound is, in soundstaging terms, a little forward rather than pushed back. This may be a characteristic of the KT88 output tubes. Caution, though: This dynamic drive, this balls-out quality, which can be fine with speakers such as the ProAc Response 1s, may not be so wonderful with other speakers. A friend who knows the original MC275 very well warns me, for instance, that it's perhaps not the ideal amp for driving the Vandersteen 2Ci, which is already endowed with a very dynamic and generous bottom end. How does the Mac 275 compare with the Cary amps? The Mac 275, in case you didn't get the point, is much more dynamic. Its sound is forward while the Carys are more laid-back. (The soundstage itself comes forward with the Mac; goes back with the Carys.) For sweetness and hquidity, the Carys are unsurpassed, but the Mac is very, very fine. Resolution of fine detail is superb with the Mac and the Carys. The Mac 275 also offers a way out of the audiophile rat race that requires you to update your amp every two years. This is one of those rare audio products that transcends time. A cynic may say it's already obsolete. Me? I may wind up with the Mac in the living room and a Cary amp in my main listening room.6 The Mac is just a joy to look at. But it's not just a museum piece it's a great-sounding amp that can hold its own against any of today's top tube amps. (Its sound reminds me most of the KT88- equipped Air Tight ATM-2, which retails for $5950.) The MC275 is not without its drawbacks. There is no ON/OFF switch. (AC power was switched on and off by an accompanying preamp.) So you may have to do as I did and use an external power-switching box. The binding strip, while secure, takes only the smallest of spades or bare wire. You may have to file down the sides of your spade lugs so they fit. Like the original, the new MC275 can be user-bridged to run in mono, where it delivers 150Wpc instead of 75Wpc stereo. By the way, the input sensitivity is adjustable, and these adjustments can function as volume controls. You can run a CD player or processor straight in. So what to do? You might try to find one of these amps. Some dealers might have one or two.7 If you can't find a Mac 275, you're out of luck, because, according to McIntosh President Ron Fone, his company has no plans to go into regular production again with a tube amp (though they are reviewing the possibility of reintroducing the C22 tube preamplifier, again on a limited basis). The Mac 275 is a classic. Actually, its sound quality not to mention its build quality embarrasses many of today's tube amplifiers. And it shows you how much overpriced junk there is around today. Imagine if General Motors reissued the 1960 Cadillac Eldorado... or if Leica brought back the M-2... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triode Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Well if he prefers a 1960 El Dorado, I think that about says it all as far as his taste is concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Quite a large car: http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/cad1960/cad60e.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiohead Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Allan speaks the truth when it comes to McIntosh. Please listen to his advice. The MC275 is absolutely horrible compared to the MC30's, MC240 and MC225. Tube rectification is where it's at. Try and find some 30's. You won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Among the El Dorado fanatics, the '60 is thought of rather highly. To me it screams both everthing that was RIGHT and everyting that was WRONG about post-WWII America all at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 ---------------- On 8/12/2005 8:27:46 PM steve wrote: Tony and Craig..I have the Assemblage SET300B..made by a division of Sonic Frontiers. ---------------- In that case, you'll probably be better with the MC 275. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 Allan thanx for the insight..I'm assuming you've heard the 275? I only ask, as all the reviews say it's a great amp. Yes, I love the clarity of my SET but I do miss the bass..a lot. I appreciate the insight on the other Mac amps. Paul, I read that review in Stereophiloe awhile back. Sam actually bought the one he demo'd. Also, that was the "anniversary" model. The newer ones do have an on/off switch. I'll have to ponder this for awhile. But if I do get it, I guess I can keep both amps. After all, the first one's paid for. Thanx again. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 I have owned three MC275s over the years--all of them originals. I listened to the anniversary model for a couple of hours when it was first out at a McIntosh dealer in L.A. He had it driving some big-*** Tannoys. I have to tell you when we switched to the lastest McIntosh mono solid state amps there was a DRAMATIC improvement! I really have never heard a KT-88/6550 amp that I liked all that much. It just doesn't make sense to buy a 275 when every other McIntosh tube amp ever made sounds better. Then again, you may love it. Who knows? All I can do is give my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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