# mcintosh amps?



## enrique (May 24, 2007)

Anyone with experience or opinions on the mc's.Would like to know how they are for HT as well as music.I was looking at the mc2105,2205 and the mc7106.I know very little about them and only somewhat heard they are very well liked.would really appreciate any insights.thanks


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## mazersteven (Apr 5, 2007)

I don't think McIntosh has any bad product. 

Ask this person about McIntosh 

http://www.myfreebulletinboard.com/f/index.php?mforum=theaudiolouge&showuser=19


Are your model numbers right?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I've owned several pieces of McIntosh in past years. The most potent being the MC7300 amp. It was more than I needed or wanted to spend in the end so I sold it. The one piece I sold that I wish I had kept was the MC250.

I think those model numbers are pretty old... I owned an MC2505 back in the day as well.

I suspect most McIntosh owners are happy.


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

I actually got the numbers off of some that are being sold online.Was also wondering if they are cool running or do they get hot.It would be used in my setup all the time.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I never had any heat issues with any of mine and they were in a cabinet... see here. I ran them pretty consistently because our HT was our great room at that time.


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

That's some nice piece's you have.heat is my main issue thanks for the heads up.


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## rcarlton (Apr 29, 2006)

Stick with the solid state amps and heat shouldn't be a problem:bigsmile:.


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

I always thought that it was the norm that solid state amps ran warm to hot,and needed to be well ventilated.Am i mistaken?


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## Otto (May 18, 2006)

enrique said:


> I always thought that it was the norm that solid state amps ran warm to hot,and needed to be well ventilated.Am i mistaken?


Depends on design. I have a two-channel, class A, solid state, 150x2 amp that runs quite warm at idle. And then I have a five-channel, class ?, solid state, 200x5 amp that never gets that warm at all. 

In general, I'd think that it's the tube amps that would need the extra ventilation. Those tubes get quite warm!

This thread is making me want to find a McIntosh amp... I love those blue meters, and I'd love to check out the sound.


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

i'm assuming your referring to a sunfire.I had a 300x2 sunfire for a week and did not like what i heard.Had it connected to my rotel rsx1056.I've heard good things about these amps,but i guess it's a matter of taste.Unless the one i had had a sound of it's own which i did not care for.


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## Otto (May 18, 2006)

Yep, a Sunfire. Sounds all right to me! Now you've really got me interested in shopping amps (don't tell my wife).


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

It may have been that it didnt do well with my combo of receiver and speakers.dont know.I also heard that sunfire(unk if true) are voiced matched.


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## rcarlton (Apr 29, 2006)

How about these McIntosh amps. Not a blue meter in sight. But, too many cables...hmmm...


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

You have to be a member of Audiokarma to see their attachments. You could download the image and upload it here if you wanted to.


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## mazersteven (Apr 5, 2007)

rcarlton said:


> Stick with the solid state amps and heat shouldn't be a problem:bigsmile:.


? Statement makes no sense. :doh: Solid State amps produce heat as well.


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## rcarlton (Apr 29, 2006)

mazersteven said:


> ? Statement makes no sense. :doh: Solid State amps produce heat as well.


True, however tubes produce far more heat by their very nature. I have heard of people only using tube amps in the winter and ss amps in the summer for that very reason. My MC-250's run very cool, can't say the same for my MC-275, 4 KT-88's produce a lot of heat:devil:.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2007)

Hi there, FWIW I have had a mc-2300 upfront for HT and music use in the past, to me it sounded "velvety" smooth but also capable of absolutely incredible dynamics when asked for. 

At 135lbs it was also quite interesting to move about, I was made an offer I simply could not resist so I caved in and sold.. 

There is something about those big blue watt meters I will never forget though! quite lovely.
regards


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## enrique (May 24, 2007)

135lbs!! how big was that thing? none the less i think i've given up since heat is a big issue for me.Atleast for right now.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2007)

Size 19" rack mounting. 10-1/2"H and 17"D. Weight 128 lb

It never really even got warm to the touch. It had to very big fans at the back, panaflows if i remember correctly, very very quiet. 
;-)


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## conchyjoe7 (Aug 28, 2007)

Have a look at some Parasounds...Don't get me wrong, ANY amp is going to generate heat as that is the nature of the beast, but a well designed one will have either a plethora of heat sinks (which I prefer), or a fan of some type built in to dissipate it. 
There's no way you'll buy any (good) amp that's not going to generate a fair amount of heat, and of course (generally speaking) the more power; the more heat. The least heat (if you like the sound) wil come from the newer "digital" amps.
Hope this helps.


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## Guest (May 30, 2008)

Hey there,

I know I know... digging this thread out from the dead... But you guys seem so knowledgeable on macs, that I had to ask here.

First of all, Ron Carlton, NICE setup... I'm sure that you're already a member of the forums on the Klipsch site. Macs and Khorns... Does it get any better?!?!?! 

Anyway, my question is this: I have an old Mac MA 6400 integrated amp, which has the "Processor To/From" jacks in the back for connecting external equalizers and the such. The connection goes from the "To" jack to the eq, and back into the "from" jack.

I was wondering, can this be used to connect to an external amp, connecting from the "To:" jack into the amp? This way, I can just use the mac as my preamp, bypassing the amps altogether.

Any helps is highly appreciated.

Thanks,

Fauzi

PS: Having trouble attaching the pic of the rear panel... Will try from home.... Office net stinks!


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## rcarlton (Apr 29, 2006)

The MA6400 can be used as a preamplifier to feed signals only to an external power amplifier. Set the PWR AMP IN to EXT position. Connect cables from the MAIN OUTPUTS to the inputs of the external amplifier.


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## Guest (May 31, 2008)

What? You mean where it says, "Using an external Power Amp," in the manual!?!?!?!

Doh! I knew that I could do that with this amp, I guess it just doesn't have to be as complicated as I thought.

Thanks a lot for your help. 

Another quickie: I'm actually hooking this up to test a Krell amp that I'm auditioning... A really nice condition KSA 300. I just wanna see if it works well or not, as I'm very familiar with that sound. My question is: Just for the fun of it, can the mac amps operate simultaneously while using the main outs? I wonder if I can bi-amp the speakers I'm testing (JM Labs / Focal Electras 826).

I would not be using an external x-over.

Thank,

Fauzi


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