rusty mcintosh MI-60's
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sKiZo
Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W
FOUR McIntosh monoblocks? I've seen those go for that much EACH in pristine condition ...
I'd be more worried about the tubes ... but with four units, I'm sure you could come up with a killer set or two. Given my druthers, I'd try for a matched set of original tubes. If they all light, that's a good start. I'd also pop the covers and see what they look like inside, but they're fairly well sealed so I expect the innards are decent. Yes, they do have obvious cosmetic issues, but looks ain't everything. You may get away with just doing a pin cleaning on the tube sockets, controls, connectors ... the usual. You can also do some spiff and polish on the cases and end up with a decent "custom" brushed finish, or just strip them and refinish - lucky you, they're not chrome, and you should be able to recreate the original hammertone with a bit of patience.
One word of caution ... they've probably been sitting for a while and will need to be brought up to power slowly. Ideally, you'd have a variac to build up to operating voltage and allow the caps to reform, but ... rather than get too anal about it, call ahead and have the seller just plug them and let them idle for a couple hours first. If the house ain't burnin' when you get there ... they'll probably be ok. <G> Do a test listen at low then moderate volume, and if you can't resist, crank them up to decent volume but only for a short time. If he objects to a test run or doesn't have the equipment to do it, flip a coin or move on.
I'd be tempted to offer $400 for a pair - AFTER a test listen. Steer yourself towards audio quality instead of looks. If they sound good, maybe bump up to $500 if he objects. If they don't fire, they'd still be a nice project at a reduced price. In any case, if you've got the bux to make an offer, leave your name and number in case yours ends up being the best offer.
Wouldn't be surprised to see a couple PMs coming your way if you decide against them. I'd be interested if I didn't have an MC2205 idling away in the other room ... <G>
I'd be more worried about the tubes ... but with four units, I'm sure you could come up with a killer set or two. Given my druthers, I'd try for a matched set of original tubes. If they all light, that's a good start. I'd also pop the covers and see what they look like inside, but they're fairly well sealed so I expect the innards are decent. Yes, they do have obvious cosmetic issues, but looks ain't everything. You may get away with just doing a pin cleaning on the tube sockets, controls, connectors ... the usual. You can also do some spiff and polish on the cases and end up with a decent "custom" brushed finish, or just strip them and refinish - lucky you, they're not chrome, and you should be able to recreate the original hammertone with a bit of patience.
One word of caution ... they've probably been sitting for a while and will need to be brought up to power slowly. Ideally, you'd have a variac to build up to operating voltage and allow the caps to reform, but ... rather than get too anal about it, call ahead and have the seller just plug them and let them idle for a couple hours first. If the house ain't burnin' when you get there ... they'll probably be ok. <G> Do a test listen at low then moderate volume, and if you can't resist, crank them up to decent volume but only for a short time. If he objects to a test run or doesn't have the equipment to do it, flip a coin or move on.
I'd be tempted to offer $400 for a pair - AFTER a test listen. Steer yourself towards audio quality instead of looks. If they sound good, maybe bump up to $500 if he objects. If they don't fire, they'd still be a nice project at a reduced price. In any case, if you've got the bux to make an offer, leave your name and number in case yours ends up being the best offer.
Wouldn't be surprised to see a couple PMs coming your way if you decide against them. I'd be interested if I didn't have an MC2205 idling away in the other room ... <G>
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gogofast
Addicted Member
are you kidding me? if it's for all four of them, i'd get 'em not knowing whether they work or not, 'cause you'll need to over-haul 'em anyways.
$100 is ridiculous, but whatever price you can bargain down to, you should get em. unless all trannies are fried, which i doubt that's the case, it'll be worth your time and money.
those look like metal base kt-88 even if some of them are still good, those are highly prized. for your info, a pair of working condition in decent shape usually sell for $3000 - $5000.
$100 is ridiculous, but whatever price you can bargain down to, you should get em. unless all trannies are fried, which i doubt that's the case, it'll be worth your time and money.
those look like metal base kt-88 even if some of them are still good, those are highly prized. for your info, a pair of working condition in decent shape usually sell for $3000 - $5000.
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janikphoto
Lunatic Member
I wouldn't let minor surface rust deceive you. Deep rust is what should be the deal-breaker. Besides, those are probably gone by now...
I went and looked at those on Sunday. I passed because he couldn't power them up. He told me he had them hooked up 8 years ago, but I couldn't see evidence of that. The tubes are mismatched, and those metal based 6550's have some corrosion. Apparently they were used at Roosevelt Raceway which closed in 1988.
And yes, they are rougher than the pics indicate. I'm certainly not trying to dissuade you, just offering info.
I am not an authority on these, but just from some past observations, could be that there are actually only two amps and the other two are the power supplies. Many of the older amps and including older Mcintosh the power supplies were seperate from the amps and had an umbilical cord to connect to the amp. So they might only be a pair of amps and the pair of power supplies. In any case, all one has to really do is take a meter with them and check the trannies if they are good I would think it would be a worthwhile investment as it would be foolish to even try and power them up, instead go straight to a restore, as all the caps, some resistors, and most likely tubes are going to be replaced, get it down to the cases, and refinish them and start from there.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Each amp has its own power supply and also supply power to preamp. That's what those sockets are for. Even if these are not powering on, they won't take much to get fixed. If the trannies are good, I would pay $1000 for those in a heart beat.
Well I wasn't sure if these models had their own power supply or a seperate one, but one thing I was sure off if they were close to me, and I knew where they were, I would snag them in a heart beat, even if they had no tubes!
captaingamez
Well-Known Member
yea when i get offers like 100 for something im selling thats already half priced it goes in the delete bin, and it does only serve to piss me off, several times i have responded to lowball offers that people have made after i sell an item and tell them what price i got for it already, like a , as a matter of fact.....
then theres this too
http://www.audioclassics.com/detail.php3?detail=MI60&nav=cat
then theres this too
http://www.audioclassics.com/detail.php3?detail=MI60&nav=cat
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
In restoration condition, those amps are worth $1,000 EACH minimum. That's the ebay rate for single MC-60's. The considerably rarer MI-60 would probably fetch a premium. The tubes if vintage could be worth $1,000 alone. If you lowball, you lose in the long run.
Mcintosh MI 60
I was the lucky one who got those amps, I went with a variac and connected a speaker to each amp slowly raised the voltage while observing my ammeter to make sure nothing was shorted and they did work, I found one had wrong tubes in wrong sockets so its good the buyer did not plug them in or would have blown one , I got a strong quad of ge 6550a tubes like new tested on my hickok 600a and the metal sleeve corrosion just hit it with a little furniture polish works every time, they appear to be all original on the pair I got,
I was the lucky one who got those amps, I went with a variac and connected a speaker to each amp slowly raised the voltage while observing my ammeter to make sure nothing was shorted and they did work, I found one had wrong tubes in wrong sockets so its good the buyer did not plug them in or would have blown one , I got a strong quad of ge 6550a tubes like new tested on my hickok 600a and the metal sleeve corrosion just hit it with a little furniture polish works every time, they appear to be all original on the pair I got,
perchdog
AudioDouchebag
I was the lucky one who got those amps, I went with a variac and connected a speaker to each amp slowly raised the voltage while observing my ammeter to make sure nothing was shorted and they did work, I found one had wrong tubes in wrong sockets so its good the buyer did not plug them in or would have blown one , I got a strong quad of ge 6550a tubes like new tested on my hickok 600a and the metal sleeve corrosion just hit it with a little furniture polish works every time, they appear to be all original on the pair I got,
Nice// a foursome huh ?
get em' refurbed and you will be a happy fella :thmbsp:
mcintosh
If anyone here knows I have terminal strips on these see the pics above, I have on the input 1 and 2 and a ground is this a balanced input? I connected the speaker to the other terminal strip in which only 2 wires are there, to select impedance there is a terminal strip under chassis I believe these used sockets at one point , If i touch the input terminal strip i get the buzzzzzz but not sure on why no rca input , any help would be great , all the amps are the same ,
If anyone here knows I have terminal strips on these see the pics above, I have on the input 1 and 2 and a ground is this a balanced input? I connected the speaker to the other terminal strip in which only 2 wires are there, to select impedance there is a terminal strip under chassis I believe these used sockets at one point , If i touch the input terminal strip i get the buzzzzzz but not sure on why no rca input , any help would be great , all the amps are the same ,
captaingamez
Well-Known Member
wow dude, thats awesome, i cant believe the op even tried 300, thats really just rude IMHO. i was at an audio store the other day and mentioned these and the owner flipped a lid, he wanted them bad, real bad, and he said hed have paid 5x the price regardless of condition.
