Frzninvt Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Well I got the McIntosh MC-30's, Fedex managed to have the cartons arrive on different days and they also managed to bend the corner on one slightly but they are 100% operational. It can be fixed with a rubber mallet I am sure, but I don't have one. I Wiped them off put the tubes in all the right places, put them in place connected the leads and speaker wires as was prepared to be flabbergasted but it just did not happen. The sound is very nice, very clean sounding with no noise at all, got the gains dialed in and tried a variety of sources then switched back to my DBX BX1 and the sonic differences were negligible the BX1 just sounds that good! The midrange is just a tad more lush with the 30's but not by much. The BX1 also images better making the the Klipschorn's disappear and create that center image, the MC-30's did it but not to the degree of the BX1. So I guess I have to say I am not impressed and I will listen to them over the weekend but based solely on my initial impressions I think I will be offering them up for sale for what I have invested at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Mmmm, That was an interesting take on a mcIntosh amp........[:^)] Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 A few question's 1) What are you driving the MC30's with? 2) What has been done if anything to the MC30's ? What would be really cool is if you could post a picture of the under chassis of the amps. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 So I guess I have to say I am not impressed and I will listen to them over the weekend but based solely on my intial impressions I think I will be offering them up for sale for what I have invested at this point. Hey! What about this deal... Your pair of MC-30 against my Crown D-75? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 The MC30 is a sweet amp. What do you want for them? JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 What Craig said. The first MC240 I had was very unimpressive. It looked real cool, so I luckily I kept it. I finally had it serviced and I could not believe it was the same amp. You can't really judge a vintage piece until you know it's running like it's supposed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwhaples Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Frzninvt, Sorry to hear your take on tubes. Your SS must really be something to hear. Maybe someday? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 hi, You like what you like. What sounds best to you listen to. I have a ss amp (Soundcraftsman 230w/channel at 8 ohms) that I was going to sell. I hooked it up to a AES AE-3 preamp with nos Sylvania 6SN7WGtT's brown base and guess what .... I'm keeping it. It's prior problem ... a lousy pramp. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 What tubes are you using? Power tubes, rectifier, and the 4 small tubes? My initial setup was not great when I got it, but substituting Teles in slots 1 and 4, 12AX7's, Mullard 12AU7 in slot 2 and a RCA blackplate 12BH7 in slot 3 will help. Vintage 5U4G, bottle shaped blackplates will also do the trick. Each change made a difference to the sound in a positive way. Using RCA's for the small tubes as my amp was originally equiped with, did nothing for the sound. Craig also has replaced the bumblebees on mine with Russian teflons and a few other caps he had available. It did make a difference. Craig has access to some decent 6L6GC Chinese generics that are good for a very reasonable price. There are better options, but they cost a pretty penny. Good luck, Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Auwen Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 It probably wouldn't be too much of a surprise if I mentioned that I would be interested in them if they didn't work out for you...[] As others have suggested, you might find that trying some other tubes may help... I find that I like the tele 12AX7, Bugle Boy 12AU7, Black Plate RCA 12BH7 and GEC KT66 combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Charles, are you running the Macs off of your NAD preamp?? If you are, my guess is that you are not hearing that big of a difference because of your preamp. In my opinion, even though an amp's signature and sound contributes to your overall sound, the preamp's sound is at least, if not more important, to the overall sound. I learned the impact of a tube pre when I first paired one up with a solid state amp. When I first jumped into tubes, I tried various tube and solid state preamps with various solid state and tube amps. In my experience, some ss pre/tube amp combinations are better than others, and for that matter, I did not like some of the all tube combinations. Your NAD pre is a fine piece, but it is about synergy of the pieces, pre and amp - not the overall quality of the ss pre. My Classe preamp is a very nice piece, and it sounded great paired with some tube amps - but with other tube amps - there was not much sound difference from solid state amps. My advice is to see if you can get your hands on a tube pre/pro to try with them (borrow or inexpensive purchase). That might change your opinion. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 How long did you listen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzo Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 What. someone is not very happy with a wholly of wholly McIntosh tube amp??? He should be drawn and quartered! Of course it's a wiring problem or cap problem or tube problem or your power cord is crap or your speaker wire is sub-standard or you have cheap inter-connects but it can't be that a SS amp sounds as good, maybe better, than a tube amp! Especially, a McIntosh tube amp! It's just not done! Let the Saints preserve us! What ever shall we do??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzo Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Oh, of course, it's the cheap NAD pre-amp! What were you thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Never said it was a cheap NAD pre. Quite the contrary - I've heard that particular NAD pre before - its a nice piece and I liked it alot. But, I've never heard that pre paired up with tubes. Again, its not about the quality of the pre/pro - its about synergy between the pieces.... And I do not believe he was unhappy with the Macs... he just did not hear as big of a difference as he expected to - simply by hooking up tube amps. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudret Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Charles, I remember seeing a picture of the amps you bought. I believe they were rebuit mostly with Solen caps. I think they should be rebuilt with proper caps by someone who knows McIntosh amps . Kudret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 What. someone is not very happy with a wholly of wholly McIntosh tube amp??? He should be drawn and quartered! Of course it's a wiring problem or cap problem or tube problem or your power cord is crap or your speaker wire is sub-standard or you have cheap inter-connects but it can't be that a SS amp sounds as good, maybe better, than a tube amp! Especially, a McIntosh tube amp! It's just not done! Let the Saints preserve us! What ever shall we do??? Why do you have to be such *%$(& The fact of the matter is 40 year old gear can sound very different then it really should or ought too. 40 year old black beauty caps are the god awful worst thing to listen to on earth. mushy bass, smeared imaging you name it. They leak like a rusty bucket to boot. Then top that with the fact that many technicians replace them with 25 cent POS and the sound of the MC30 or any other tube amp can vary by a huge margin. These are not guesses there pure facts. If the guy just likes his SS gear better that is fine but mine and others questions here are absolutely valid. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Charles, I remember seeing a picture of the amps you bought. I believe they were rebuit mostly with Solen caps. I think they should be rebuilt with proper caps by someone who knows McIntosh amps . Kudret and there you go my point exactly. Solens in the signal path are not a pretty thing especially in a MC product where there are multiples in the path. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Nah!,,,I'll be quite.,,,,,on second thought, screw that. I knew you were going to say something like this CB, I bet money on it. And won! But in all honesty, there could be something wrong with those puppies. Kurdet did spot the cap change right off. And it sounds like the shipping boys played bumper cars with the amps. So, maybe there is something wrong with the amps, or...maybe your tone deaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Before giving up on them, find a way to audition a proper all-tube set-up. I had my Kenwood SS reciever as a pre while my Blueberry was out of comission and it was night and day. The Kenwood is not a bad piece of gear either. I think you'd be floored if you heard a good tube setup. As previously stated, the pre may be more important. In addition, Macs are not for everyone. They have a prticular sound that I personally don't prefer over something like VRDs or nicely rebuilt MkIIIs. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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