New (to me) MC 2205 in the house

[JosephH]

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I took on a 950 mile journey Saturday to pick up a nice MC 2205. The unit is in very good shape, the chassis polished up nicely, no rust, all silk screening in place. It proudly displays a McIntosh Performance Clinic sticker from 1986, with the initials DOB inscribed. According to the PO, it had not seen use in at least 5 years, having been put on the bench by a large Threshold amp. Once I placed it into service, a couple issues popped up. The Power Guard lights would go on at very low volume and it heated up immediately. I verified that I had switched it to mono, but upon exercising the stereo/mono switch a few times, operation returned to normal. Sonically it is a real powerhouse, lots of punch and clean power. Temperature immediately returned to normal as well. The only other issue was the meter lights would vary in brightness. They would dim and them return to full brightness. The flickering was not volume driven as it occurred at any volume level. As the hours passed the flickering lessened and stopped. Is this anything to be concerned about? I am guessing a power supply board problem?
In addition another issue surfaced as well. I immediately noticed output to one speaker was much lower. The channel being driven by my original MC2205 had much lower output. I changed sources and then flipped the speakers and the problem stayed with my original MC2205. The output is still very clean, but much lower. To equalize the channels, I had to run the gain knob on the new 2205 at about 1 o'clock with the original amp gain on full. Seems like both amps might need a trip to Audio Classics. Thoughts?
Anyhow, here are some pics, I have since polished the chassis with Wenol and removed the front bezel which was falling off anyhow. It sparkles now....

 

[chef free]

Looks spotless! Nice find. Leave the bezel off, it looks much better without it!

 

[jlovda]

Just curious. Where are you located? Where was the amp located and where is Vestal in relation to all of this?

 

[jbailey930]

good luck with your duo! be careful of the center of gravity with those beasts in your vehicle and budget more gas $$ for the trip Lots of nice speakers to pair these with.

 

[JosephH]

Just curious. Where are you located? Where was the amp located and where is Vestal in relation to all of this?

Its about 4 hours each way for me to Vestal. We usually include a trip to the Glenn Curtiss museum, or a winery as part of a day trip to Vestal. There is a McIntosh dealer about 20 minutes away, with a goood service department. It is getting m ore tempting, especially now that AC has cut Saturday hours.

 

[JosephH]

good luck with your duo! be careful of the center of gravity with those beasts in your vehicle and budget more gas $$ for the trip Lots of nice speakers to pair these with.

Ha! Sage advice! These beasts do seem to get heavier (or gravity stronger) with each passing year!

 

[jdcarlson]

My suggestion may not be the cheapest, but I highly recommend Audio Classics!!!
The MC2205 is a fine amp. I have two of them (as well as four 2255s, two 2500s, and two 7270s - all close vintage). Personally the MC2205 sounds as good to me as any of the others. And, with 200 REAL WPC they are capable of driving any seasonable set of speakers in a reasonable sized room.
Call Audio Classics and order their shipping box. I believe they are stronger than the McIntosh boxes.
Then, let AC do their "magic."
It sounds like both machines need a little attention. If you have an alternative amp to use while they are gone, send them both in at the same time. That will be a little quicker.
Otherwise, send one in. When it comes back send the second one.
I think you will find the MC2205s will do a fine job.
I believe it is UNDERappreciated compared to other units of similar vintage.
Congratulations.
Thanks,
Jim

 

[jbailey930]

My suggestion may not be the cheapest, but I highly recommend Audio Classics!!!
The MC2205 is a fine amp. I have two of them (as well as four 2255s, two 2500s, and two 7270s - all close vintage). Personally the MC2205 sounds as good to me as any of the others. And, with 200 REAL WPC they are capable of driving any seasonable set of speakers in a reasonable sized room.
Call Audio Classics and order their shipping box. I believe they are stronger than the McIntosh boxes.
Then, let AC do their "magic."
It sounds like both machines need a little attention. If you have an alternative amp to use while they are gone, send them both in at the same time. That will be a little quicker.
Otherwise, send one in. When it comes back send the second one.
I think you will find the MC2205s will do a fine job.
I believe it is UNDERappreciated compared to other units of similar vintage.
Congratulations.
Thanks,
Jim

and when i bench tested my 2205, it was 260 wpc before clipping

 

[JosephH]

Thanks for the advice, I am definitely a fan of the 2205, which is why I purchased the second one, instead of moving up to a 402/452. I will still be less than $2800 all in for the pair AFTER the necessary service. Lots of bang for the buck! Paired and run mono, they really sound amazing! AudioClassics was my first choice, but I have left several messages for Ryan and I am not getting a return call, so I may use the local McIntosh dealer's service department. I am not driving 4+ hours each way without something set up in advance. However, after about 10 hours of playing time, the amp has settled down and has not misbehaved in the last 20-25 hours of operation time. Still, I know it needs some TLC soon, for sure. I will give AC a couple more attempts, as they are some busy folks. Given the drive, I will definitely bring both amps together and have them done all at once.

 

[cnolanh]

In addition another issue surfaced as well. I immediately noticed output to one speaker was much lower. The channel being driven by my original MC2205 had much lower output. I changed sources and then flipped the speakers and the problem stayed with my original MC2205. The output is still very clean, but much lower. To equalize the channels, I had to run the gain knob on the new 2205 at about 1 o'clock with the original amp gain on full. Seems like both amps might need a trip to Audio Classics. Thoughts?

This is in the "always double-check the obvious" category: I'd check to make sure that the input sensitivity switch is set the same on the back of both amps. The gain difference you describe could easily come from your original amp being set to 2.5V and the new one being set to 0.75V.