Mc402 Vs. Mc452

First impressions: There is a smoothness, and 'silkiness' to the mids that I have finally experienced at 'party Level' volume, (as our friend, Tony might say.) Interestingly enough, the amp doesn't seem to be that loud - ....that is, until I noticed things falling off of the shelves. The first track that I played was the Beatles' 'Savoy Truffle', and I had the power guard lights flickering, and the meters going past the 450 watt mark. Still sounded perfectly clean. Didn't even stress my Cerwin Vega (Don't laugh) XLS-215's.(read reviews on these speakers)
The amp seemed to become too warm too fast. I shut it down, and changed to the 4 ohm taps. (Speakers are 6 ohm) Seems to be running cooler now. I'm going to leave the amp run for about 3-4 days straight (Mostly at idle) to accelerate any possible break-in.
I'm going to sit in from of this beast for the rest of today, and enjoy myself!
Sometimes, you have to walk out of the room and then back into the room to realize just how loud you're playing when it's clean. As for heat, that is a normal byproduct of playing with the power guard lamps flashing. Even the best Class AB designs convert 35% of what they consume into heat. Normal. Keep in mind that a Class AB power amplifier runs at it hottest at 1/3 power. So, spirited jam sessions like you describe are, on average, right there. Worry if it shuts off. It's a Mac with a warranty!

Have fun.
 
Mine is here....pretty easy to slip the 452 into position.....problem is now I have to do some work on the Macro-Tech, and I can't move the TV on my own....luckily though, I have a spare Macro-Tech so I will only have to do it once....I need to clean that filter!!
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Mine is here....pretty easy to slip the 452 into position.....problem is now I have to do some work on the Macro-Tech, and I can't move the TV on my own....luckily though, I have a spare Macro-Tech so I will only have to do it once....I need to clean that filter!!
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You know you're serious when your main rack isn't big enough to hold all yer' shit so ya' also have to have a side rack.

As for those LZ box sets . . . good grief man!!
 
First impressions: There is a smoothness, and 'silkiness' to the mids that I have finally experienced at 'party Level' volume, (as our friend, Tony might say.) Interestingly enough, the amp doesn't seem to be that loud - ....that is, until I noticed things falling off of the shelves. The first track that I played was the Beatles' 'Savoy Truffle', and I had the power guard lights flickering, and the meters going past the 450 watt mark. Still sounded perfectly clean. Didn't even stress my Cerwin Vega (Don't laugh) XLS-215's.(read reviews on these speakers)
The amp seemed to become too warm too fast. I shut it down, and changed to the 4 ohm taps. (Speakers are 6 ohm) Seems to be running cooler now. I'm going to leave the amp run for about 3-4 days straight (Mostly at idle) to accelerate any possible break-in.
I'm going to sit in from of this beast for the rest of today, and enjoy myself!
Excellent!! Meh, I dunno about the "break-in", just keep listening......I think its you becoming dialled in, not the amp....
Some of the words that come to mind for me when listening to the 452 were, velvet, crystal, smooth, easy, engaging, effortless.....
Nice work, I really enjoy reading these experiences....I am sure there is more to come...
 
You know you're serious when your main rack isn't big enough to hold all yer' shit so ya' also have to have a side rack.

As for those LZ box sets . . . good grief man!!
Yep, the side rack!!, I also have a rack by the front door for my customers repair jobs........

I have a few more of those box sets to get!!
 
Excellent!! Meh, I dunno about the "break-in", just keep listening......I think its you becoming dialled in, not the amp....
Some of the words that come to mind for me when listening to the 452 were, velvet, crystal, smooth, easy, engaging, effortless.....
Nice work, I really enjoy reading these experiences....I am sure there is more to come...

I'm running balanced inputs for the first time ever. I just noticed that the voltage requirement for balanced is 4.2v., but only 2.1v. unbalanced. Since my older C-35 preamp is playing 'catch up' in terms of S/N ratio, (105Db, vs. -124Db for the amp) I'm wondering if unbalanced operation might actually be an advantage, since I can run the preamp at a much lower level for the 2.1v.? Since the C-35 has a digital volume display, I can see the difference in the output level. I was running the preamp on '8' with the Mc2300, and it was very loud. I'm running it around '26' with the Mc452. (The display goes up to 99)
I did not check the noise level for the Mc452, since I assume is non existent, or very nearly so. I will put unbalanced operation to the test tomorrow.
I'm impressed with percussion as well. Drums, bongos, cymbals are very well articulated, w/o sounding harsh. The bass seems to be tighter, which is not obvious when sitting nearly on top of the amp as I tend to do, but if I step back, there is a definite 'WOW' factor.
I'm surprised at the level that I've been pushing this amp with total comfort. (Power guard lights are flickering here, and there)
Overall, the amp has definitely come alive after just a few hours of use. Still a bit surprised at the level of heat it is putting out, but I am used to my two Mc2300's that have the fans running 100% of the time. It's nice not to hear fans running, BTW. :)
 
Sometimes, you have to walk out of the room and then back into the room to realize just how loud you're playing when it's clean. As for heat, that is a normal byproduct of playing with the power guard lamps flashing. Even the best Class AB designs convert 35% of what they consume into heat. Normal. Keep in mind that a Class AB power amplifier runs at it hottest at 1/3 power. So, spirited jam sessions like you describe are, on average, right there. Worry if it shuts off. It's a Mac with a warranty!

Have fun.
I walked outside to let the dog out, and normally, I can hear the system playing faintly. Today was a 'holy crap' moment in that regard. I turned the volume way up, and it was pretty loud with the meters periodically bouncing into that 900 W. overdrive, so to speak..
The amp did shut down twice after the conclusion of a few albums. I'm assuming that it is like a computer going to sleep from inactivity. (??) Kev?.........?
 
Good thing that I live in the middle of nowhere.
I don't know what the hell I will do if I ever have to live in a city apartment again..:)
 
Yeah the boxes for the 402 are the same and was the biggest mac box I ever owned and had to store.

While I hate to move the 501s, the 402, 452 and his 2300 are a whole other story.
Weight: (MC 501, 91.5 lbs.,) (MC 402, 110.5 lbs.,) (MC 452, 110 lbs.) (MC 2300 128 lbs)
Adding 20-30 more pounds to already heavy and trying to get it off the floor is another thing. You tend to look at it, all the while talking your self out of moving it.
I was going to install the '452 in my nearly identical upstairs system, where my home office resides. I didn't feel like pushing my luck with my knees, and back, since I wound up doing the '452 setup solo.
'Upstairs' can wait.......
 
Excellent!! Meh, I dunno about the "break-in", just keep listening......I think its you becoming dialled in, not the amp....
Some of the words that come to mind for me when listening to the 452 were, velvet, crystal, smooth, easy, engaging, effortless.....
Nice work, I really enjoy reading these experiences....I am sure there is more to come...
All of those descriptive words fit my experience as well. :)
 
I walked outside to let the dog out, and normally, I can hear the system playing faintly. Today was a 'holy crap' moment in that regard. I turned the volume way up, and it was pretty loud with the meters periodically bouncing into that 900 W. overdrive, so to speak..
The amp did shut down twice after the conclusion of a few albums. I'm assuming that it is like a computer going to sleep from inactivity. (??) Kev?.........?
I believe these Amps have an auto off mode - look ye' closely at the manual for specifics.
 
I think you're probably right. The amp shutdown after I left the room..
They do have an inactivity shut down, I have seen people talking about it. I am not sure if it can be disabled or not..
In my case, my 452 has never turned off after a period of inactivity...maybe its only the domestic US models....

Good to see you are giving it a decent workout !! driving in into the 900watts zone, nice work!!
 
Wow you are giving those MC452s a workout. I have never gave my big Mc amps greater than 900 watt peaks more than a few songs. But have always been present since song levels change. What CV speakers are you driving? Great they can take the power from those amps for extended periods.

How much current or peak volts can those MC452s put out?
 
Wow you are giving those MC452s a workout. I have never gave my big Mc amps greater than 900 watt peaks more than a few songs. But have always been present since song levels change. What CV speakers are you driving? Great they can take the power from those amps for extended periods.

How much current or peak volts can those MC452s put out?

I think the current exceeds 75 amps. The CV XLS-215's are really quite decent for the money. The cabinet construction is a bit on the cheesy side, but having 2 15's per side allows for some serious thump. I have two pairs, that I bought for a 'scratch, 'n dent price, and I'm quite happy with them. I'm amazed that they could withstand near full throttle operation of the Mc452.
I'm back to 'normal human being' listening levels today, but I am quite surprised as to how hard I was driving that amp yesterday, and it never blinked.
 
They do have an inactivity shut down, I have seen people talking about it. I am not sure if it can be disabled or not..
In my case, my 452 has never turned off after a period of inactivity...maybe its only the domestic US models....

Good to see you are giving it a decent workout !! driving in into the 900watts zone, nice work!!
My Sunday morning listening is hovering around the 4.5 watt range. I'm very impressed with this amp so far!
 
I think the current exceeds 75 amps. The CV XLS-215's are really quite decent for the money. The cabinet construction is a bit on the cheesy side, but having 2 15's per side allows for some serious thump. I have two pairs, that I bought for a 'scratch, 'n dent price, and I'm quite happy with them. I'm amazed that they could withstand near full throttle operation of the Mc452.
I'm back to 'normal human being' listening levels today, but I am quite surprised as to how hard I was driving that amp yesterday, and it never blinked.
Indeed a lot of woofers to handle the power available.
 
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