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Mcintosh MC7100 opinion

Hi Everyone,

    Love to get some of your opinions.  I have a B&W 805S and earlier this year I upgraded from a NuPrime ID-8 to Parasound Halo Integrated.  Still I'm not able to the 805S's sound to open up.  I'm not sure if I simply have a defective speaker or just need a lot more burn in time or need more amp.  I've an opportunity to get an older Mcintosh MC7100 for $700 locally (that's all I can afford right now) and use my Halo Integrated as preamp  I'm wondering what you all think about getting something almost 20yr old.  Or am I better off waiting another year and try something new.  Thanks ahead.

LL

hifineubee
hifineubee OP
56 posts
 
Thanks to all's feedback so far.
 
- I checked, the tweeters are working as expected.
- I'm running Nordost Gold Flatline II bi-wire cables.  A family member of mine suggest that the cables may not be good enough but I used to pair them with 805N before and it was fine so I'm not sure...
- I have had several chances to demo newer Mcintosh amp with the latest B&W 800 D3 and 700 S2 series at local Magnolia and fairly impressive with the results which led me down this path looking into Mcintosh gear.
- The locally advertised MC-7100 does show balanced input.  Maybe if I'm lucky, I could bring my speakers and get a demo at the seller's place...
robr45's avatar
robr45
319 posts
 
Reselling a 7100 would be an easy task if it didn’t work out, but I tend to agree with others that there must be something else going on here. 
mtrot
804 posts
 
I assume you are currently running the 805s bi-wired.  Have you tried using jumpers and running single-wired?  For some reason, my speakers sound MUCH better single-wired, fwiw. I think it has to do with how well the internal wiring of the speaker is implemented.
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