Silverline Sonata III & McIntosh MC275?


I am planning to upgrade my speakers and I am just wondering if this combination works?

I currently have the Sonata I now and the C-220 / MC275 combo works quite well with them. Haven't seen much of the McIntosh & Silverline combos around. I heard that the Sonata III are totally different than the old Sonata I. What are the sonic-differences in between them two? I researched and researched and was so discouraged just because I haven't found any info with a system which consist the two, or even a person who tried this combo... Would like to get some advice before making the purchase. Thanks!
infinity_audio

I posted a few thoughts on the Sonata IIIs here at the ‘gone not long ago. Mine were bought brand new direct from Silverline.

Powerwise, I’d think your current power train would do very well with the newer version, IIIs. I’d also say your bass will improve substantially. Well into the midrange too I’d say as well the top end will be improved too.

As it stands now in my rig, I’m not looking to change anything major. Just cables maybe. .. or a power cord for the preamp.

I’ve used them with several amps, SS and tubes, and each power line had it’s own characteristics and presentation. My Dodds are arranged so the midrange is more pronounced given the array of tubes they have on board. They have sufficient speed and extension.

With the Odyssey Stratos SE, things are more evenly set across the bandwidth, and they produce better/tighter bass, yet lack the body that the tube mono blocks provide throughout the bandwidth.

With a Rotel 200wpc stereo amp (1080 I believe… I borrowed from a friend), the bottom end was more emphasized and the top end was a bit more strident. The tweeter in the Sonata IIIs is an exceptionally good Dynaudio unit, and it helped out with that amps song.

The presentation with either my Sony or ONkyo receiver are similar to the Stratos SE, yet not quite as well articulated and defined but with the same extension. The Sony having more pronounced bass lines, and the Onkyo being more balanced and refined overall… or more musical sounding, to use a overly used term.

I’ve had a fair number of speakers, (BW, Monitor Audio, Phase Tech, VSA, Yamaha, Sony, Canton, Bertagni, etc) and heard a good number of others out there. The Silverline Sonata IIIs sit at or just above the median in speakerage, and one will have to move a goodly ways on up the speaker food chain to better them overall. IMHO In the ‘close to’ but under $8K MSRP they present a very very, good selection.

In the $4K to $5K real world price range, for a mid sized, one foot square foot print, 40 inch tall, finely finished, good looking, inobtrusive, easily placed, great sounding, high fun factor speaker system, that can handle any sort of music and does very very well in an HT setup too.

Do get the largest spikes offered right off.

Were I to do it all over again, I’d only make one other change to them… I’d have gotten a different color. Or given a WHOLE LOT more thought to my redecorating choices. Mine are Piano gloss Maple. Not exceptionally well suited for an HT setup with a 115 inch screen 3 to 4ft. behind them…. But do-able for sure, I must say. Likely any piano gloss would have been a slight issue there. A fix was cutting out a thin piece of material and laying it over the top and sides to eliminate the reflective light coming off the screen.

They sit on the 14 ft wall in a roughly 14 x 21 x 8.3 closed off room, close to eight feet apart.

Hope that helped
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I would love to get a X250 to match my Sonata III but my space really doesn't allow a unit this big. I am keeping my MC275, i like the classic McIntosh sound when matched with my C220. Therefore, I really would like to keep my amplification set up. As I am pretty comfortable with the sound now, I am curious to know if going to a Sonata III will be an upgrade or not with the MACs. Seriously... there isn't a mac and sonata combo around... not one...
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