Mac 275 questions........

Rick -- how's the dual 275's running?? Ordered a pair, a C2300 and the MT10 along with all new speaker/interconnect cables. Arrive next week. Just curious after reading this thread. Thanks

Funny you should ask! I am planning to write an update and later a review. Doing that later today (while I listen). Some very satisfying aspects of the 275 and some not so satisfying (compared to the ASL Hurricanes). Overall.....quite happy!

Rick (RWD)

Well it's been at least 5 weeks with one McIntosh MC-275 amp in my system and now I have, for over a week, installed the second one and I now have two mono MC-275's. So let me share my experience.

I'll cut to the chase and say that one mono amp is very similar to two. One 275 (rated at 75wpc) is powerful. Two 275's @ 150 wpc is more powerful. What do I hear? In a word "relaxed". A little more control but a bit more relaxed overall.

My comments of the 275 therefore will be generally a comparison of one (1) 275 (2-sounds pretty much the same with the additions above) versus the ASL Hurricanes DT 200.

Here are the pluses of the Mac over the Canes:

First- I got my mid bass (and bass) back in spades. One of my complaints with that the Hurricane amp was that it had a higher sensitivity compared to my other electronics. I wrote in my review of the Hurricanes: "The sensitivity of the Hurricanes was much higher than my previous ARC amp and therefore, I needed to fool around with the controls on my Infinity crossover to boost the output of the bass columns. The higher sensitivity made amplification of moving coils much easier, but seemed to be bright ,a bit edgy and the upper bass/mid-bass was missing. However, I was struck, immediately, with a new unveiled sound that spread instruments wider across the stage with much more clarity than before."

I am not an engineer nor a tech so what I may be explaining to you may not, in fact, be the reality. However, with the Mac in my system it mated better with my Aesthetix Calypso and reintroduce better mid bass and bass. How this could happen and be, since my bass columns are driven by a separate amp, I am not sure. I'm just the reported.

Second- The Mac is very clear and solid. It is there in your face. There is no drift or sway and it makes you feel like the amp runs at more power then rated.

Third- It is silent. And this is a tube amp? Wow.......

Now here are the ASL's pluses:

First- Stage width with the Mac is good. With the ASL it is great. The ASL add 5-7 more (imaginary) feet per side to the orchestra

Second- The ASL Hurricanes seemed more delicate and cleaner. Less colored? Maybe?

So here I am sitting with my system, enjoying my music and the biggest plus of all (Mac vs ASL) is that I AM LISTENING.
The Mac's have been on without a hitch. Knock on wood. However, just the feel makes me certain that the Mac's are far better in construction (far) then the ASL.

Remember, however, ASL has come up with a better Hurricane and I have not heard it or seen it but I must believe it has to be more reliable then the original. I just could no longer live with break downs with hurricanes.

Finally, if anyone is thinking of a Mac I say "YES". It is quite a wonderful amp with some character and style and plenty of power. And it keeps on running.......

P.S. I have not yet listened to the Mac with better KT88's or x7's or t7's which I plan to as I expect this would provide an overall better sound.

Rick (RWD)

Rick, first I want to add some information about the new 275's you may not have encountered:
The two latest MC275's have 490V (vs. 420V) power transformers. They put out almost 90w/ch (180 mono) even with the stock power tubes. With the better current manufacture tubes (PentaLabs, 'new' Gold Lions) it's more like 95w/ch. And even higher with vintage tubes from the GEC family -- which even lightly used, have transconductance values upwards from 9500 mMHOs!

Second, the few (but real) attributes you noted using two amps, are largely due to having a separate (and huge) power supply for each channel. If you were driving full-range speakers, you'd notice improved bass control immediately.

And last, every hour that goes by using the stock tubes is an hour of audio bliss wasted. You can't know this now of course, but the sooner you put in some decent tubes, the less you'll be kicking yourself later ;-) Any any sonic evaluations you might make now, no matter how well intended, you'll have to completely scrap later on, so why delay the inevitable?
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OK all you technicians and amp designers a question. I am here sitting and listening to "Mallets, Melody & Mayhem" a great percussion record (thanks to the great Sid Marks) and I am hearing stupendous bass from my woofer towers now that I have my new Mac 275's running. This is better then when I had the ASL Hurricanes. My question is the Hurricanes and the Mac's are only driving the top end of my Infinity's not the bass columns??? Is it really a sensitivity issue?

Any answers or suggestions as to why the beautiful bass is back in full swing?