Why induce neurosis before you even have the system hooked up?
You're setting yourself up for opinions all over the map without you even listening to the setup.
"My music preferences are , Jazz , slow blues , Saxophone and lounge / house music. Classic rock on occasion."
Genre of music you listen is irrelevant.
Report back AFTER you've done extensive listening with what you have. Play with speaker positioning in the room. |
You are looking for a problem that isn't there. If you are hesitant with the Mac, why did you order it in the first place? |
This is a "How do you like my new wife question". Too late for my input. |
Oh well. She sure enjoyed mine.
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I have a Evo 400 preamp and McIntosh MC402 amp and really enjoy the combination. Not familiar with your speakers or heard a MC1502 amp but I doubt you'll find it a bad match. |
@stereo5 ,
Hi Stereo , The Primaluna was a planned purchase. The 1502 was a gift from the family.
Sonically , I really liked the sound of both, I chose the PL purely because of potential domestic logistics . The Mcintosh weighs in excess of 100 pounds. The PL weighs just over 50. |
@samzx12 , Thanks for the info. Im glad. That they are a good fit. |
@tablejockey , I was hoping that someone would have experience with a similar combination. The DAC and speakers and lastly the cables are going to be upgraded anyway and thought that forum members may have an idea if these may offset any challenges that could potentially arise.
But I see your point. Let them all come together and Ill reach out again. Though Im sure that someone would have a similar set up.
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I have the EVO 300 preamp and Bob Carver Crimson 275 amp with Focal 936 and to me it sounds wonderful. There are many paths to wonderful Please let us know what you think of the combo after experiencing the music. I look forward to your comments |
@benvenuto . Thanks much for for your inputs . I will certainly add my notes as soon as I get them set up. The Pre is already here. The 1502 probably a couple of weeks. Will set them up and post my notes here. It may help others who may be considering pairing these units from competing brands. |
You can also replace the stock tubes in the EVO400 to tailor it to your liking. Start with the front 2 pair as they have more impact than the other 4. With the warmth of the tube amp I doubt you will need to.
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@ bharatmake sure your components have settled (burn in a few hours) before evaluating performance. |
Most modern gear has compatible levels for pre-out and main-in. However, I had a dentist client that just bought a whole stack of Mac with Klipsch speakers. The speakers were quite efficient, not to mention the characteristics of horns. And since there was no option to adjust the input levels on the main, he had a lot of hiss at zero volume on the preamp.
Solution: install some RCA line attenuators between the two.
However, you may not have any issues at all. |
All of the McIntosh preamps from the C2300 tube and the comparable SS preamp up and Integrated amps to the latest have individual level controls for each input. You go into the menu and you can change the levels for the input in .5DB steps. |
@stereo5 Hello Stereo5 . My preamp however is the Primaluna, would that apply here as well. Thanks for your response. |
@jwillox Hello Jwillox , thanks for the feedback I will look out for the attenuator should I need it. My speakers are currently Elac FS249 a German Floor stander. Ribbon tweeters, That is probably getting upgraded anyway. |
@kennyc Thanks KennyC. I will leave the system on for an hour at least before operating them. |
@samzx12
Thanks samzx12 , I will keep that in mind. Depending on the how the system sounds with the speakers that I have ( they are on the brighter side.) I will change tubes to get a more balanced sound . I will reach out once this is up and running. Thank you. |
Update January to the MC1502 and Primaluna Evo 400 combo.
Happy new year everyone. After much delays , travels , covid related Isolation and quarantine , I finally got the set up done. IT IS SUBLIME. The music is just better. The Mids are delightful and ( for want of better words ) full and Juicy. The bass is as I like it and the highs are non fatiguing. Just when I thought that the sound couldnt get better , another track makes me stop and take notice again and enjoy the sound and music.
Any case , after 2 months of reveling in the music , I couldnt help but wondering "whats next". What can I do to upgrade the other components in my Audio Chain. My Source is Cambridge Audio CXN V2 with Tidal and Spotify . and my speakers are Elac FS249s Floor standers.
My question is to the forum is this... At this juncture, would adding a DAC such as the Denafrips Venus or terminator or similar be better. in any way ? Of course while keeping the CXN v2 streamer. Alternately Would upgrading to a streamer / DAC be a good option. Such as a Lumin T2 or an Auralic etc make more sense? Im quite happy with my speakers and the way they all sound together so I will make speaker and cable updates later.
Your advise on this and any additional inputs would be most welcome and very much appreciated. Of course If Im chasing my tail , please let me know as well.
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I have a LUMIN T2 with S-Booster and love it. I do prefer the one box solution over the separate DAC and streamer. Less real estate and power cables to deal with.
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@samzx12 Thanks Samzx. I have heard good things about the T2. Would the Dac segment in the T2 be comparable to some of the dedicated DACs? I Was thinking about Bricasti or the Some of the DCS models. ( NOT the Bartok. Thats way out) Rockna , Hydravox and others that are considered "detailed". It may work very well with a tube set up. I could be wrong of course. As for real estate , the rack I have has 2 empty slots which can accomdate the separates.
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@bharat . The dac in the T2 is a very good one but I've never really compared it to other dacs other than the LUMIN U1 Mini and T+A DAC 8 I used to have. The separates were very good but I prefer the T2 especially with the S-Booster. The advantages of separates however is the flexibility of changing the dac to the flavor you want. Not sure of your budget?
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Thanks Samzx12 , The problem with my region is that many of the Hi fi brands are not available , at least for testing and trials.
Fortunately I’m in the US 6-8 times a year and can get issues easily addressed .I’d prefer to stick to brands made in the US or have a strong US rep . Ill even pick up the DAC there.
Ill see what I can try here especially the T2 and get some listening time in with different DACs in the US with a tube set up. This could take some time , but no hurry. I reached out to Mike at Audioarchon who I understand is a member here and deals with high quality DACs. Awaiting his reply.
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@samzx12 Sorry my budget is up to 7500 USD.
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Mike at Audioarchon is a great guy to deal with and will give good advice. I purchase my U1 Mini from him but since sold it as mentioned above. You have a nice budget and I'm sure Mike will give you several options. Keep us posted please :)
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