McIntosh MC75's

QUOTE (thedelihaus @ October 12, 2009 06:54 pm)

Oh- these older tube McIntosh- he also feels, besides build quality which is better, sound is better with the vintage Mc stuff too.

I imagine these sound quite pleasant indeedy.

New versus old Mac is a very interesting question and luckily, I'm in a position to find out. New MAC's with PCB's are actually more efficient with less signal loss than point to point wiring designs so the sound gap could be a myth based on nostalgia. So far, the MC75 and the MC275V sound remarkably similar. I'm happy to report the MC75's sound fresh and open considering the 40 year old caps. The main output tubes are new Russian Tung Sols, which help.

One of the input jacks needed straightening, which took about 20 minutes to remedy. The input signal was dropping. (Damn, I wish this had happened during the audition, I could have haggled a few hundy off.) That's it so far. The tubes look normal with no glowing plates and the transformers run lukewarm, which is just right.

QUOTE (Mark B @ October 12, 2009 07:45 pm)

Very sweet amps Sam.

Thanks Mark B! They are playing in the background right now and are very distracting!!

QUOTE (socal sam @ October 12, 2009 07:46 pm)

QUOTE (thedelihaus @ October 12, 2009 06:54 pm)

Oh- these older tube McIntosh- he also feels, besides build quality which is better, sound is better with the vintage Mc stuff too.

I imagine these sound quite pleasant indeedy.

New versus old Mac is a very interesting question and luckily, I'm in a position to find out. New MAC's with PCB's are actually more efficient with less signal loss than point to point wiring designs so the sound gap could be a myth based on nostalgia. So far, the MC75 and the MC275V sound remarkably similar. I'm happy to report the MC75's sound fresh and open considering the 40 year old caps. The main output tubes are new Russian Tung Sols, which help.

One of the input jacks needed straightening, which took about 20 minutes to remedy. The input signal was dropping. (Damn, I wish this had happened during the audition, I could have haggled a few hundy off.) That's it so far. The tubes look normal with no glowing plates and the transformers run lukewarm, which is just right.

I'd typically agree on nostalgia perpetuating the myth- however, he as a current tech for Mc gear still favors the vintage stuff for both build quality and sound.

I wonder if something was lost in the translation along the way? Makes perfect sense the PCBs would be a step in the right evolutionary direction.

QUOTE (thedelihaus @ October 12, 2009 09:06 pm)

QUOTE (socal sam @ October 12, 2009 07:46 pm)

QUOTE (thedelihaus @ October 12, 2009 06:54 pm)

Oh- these older tube McIntosh- he also feels, besides build quality which is better, sound is better with the vintage Mc stuff too.

I imagine these sound quite pleasant indeedy.

New versus old Mac is a very interesting question and luckily, I'm in a position to find out. New MAC's with PCB's are actually more efficient with less signal loss than point to point wiring designs so the sound gap could be a myth based on nostalgia. So far, the MC75 and the MC275V sound remarkably similar. I'm happy to report the MC75's sound fresh and open considering the 40 year old caps. The main output tubes are new Russian Tung Sols, which help.

One of the input jacks needed straightening, which took about 20 minutes to remedy. The input signal was dropping. (Damn, I wish this had happened during the audition, I could have haggled a few hundy off.) That's it so far. The tubes look normal with no glowing plates and the transformers run lukewarm, which is just right.

I'd typically agree on nostalgia perpetuating the myth- however, he as a current tech for Mc gear still favors the vintage stuff for both build quality and sound.

I wonder if something was lost in the translation along the way? Makes perfect sense the PCBs would be a step in the right evolutionary direction.

That's a great question. My tech is also an authorized service tech. When I take my MC75's in for a check up, I'll ask.

In went a couple of vintage Telefunken smooth plate 12AX7's. Yum!