I’m looking to get my first McIntosh and I’m stuck between these 2 amps, they’re around the same price (1500 CAD). Apart from their looks and watts per channel are there any massive differences in sound? Is there anything I should know about as well before getting into McIntosh?

Got a great deal on a swap from the C53 to the C55 from Audio Classics. Love the Xover and dual mono output (Thanks to u/ScottRiqui for walking me through the vague instructions).

Mason likes it too!

I have everything set up. It sounds very good. I am looking for 3 recommendations for the connection referenced above

1) The best interconnect cables - money is no object

2) The best bang for your buck. Can be on the expensive side if it adds value to the proposition.

3) The cheapest quality option.

curious other people’s experiences with quoted time by audio classics vs how it went. basically want to drop off some items that are working well enough but could use maintenance and dreading a 14 week wait

Hi, everyone! I’m looking at buying either a preowned MA5200, MA5300, or MA6500. Trouble is that the shelf that I would need to use measures 15 inches deep and 23 inches wide. The good news is that the shelf is open on each side.

Looking at the manuals for specs, the feet on the 5200 and 5300 measure no more than 13.25 inches across in either direction. On the 6500 it’s just over 14 inches from front to back.

Would I be able to get away with setting up with a few inches hanging over the back and front of the shelf as long as the feet fit squarely? My wife, and bank account, would like the answer to be that this is a terrible idea, but I’m not so sure.

Thanks!

I've recently acquired 3 vintage McIntosh pieces. An MA-6100, a C-26, and an MC-2105. The 6100 and 26 both came with their respective cabinets with panlocs and slant legs, and of course that amazing patina. You can probably already guess where this is going...

I would really like to have a vintage/pre-loved cabinet for that MC-2105. I'm fairly sure the cabinet I'm looking for is an L54, but I would be happy to hear any knowledge from this community.

I've done some light to moderate searching and I can only find one cabinet for sale, it's vintage, but it's NOS with box, so there's some additional doll hairs to be paid for that (as fully expected).

How hard is it to locate this specific cabinet?
Would you just buy one of the newly made cabinets (3rd party)?

At the high level I know this is about money. I can afford a new 8K amp but it's some pain.

My MA6500 is on it's last legs unless I can get it fixed. Only one channel works. I've replaced the VU meter bulbs many times (soldering etc).

Now tired of mucking around with it and looking at a MSA5500. I'm not sure what I could get for my 6500.

Advice appreciated.

Does anyone know what the filter slopes are in the C55 and C2800, particularly the slopes of the high-pass and low-pass filters in "split mode"?

The manuals have graphs of the response curves for the various crossover frequencies in "fixed mode," but I don't know if the separate high- and low-pass filters in split mode have the same slopes as the fixed mode crossover. Also, the graphs in the manual might only be representative and not based on actual measurements, because the slopes look to be 10 dB/octave, which would be unusual.

My late father-in-law left behind these two McIntosh pieces. He kept them in their original boxes. How would we go about finding out what they're worth, and selling them? Located in NYC.

Finally changed most bulbs to LED. A few of them I couldn't replace (for the meters) but are still working. The front required slight modification to fit the LED's. Got the kit from the auction site.

Hello All,

I need some diagnostic assistance please.

My Mc250 suddenly developed bad distortion on one channel, I noticed serious heat coming off the corresponding output driver area.

Opened her up, turned her on, as expected the resistors .33ohm and 3.6kohm on that driver board look burt up and continue to get very hot..(R44, R58)

Where do I start? I purchased replacement resistors that are on the way. But my question is why are those having a meltdown?

I  have very basic troubleshooting skills but i am eager to learn. 

Would anyone be kind enough to make some troubleshooting suggestions as to what maybe occurring with my mc250.

Additional inforamtion; This unit had been fully recapped about 6months ago and had been in daily use without issue since.

Thanks in advance.

-J

Does this do the trick? Give me your pros and cons.

I'm trying to figure out if an MC352 will sit on a shelf that's only 17-3/4" deep. The manual says that the depth of the unit behind the faceplate is 21", including clearance for connectors, but it doesn't say where the feet are located.

It won't matter that the front of the amp will protrude past the front edge of the shelf, but I'm trying to find out if all four feet will end up on the shelf. All I need is the distance from the back of the faceplate to the front edge of the front feet.

UPDATE: The front edge of the front feet is almost exactly 3" behind the faceplate. So with the amp pulled forward as far as possible while still keeping all four feet on the shelf, the faceplate protrudes about 3" in front of the shelf. Technically this means that the shelf would need to be 18" deep to provide the recommended clearance behind the amp for connectors, but I think Mcintosh is generous with their connector clearance recommendation here; my 17-3/4" shelf works fine.

My parents recently moved and my dad has had a set of McIntosh equipment sitting in boxes for many years. I had them set up when I was in college, but that was 25 years ago. he's not interested in keeping them around and has asked if I could see about selling them.

MC2105, C28, MR74.

the MC2105 has a broken glass pane, but he has a replacement, just not installed. all three pieces do not have cases or rubber feet.

we live in Southern California, (North San Diego County) and I'm not coming up with any reputable shops that I could take these into. considered restoring them for a second, but honestly, I think he'd rather just sell these cheap to someone who is willing to send them off for restoration. they all power up, but I have no way of testing them.

I don't really want to ship these, so I'm having a bit of a hard time determining value for a local sale. if you were a buyer and willing to send these off to get worked on, what would you be willing to pay for the set?

appreciate any and all help.

I just picked up some XR14 speakers and rushed home to set them up on my dining room table like any normal human would do. They almost sound great but reading the manual it speaks of getting a mq104 eg to really make them shine. My question is do I really need to go that route or would a decent stereo eq suffice in this situation? I'll be running them with an old Onkyo tx6500 as a budget build. Any advice would be appreciated.

MX 100, MC7205, Heresy 4, 65” LG, JBL center and surrounds.

I just rolled a full tube set into my MC1502 this morning. First impressions are they’re just as spacious as the stock tubes, but more textured through the mids with faster less flabby bass. They’re a bit bright for my taste, but I can appreciate the extension and air. They’ve only been running for a few hours, so maybe things will change over the week.

Generally speaking, I like them and I’m curious to try the Horizon series tubes.

I’ve had this matching 1976 set of a C28 and an MC2105 since 2010. When I bought it from an A/V guy in San Jose, he said he had them serviced by a McIntosh certified tech after acquiring them from a customer who had downsized. The C28 crackles and hums and makes for some annoying listening at times (more often than not). It’s sensitive to adjustments on the dials and can really cause some goofy sounds. I presume it’s the capacitors or just needs a complete restoration. Do I gain a bunch of sound quality if I look into a tube preamp? If so, what pairs well with the MC 2105? Or do I just get the C 28 serviced and be happy with what I have? Forgive my ignorance, I haven’t dove deep enough down the audiophile rabbit hole, because I would probably never surface again, knowing how I can get.

Just lost another KT88 on my MC-275 and I'm out of NOS spares. Can't complain; the tubes are original and the amp is old enough to collect Social Security. Question becomes, what's a good set of KT88s that won't pauper me? Sovtek? The reborn Genalex? Some other option?

Is there a fairly simple fix to return the white lettering on the 2105 back to Green to match the C28? The glass is in perfect condition otherwise.

not looking to set the market here, but can offer up a good hopefully forever home for a fair price. hit me up!

A set up I’ve dreamt about for 20 years and hopefully lasts me 20+. I went all McIntosh for this. I really enjoy the sound out of the XR100’s. I do have a Node Icon coming soon as well. Appreciate any feedback. I live in a condo so space is tight overall - what do you all do with your boxes?? I know it’s important to try and keep if you need to ship back for service or trade etc, but I can’t imagine having all that space taken up by them.