|
Planar Speaker Asylum Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences. |
|
|
|
Planar Speaker Asylum Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences. |
|
In Reply to: Quad and Mcintosh Mc275V posted by markc2 on October 19, 2008 at 15:43:26:
Tube amps driving stats can be magic. After all the ESL-57 was driven by Quad 15 watt toobies.
Some things about the MC275:
> McIntosh tube amps use Macs famous Unity Coupled design where power is drawn from both the plate and the grid!
> This is why every pair of P-tubes in a Mac amp has TWO 12Axx drivers instead of the usual one.
> As a result, the PT's run cooler, have a fixed bias factory set, and provide more power with less distortion.
> This design requires a bi- or tri- filar (two or three parallel wire) input winding on the output transformers. Mac still winds their own, so even thought the Unity Coupled patent is long expired, no one tries to copy them ;-)
> But MOST important for driving electrostats, this circuit design has current controlled output (not voltage controlled.)
The two latest models (IV and lead-free V) produce 90W/ch, 180w/ch mono and have larger 490V power transformers. I only need one for my MartinLogan CLS (see system pic) but many people use two in mono to drive Summits, SoundLabs, etc. You can always start with one and try a demo using two if you think you might need a bit more control -- sonically, most people don't hear any difference between one and two.
And speaking of sonics, someone mentioned this amp sounds a bit dark. Yes, but only IF you don't immediately lose the crappy OEM tubes as soon as you open the box! Also, separate but related, avoid multi-stranded speaker cable types. They have way too high capacitance to drive stats properly. Solid core AQ, Speltz Anti-Cable, Virtual Dynamics, or if you have really deep pockets, the new solid core Purist Proteus Provectus is amazing (I tried it, so I know!)
I'm not your typical Mac "label queen" (that's KING to you!) -- although I do have a couple of their vintage tube tuners (one's for sale in our classifieds.) But in my opinion/experience, I'd say that with some decent tubes, the new MC275 is the best tube amp value in audio right now.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- Stat-friendly Mcintosh MC 275 - nsgarch 10/22/0804:33:11 10/22/08 (0)
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]