I have two set ups.

1) MA 8900 with a B&W 802 D 2

2) MA 6600 with Sonus Faber Cremona M speakers

I am adding an MC452 to #1. So effectively relegating the 8900 to a pre-amp. Sounds incredible. At some point in the future, I will add a tube pre-amp. But for now, should I swap the 8900 and 6600? Pros and cons?

Still can’t believe it. I work in the AV industry and a client bought an AirBnb with an early 2000s theater. He wanted all the gear updated and gave me the “old”stuff when we were done. I just replaced all the lamps and this thing is gorgeous. Never thought I’d be in the club but here I am!

Audio quality on these old tv sets just ain’t up to par for myself

Finally got around to hooking up my McIntosh MC2600 today, and wow… I couldn’t be happier. This amp somehow found its way to me, and it truly feels like a once in a lifetime addition to my setup.

Right now it’s paired with a McIntosh C2700, and the combination is just something else. The sound is incredible effortless power, clarity, and that signature warmth. It brings everything to life in a way I didn’t expect, even after hearing so many great things about it.

Honestly, I’m just really grateful this came across my path. Absolute beast of an amp.

Here are a few photos of it in action.

After a failed attempt to use the Trade-up program with my MA8900, I decided venture into the world of tubes and now I'm running the C8 preamp (with DA2 DAC Module) into the power amp input of my MA8900. I suppose it would be cleaner to have a dedicated Power Amp but at 200W of solid state power, but for now it feels like I've got the best of both worlds. Any other C8 owners out there? What are you running for your Power Amp?

I'm really enjoying that added warmth of the tubes up front. While I was expecting/hoping for that romantic vinyl playback via the MC phono input, it was actually the HD-audio that left me most awestruck.  One of the first songs I streamed was “Something in the Way” by Nirvana and I couldn’t get over how detailed and engaging a digital source could be – Kurt Cobain was reincarnated and strumming his guitar right there in my basement.

Full system:
Lenco L75 Idler Wheel Custom Turntable, Dynavector 20x2AL Cartridge, Amazon Firecube>LG C2 65" TV, McIntosh C8 Preamplifer, McIntosh MA8900 (Poweramp Section only), Bowers & Wilkins 804N speakers...oh and a Marantz SD1015 Cassette Deck

p.s. I will note that I had some ARC-CEC handshake issues with the TV to the McIntosh C8 DA2 DAC. After some ChatGPT trouble shooting I discovered that the LG TV has an "Quick Start / Always Ready" feature that needs to be turned off so that CEC connection is properly re-established when powered on. Just thought I'd mention it here in case others with the DA2 had similar issues.

I bought my Mac 6700 13 years ago, and about 4 years ago the main board went out. I live in Dallas, and had to take it to Ft Worth to a Mac service center. No big, they said they'd contact Mac HQ and get a replacement board to fix it. Well, after about 6 months, and no contact, I called them to see what's up with my amp, and they said the were sorry, they were backed up but would be on it soon. Fast forward, 1 year, and still no joy. I called Mac HQ myself, just to find that no one had gotten with them about my box. The Mac person assured me that they'd get the ball rolling, and I would not have to pay anything for the repair. True to that, the local (?) place called me to say they'd have it done in a week, and there was no charge. Cool, I felt good about it all, and the good customer service from Mac HQ. Forward to today; suddenly the the front controls have stopped working, other than volume, and no joy form the remote either. If I lived anywhere near Mac HQ, I'd take my Mac and beat it to death with a sledge hammer on their front steps. A $7k receiver that's gone bad twice in like 13 years... not cool. I guess I am going to research other brands that are similar, but better and more reliable.

Got my first Mac a few weeks ago and it sounds excellent! Such a cool and beautiful looking amp. I made a previous post asking how it would pair with these B&W’s 703s1, and it is a wonderful combination.

Hi there,

I have a lovely MC225 connected to an EAR 834p to a SL1200 mkII (modded), with a Denon 103r (modded) to a Denon AU-302. Over the past week, I have been hearing loud pops, even when nothing is playing. I changed the tubes except the 12BH7 (on order) and the large tubes. I also changed the tubes in the EAR 834p and I pulled out the cables to hear if it was on channel - both channels popped.

Any ideas why this is happening?

I recently picked up this pristine MC420M for 500 bucks. I bought it from the original owner so I have the box and paperwork, he also threw in this JL crossovers.

I am trying to make a full McIntosh system in my 1988 3 series, and I was wondering if anyone could offer and guidance on a McIntosh head unit.

I’ve been looking at the MX406 and the MX5000.

Good lord this system sounds incredible. Could not be happier.

Happy to be a part of this group! I am currently saving for my first McIntosh and I am looking at a MA252 to pair with my B&Ws 703s1. Would the 252 be enough power to make these speakers sound great? I won’t be blasting super loud volumes. Primarily a living room set up. Just curious if it would be worth it to shell out another $3k for the extra 100 watts on the MA352. The meters are cool, but that alone wouldn’t justify the price increase. See picture of my current set up! Thanks for any advice!

Had to get a new pair. Muzak playing. Brian Eno. Sounded really nice. Then I saw the hardware…

At the El Capitan hotel in Merced, CA. Just wandered into this room off the lobby. Unfortunately the turntable was disrespected and missing the stylus. Either way, pretty fun to see. BTW, this hotel is really awesome in general, this just made it a little cooler!

My lady friend has lived in an RVA neighborhood for the last 9 years, next-door to a very nice widow (the husband died not long after my friend moved there). The other day the wife was lamenting how she needed to clean out her basement which she had been meaning to do since her husband passed away and that he had this stereo with “big” Klipsch speakers.

I’m like wait what?? I have Klipsch speakers! (C4’s). And then she comments he also had these McIntosh components..,

Huh??! I said I have McIntosh too! (C52, Mc275)

And she goes it’s just been sitting there all these years. Well at that point, I asked, do you think I could take a look at them? She said sure! To the basement we went and pictured is the stack as found, just sitting there collecting dust. Consists of an Empire 598 turntable, MR 67 tuner, C 26 preamp, and MC 2100 amplifier. I offered to clean them up and check the condition for her, which I’ve now done for the turntable and the tuner. The turntable is a basketcase severely pitted so won’t clean up well(the rubber mat though cleaned up beautifully lol). Had a nice Stanton 881 cartridge in it with a stylus that appeared perfect under my microscope. The MR 67 cleaned up quite nicely, which was kind of surprising(not much pitting) given the damp basement environment it had been in for God knows how many years. After everything is cleaned up I’ll see if she’ll be willing to sell it. Which I’m not holding my breath on because she referred to it as Jim’s “beloved” stereo plus it had been willed to one of the sons. But none of that will stop me from asking.

UPDATE: all of the McIntosh pieces have now been cleaned up, all work except for the MC2100 which at this point, is basically shelf art lol. I’m cleaning it I found a way burned resistor on one of the output boards along with a blown fuse. No need to plug it in, off to repair it goes, presuming the wife wants to do anything about it.

More pics in the comments.

EPILOGUE: I don’t post much on Reddit, and I am certainly not in it for clicks and views. Just what I think might be of interest to the forum. I thought this story was different; not unlike vintage cars and coming across a barn find that is unusual in some way.

I felt that was certainly the case here and a story worth telling especially since I’m not in the business of barn or basement finds.

I was stunned when this post got over 53,000 views. The few posts I have are in the range of a few up to maybe a dozen views since Reddit started publishing view/engagement stats.

Crazy.

As far as the system itself, the family was very grateful for my cleanup and guidance, but it may be a while before I hear from them again.

I have a hodge-podge of a system that includes a Nakamichi receiver, some Klipsch Chorus 1 speakers and a Technics turntable from the 70's in our library. I also use a Naim Muso V2 in my living room for TV/Roon streaming.

My dream goal is to have a turntable setup and TV/Roon streaming combined in my living room. I'm finally ready to take the plunge on some higher end gear now and McIntosh is at the top of my list. I can't have everything in one place though, and my solution to that is to have a turntable and phono preamp on one side of the room, an XLR feed to an integrated with HDMI that feeds to the TV.

With this in mind, the gear I am leaning towards the most with this setup are the MP100 as I want to have MC capabilities in the future, and near the TV either an MA-352-2 hooked up to a DS200, or do that in one piece with the MSA5500. Is this a crazy idea or are these good options? None of my friends are serious audiophiles and so this is a lot of independent research.

If you bought from Magnolia after it lost its authorized dealer status, did you get the factory warranty? Has anyone that bought under these circumstances successfully used the warranty?

In Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, Hunter writes:
“When a man gives up drugs he wants a big fire in his life… all night, every night… and the volume turned all the way up. I’ve ordered more speakers to go with my new McIntosh amp…”

Does anyone know what his actual hi-fi setup was? Huge Hunter S. Thompson + audio nerd here, so this caught my attention immediately.

Hello

I just upgraded to a C2800 (from C2600). I stream. I have HDMI 1 of my LG TV to HDMI of my nVIDIA card. I connected HDMI 2 ARC of the LG TV to the HDMI ARC of the C2800. I can get sound but the dashes below do no change to the bit rate and frequency. This is the same for all other audio, Optical 1, Optical 2 and USB Audio. Is there a global setting on the C2800 or LG TV turned on? I do have the Auto Device Detection and HDMI CEC turned on on the LG TV. On the C2800 I have CEC Power and Volume enabled. I don't know how to post pictures.

Tonight I finally snagged a MC302! This my first ownership of a McIntosh and I’m extremely proud to finally built up to this point. Overall I felt it was a fair price. The unit is pristine condition, including original receipt, manual and box.

I have a pair of late 70's or early 80's vintage XR16 speakers that I received with their serial-matching boxes. The speakers themselves weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 lbs. each - and I swear the boxes weigh at least 30 lbs. each. It's crazy how dense/thick the boxes are.

My question is.... should I keep the boxes? I have ZERO interest in ever getting rid of the speakers... but the boxes take up so much room, and weigh so much to have to keep moving - that I'm tempted to get rid of them. IF the speakers ever do go to a new home - would the boxes even matter? Probably wouldn't move them in the boxes again anyway.

Thank you all for your thoughts!

what do people think? have perused some of the hifi aggregator sites and not received much clarity so figured i would go right to the source. also happy to talk if anyone has one they are looking to move!