Ml-2c speakers questions

Catmanboo

Analog guy, meet digital world - HELP!!
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I stand to inherit a set of ml-2c speakers from recently -deceased uncle. I've since learned of the requisite mq-101 or 102 equalizers, which may or (likely) may not exist with this set. As they're a 3.5 -hour road trip away, I know next to nothing about these, other than they're almost as heavy as I am, necessitating a trip in my 4wd 9-mpg truck to retrieve. They're mine for the hauling, provided I can move/transport / reconfigure listening area, so I need to know what to expect as far as possible renovation procedures, if needed, to woofer surroounds, x-overs, removability of grilles, etc prior to acquisition. Is a fisher 500c capable of running these, or do I need more grunt than that? Not expecting my 1060 amp to be up to it. He had a realistic sta-2380 connected to them. I've not found a lot of info on this model as of yet, thought it best to check in here first. Thanks!
 
I am not sure about many of your questions, but the 4 12" woofers likely will need re-foaming. New foam is readily available, however. And the crossover is easy to access via the back panel.

Watch out for the tweeters and dome upper-mids, the dome mids commonly blow and replacements are hard to find.

I have had a pair in my garage for a couple years, in need of some work, and haven't gotten around to actually listening to them yet. My poking and prodding has revealed some information but that's it.
 
Closest I have is 2 pair of ML1C's stacked in my garage simply because I cannot sell them even at almost a giveaway price. I'm thinking you'll be wanting more out of them than the Fisher will provide. Hopefully the cosmetics won't be too bad but expect some of the plastic grille connectors to be sheared off. Magnetic cabinet latches from HD work well as replacements. Hopefully you're good at refoaming as there's probably 6 drivers that will need refoaming. The crossover has temple caps in them and they really benefit from replacing them with modern caps. When I recapped mine I found I didn't need the MQ101 and I could get by with a simple bass and treble boost from what ever I running them with. Good luck to you and hopefully you also have a decent sized room to use them in
 
May find this site informative on the development of the McIntosh speaker line.

http://www.roger-russell.com/lsd1.htm

These are going to need something more powerful than a 20 wpc tube Fisher receiver except for low/moderate listening.

Corner placement eliminates the need for the MQ101/102 which will also reduce the amount of amplification needed.
 
Have ML2c in my main system, I drive the with a MC2300 that at normal levels shows 3 to 6 watts on the meters. the fisher could drive them but not at the room shaking levels the 2300 can give.
I find the EQ not necessary when I set my C32 loudness up about 25% with the speakers placed in the corners of the room.
Be prepared to re-foam the 4 12" and 2 mid range drivers, have not found any problems with the crossovers.
Beware they are 128 pounds each !!
 
Thanks for all replies, now I decide whether to take 'em home or offer for local sale on bt. Will be in the Detroit area if so. Only way to ship these would be to palletize, & I'm not up for that, at a listed weight of 144lbs each!:eek:
 
Ml-2 are a very outstanding speaker, but they have issues. Will have to replace the foam surrounds unless done so recently. Midwest speaker company has kits for a very reasonable price. If the tweeters or or super tweeters are blown your up a creek without a paddle. Audio classics may have a replacement work around as they do for the XR-7. Roger designed an up date for the ML-1 that might work for the 2 also, again you need to talk to Steve or Ryan at Audio Classics. We used to run them with 2105's but the amps clipping would destroy the tweeters. Mc 2125 and 2155 Power Guard were a better match. Depending how the speaker is placed in a room I much prefer the MQ 101 EQ. Placed against the wall on the floor near a corner you don't need the MQ 102. But way from a corner and wall the MQ 101 is most definitely needed. As for power you need a minimum of 150 watts per channel to make them really get up and perform. I've seen people try to use 275's with a 90 watt capability fall flat trying to push ML-2s .
 
Just curious. Are these speakers ported? In Internet pix I don't see ports on the front but have not seen the backs.

Also, do the MQ EQs include a rumble filter below 20 Hz? Seems like with a LF boost to 20 Hz, turntable / record rumble could suck a lot of power from the amplifier.
 
No and No

The natural low frequency roll off of the speaker was manipulated by cabinet size, crossover design and extra long voice coils, that extended well past the mag gap, 6that allowed the McIntosh engineers to create a EQ gain stage that corrected this always occurring roll off, knowing full well that room placement relative to the room corners would also correct this roll off.

Mac preamps had said rumble filters already.......

These were speakers from a long gone era......usually placed on either side of the sofa with a table lamp and important family pictures atop the 30X30 inch top.

The mids and tweeters are too close to the floor for today's modern sound presentations so it is not surprising that many find a stacked pair of the smaller ML1s to be a better sound.
 
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