fenderbender Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Just thought I'd right my own little review based on my own experience. I was Beating myself up because I listed all my mcintosh SS gear for sale and I have a buyer coming over tonight.......Soooo I pulled all my gear out and hooked it all up in the main listening room So I could A/B all the gear... I was listening through Heresy II's with new tweeters , BC recaps and then Cornwall I's BC recaps For the gear Mcintosh : Mc 2505 , MX 112 fully serviced at Mcintosh a couple of years ago, MCD 7007 Sansui: Au 11000 just serviced, Au7900 serviced By Bristol 1 year ago, Au 7900 never serviced...Cheapo sony cd..... And For Phono's Technics Sl1210. Now I had had the Sansui gear hooked up for awhile and I was hesitant about hooking up the mac......turned on the mac with a very good Marcus Miller cd....boy was I relieved ....There was a definite dark veil over the mids and the bass was not responsive and crisp. I went back and forth several times changing sources and speakers and the results were that even the unserviced Sansui AU 7900 was more musical and transparent. The Au 11000 just kicked butt ...Now i know it has double the headroom but we are talking and integrated that sells for about 1/3 of the mac gear I have. The Mcintosh are pretty pieces, and I know they don't come close to some of the more modern megabucks units, but dollor for dollar the pre 1980 Sansui gear is highly underrated... and if you should happen to come across any at garage sales etc, try one out...they may surprise you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I had a MC 2205 amp, and wasn't impressed with it at all. Especially when comparing it to the VRD's. I tried it with an older Yamaha C4 preamp, as well as the BBX, and it just didn't deliver for me. I know there are others who really like the SS McIntosh sound, but I would have to say it's not for me. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I'll get fried for this but I had a McIntosh MC-2102 which is a multi thousand dollar tubed amp. I sold it and replaced it with a pair of multi-hundred dollar Crown K2 amps and put $3,000 into my pocket. Although the 2102 DID sound good, it didn't sound $3,000 better to my ears than some other amps I have. In my case, it was definately the law of diminishing returns and as much as I LOVED the look of that amp, "Mr. Practical" finally got ahold of me and I let it go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 It really is amazing that you can find very good inexpensive equipment if you have the right speakers!!! It kills me that most folks can't figure out that the speakers are over 50% of the equation. Some Speakers require that you drive them with 1000 plus watts and to what end??? spending MO money Mo money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 It really is amazing that you can find very good inexpensive equipment if you have the right speakers!!! It kills me that most folks can't figure out that the speakers are over 50% of the equation. Some Speakers require that you drive them with 1000 plus watts and to what end??? spending MO money Mo money! I experienced that very equation with Maggies. They sounded nice with an MC2105, but they wanted more and I foolishly gave in till the checking account cried "Uncle!". Not to mention the savings reflected on the electric bill, and the lack of electric heaters that dominated my living landscape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Try TUBES ..................... they sound real nice with Cornwalls ................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I have a $1,200 cayin A50T with EL34 tubes. This amp is a particularly good match with klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 I have read good things about the A50T.....heck hard to beat any simple EL34 amp! Hey OB tubes are another story altogether........some classic Scott, dynaco gear will beat the pants off alot of the esoteric $20000 piles of gold plated ego out there.....as for me I'm getting my Klipschorns this weekend!!!! yeah baby and then I start looking hot and heavy for an original Sansui Au-111 6L6gc integrated...if not I'll "settle"[] for some VRDs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Scott 299-D + Cornwalls + Sub = [] ..................... they say VRD's are very nice !!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 OB How are you splitting off the signal from the 299-D for the sub???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2toobs Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 OB How are you splitting off the signal from the 299-D for the sub???? I'm not OB but the 299 has a center speaker connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 OB How are you splitting off the signal from the 299-D for the sub???? I'm not OB but the 299 has a center speaker connection. Thats good to know...I had know idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 YUP, center channel output ........ I run a Scott 299-D, and I run a Yamaha Reciever ..... when in doubt ... own 'em both, Tubes and SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 It really is amazing that you can find very good inexpensive equipment if you have the right speakers!!! It kills me that most folks can't figure out that the speakers are over 50% of the equation. Some Speakers require that you drive them with 1000 plus watts and to what end??? spending MO money Mo money [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 It really is amazing that you can find very good inexpensive equipment if you have the right speakers!!! It kills me that most folks can't figure out that the speakers are over 50% of the equation. Some Speakers require that you drive them with 1000 plus watts and to what end??? spending MO money Mo money! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearfreak Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I've yet to try my AU-717 w/horns, but have an AU-D9 at the ready and will try to get to it. An 1100 is desired eventually. Previously a Yamaha CA-800 setup was ok, but the switch to the 5wpc EL-84 Almarro A205-A 'prototype' revealed things that I had not heard in the past (ever, dare I say, ever with headphones). Like Donald or Walter (or someone) singing WAY out of tune at the very (?) end of Steely Dan's Dr. Wu: "Can you hear me Dr.?". It is between 3:49 and 3:51 on the cd track that I have if anyone wants to try. I have not tried it with the vinyl version yet. Alas, the Almarro is 'polite' on bass by design, and will be the subject of their C1 mod in the near future to see what that changes. Another mod, removing the coils, did certainly provide more HF extension - and it may have been after that when I heard what I heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 It is apparent on the vinyl....cool another dan head!!!!! I really want to snag a AU-111 and rebuild it....those Hashimoto transformers are the best in the industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearfreak Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Amen! Gaucho and The NightFly (Fagen of course) have gotten a lot of play while I experiment with an active xover. Had you heard the WU thing before? I am not technical enough to comment on the xformers yet, but http://sansui.us/ has been listing info on new production replacements for some time now... (if it is of use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 I have a friend at work and some days all we debate are the danism's and silly nuances of the entire discograghy...... Caught the DR Wu thing a few years back on a really nice studio reference system, thanks for jolting my memory, I need to dig out the vinyl and check again ...I'm picking up a mint pair of klipschorns with ALK networks on saturday....I'll check it out on those puppies. We are so nut's at work about Dan that when we have the money we want to do an "amazing race" type dan hunt.......going from city to city...we want to include all kinds of clues that if you don't get the reference and they can be littoral instead of figurative, you don't move on to get the next clue..... examples: You need to outside the stadium at exactly 6:05 where there is a table full of cologne...and you need to pour out just the "brute" and "Charisma" on the shadow of "Hoops" only then can you proceed to my chow's to order the "schezwan dumplings" we came up with about 100 of these that could be linked....think it would be really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Man, that little dog has a beautiful front end! tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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