Preamp for my MC30 pair, a Sensi needed.

Alas, it is Monday Morning, the preamp arrived Saturday and I have had a chance to put in the line and listen in between shifts. It sounds absolutely beautiful. Now 4 days off and a lot of listening time. Here it is under white sheets....

P1010006.JPG
 
I indeed choose for my first McIntosh Preamp to go with my MC30's a MX110z very clean still with the original McIntosh tubes and all all lettering intact with Walnut case. No pitting on the chassis, again super clean and fantastic pairing with my amps. I love it very much.P1010004.JPG
 
I am very pleased with my choice and purchase and my quick conversion to McIntosh Tube Power Amps and the Preamp. It is definitely night and day it comparison to the Dynaco setup.
I had no idea,
The MX110z is thankfully totally plug and play, perfect condition, No issues thus far to report. sound is truly amazing.
Also, my MC30's too are in perfect working condition and sound unbelievable as well. I did put very nice vintage Telefunken 12AX7's in all the proper spots, and a nice pair or Mullard 12AU7's one in each of the proper spots. Replaced the output TAD 6L6's with 4 Vintage RCA black plate Seeburg 6L6's. It is sounding just perfect.

Screen Shot 2018-05-07 at 8.20.23 AM.png Screen Shot 2018-05-07 at 8.20.37 AM.png
 
Last edited:
Exceptional MX110Z. Congratulations on a beautiful setup. :thumbsup:

Now - get rid of the fans. They will do no good but blow dust and debris into the equipment which has already been designed for convection cooling. So long as proper clearances are maintained (which is the case here) and not installed within a console type enclosure, there is no need for auxiliary cooling.
 
Exceptional MX110Z. Congratulations on a beautiful setup. :thumbsup:

Now - get rid of the fans. They will do no good but blow dust and debris into the equipment which has already been designed for convection cooling. So long as proper clearances are maintained (which is the case here) and not installed within a console type enclosure, there is no need for auxiliary cooling.

They are there just for aesthetics, they do not even have power cords. Just kinda look neato up there.

Edit : Also, thank you very much...! I am super happy with this.
 
Q: Do you feel the Altec 14 does better with the loudness comp or without?

I like it on. You?

What about the filters? And the Phase 0 or 180? Also, because I just do not know, and I am not ashamed to admit it, just want the best knowledge for the best sound. Where do you keep the "Input Level adjust controls" inside the cabinet?
 
Loudness ON with the Altec 14; OFF when playing modern tower speakers.

Phase reverse is a relic from the early days of stereo to correct for the occasional out-of-phase recording - resulting in muddy bass and indistinct stereo imaging. In all likelihood, you'll never need it.

Level controls on top I have set fully clockwise (full on). Idea was to match the gain between various inputs but even at full on, I've always found the tuner considerably louder than the other inputs.
 
Yeah, that is how I have them, like the power amps. The gain All the way up.

Thank you for the explanation on all the functions I asked about.

I don't know if I got really lucky with this preamp, but all functions work flawless. Levels are all equal. It was, stated anyhow, that it was just a single owner.

As for the MC30'S I know that they do show some pitting cosmetically, but the person who did the upgrades on the ps and replaced the bad caps knew when enough was enough. And both sound fantastic and have no humming on either and both have great and equal output.

I truly love my quick and easy upgrade to the McIntosh gear.
 
the Altec 14; OFF when playing modern tower speakers

As for modern speakers I can imagine they sound fantastic.

I am a fool for all things vintage especially tube audio. I can see maybe a pair of Altec Model 19 speakers in my future. But I am sure I would fall in love with some modern gear too.
 
Yeah, that is how I have them, like the power amps. The gain All the way up.

I would suggest setting the MC30 gains ~ 12:00 or so. High gain settings will result in less usable range of the volume control as well as elevating the noise floor - noticeable on quiet passages and idle. To achieve this, the least amount of gain should be applied while still being able to achieve desired volume. For optimal calibration, set gains low on the MC30s, set the MX110 volume control at around 2/3 ~ 2:00 setting, then play music. Then increase gains on the MC30s until the music is slightly louder than you would ever tolerate and you're finished.

The full range of the volume control can now be used to make exact loudness settings easier (instead of concentrating volume control into the first 25% of the knob's travel) and noise floor will be significantly reduced.

Here's a link to the MX110 Owner's Manual which you might find helpful.

http://akdatabase.com/AKview/albums/userpics/10004/MX110 Owners.pdf
 
I owned 14s for years (my ex took them in the divorce). I got the best sound from them sitting on the floor.

Congrats on the preamp. Looks as if you found a very nice example.
 
The full range of the volume control can now be used to make exact loudness settings easier (instead of concentrating volume control into the first 25% of the knob's travel) and noise floor will be significantly reduced.

Thank you for the insight. I will give this a go. And get an owner manual printed out.

I owned 14s for years (my ex took them in the divorce). I got the best sound from them sitting on the floor.

Congrats on the preamp. Looks as if you found a very nice example.

Wow, that sucks. Why would she do that? I love my 14's. I put them on empty Pioneer speaker boxes. So the horns are ear level. I did have them on the floor at first.

Thank you for compliment on my mx110z
 
For optimal calibration, set gains low on the MC30s, set the MX110 volume control at around 2/3 ~ 2:00 setting, then play music. Then increase gains on the MC30s until the music is slightly louder than you would ever tolerate and you're finished.

Perfect sound. Thanks for the tip.
 
Wow, that sucks. Why would she do that?

Because some woman are just nasty. Mine walked out on me for a married guy when my twin girls were almost 3 years old. Swore I'd never see them again. Went 5 years with no contact despite all the times I went to court. She swore I hurt them and to this day is still trying to keep me from seeing them the little that I do. So I see them for 4 hours every Saturday, supervised. Doesn't help that the NJ court system is very corrupt and judges can be bought off. They are 11 now, when they turn 14 she will march them into the courthouse to tell a judge that they don't want to see me anymore and that will be that. I just hope I can afford the legal expenses to last that long.
To think, there was a time that I thought she walked on water.

BillWojo
 
To think, there was a time that I thought she walked on water


Not that it is on the same level by any means.

But my wife insists that the Pas 2 sounds better than the MX110Z. She just awoke in a bad mood, and won't back down on her opinion. Just trying to to get a rise out of me. Hahaha
 
Back
Top Bottom