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2x MC2205 or one MC 7270 OR MC7200

paulvo

paulvo

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hi I need help to select the Mcintosh amp . I owned one MC2205 now but I want to up grade it , I can buy one more MC2205 run it as mono amp at 400W or just buy one MC7270 at 270W the money is not a lot different from one MC7270 VS two MC2205 . Please let me know what is your advice for me . Thank you for your input .
 
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What sort of upgrade are you looking for?

Power? What speakers are you running and how loud do you listen?

Sound quality? What pre-amp are you running? Perhaps upgrade the pre-amp which will make more noticeable difference than adding another power amp of the same type....

I jumped from a MC2205 straight to a MC352 which I found to be a worthwhile upgrade....and they are great value for money....get a lot of bang for buck.....
Straight into a quad balanced amplifier with the new smooth Mc sound.....nice...:thmbsp:

At the end of the day it just depends what you want to achieve....
 
Just keep in mind that the MC2205s can't be run at 8 Ohms mono. I agree with kev here ... You may also consider the MC500.
 
MC2205 vs MC7270

I own two MC7270s and one MC2205 (as well as four 2255s and one 2505).
Individually, the 7270 is a better amp, and a next generation design. But, if the choice is two MC2205s vs one MC7270, I would go with two MC22205s.
The only hesitation would be what an earlier poster mentioned about running the 2205 in mono mode - only going to 4 ohms. You will have to decide how that will interact with your speakers.
I run the 7270s in mono mode, each feeding one channel in my home system. But, they are driving 8 ohm speakers, and the 7270 will run mono into 8 ohms.
I use the 2205 to power Sennheiser 600s in balanced mode from the speaker output taps (yes - I had to rig up an adapter linkage - and the Sennheiser impedance is not a match to the 8 ohm output - but the detail in balanced mode is amazing!). When running the Sennheisers, the 2205 needle barely moves. When it gets up to 0.002 watts, I have to turn the volume down.
My point is that with the Sennheiser, I notice no ill effects from the impedance mismatch.
However, headphone impedance and speaker impedance (especially with passive cross-overs and long cable runs) are two different matters.
Personally, I would choose the additional MC2205.
One solution - if your speakers will support bi-amping, would be to get the 7270 to run the lower register and use the 2205 to run the upper register. Of course - the best way to get that to work would be with a MEN 220.
Oh well, it is just money
:banana:
 
Thanks Kevzep , damacman and Jim . I forgot to tell you my system is 2 channel with C28 preamp and McIntosh SL-6 speaker and on my early post that someone told me the SL-6 is for THX not good for 2 channel music , should I get different speaker , like Manepan 3.5s or something that you can suggest . About the preamp I can up grade with my budget at $1500 which one you think is better than C28 . Thank you for all of your advice .
 
paulvo said:
Thanks Kevzep , damacman and Jim . I forgot to tell you my system is 2 channel with C28 preamp and McIntosh SL-6 speaker and on my early post that someone told me the SL-6 is for THX not good for 2 channel music , should I get different speaker , like Manepan 3.5s or something that you can suggest . About the preamp I can up grade with my budget at $1500 which one you think is better than C28 . Thank you for all of your advice .
Click to expand...

I'd go for a C33 or C34, that would fit your price range and would be a very noticeable upgrade in my opinion....
More-so than changing power-amps.....
 
Thanks Kevzep , Chef free . I'm looking on ebay for the preamp now . C33 OR 34 but I see more of c39 for sale than c33 and the price around $1000 . What is your though about the C39 . Thanks again
 
paulvo said:
Hi I need help to select the Mcintosh amp . I owned one MC2205 now but I want to up grade it , I can buy one more MC2205 run it as mono amp at 400W or just buy one MC7270 at 270W the money is not a lot different from one MC7270 VS two MC2205 . Please let me know what is your advice for me . Thank you for your input .
Click to expand...

I have to ask this question. This is a serious question and by no means do I mean to sound like a wise guy but it may come off like I am. I'm not. What is the purpose of 400 WPC? Or 270 WPC? I simply don't understand the need for all that power beyond it being very cool. Enlighten me. Thanks.
 
Snappahead said:
ok....at Yankee Stadium?
Click to expand...

For driving difficult loads, inefficient speakers and headroom.....

For a well balanced system correctly set up, you can use that power.....

I have a MC452 and a Crown Macro-tech 5002VZ (1300watts per channel into 8Ω) in my system, and while they never run at full power, the headroom in my system contributes to the massive dynamic sound it produces....


Typically a stadium concert system would be upwards of 500,000 watts RMS....

400 watts would fall flat on its ass in that situation....
 
kevzep said:
For driving difficult loads, inefficient speakers and headroom.....

For a well balanced system correctly set up, you can use that power.....

I have a MC452 and a Crown Macro-tech 5002VZ (1300watts per channel into 8Ω) in my system, and while they never run at full power, the headroom in my system contributes to the massive dynamic sound it produces....


Typically a stadium concert system would be upwards of 500,000 watts RMS....

400 watts would fall flat on its ass in that situation....
Click to expand...

That answered my question. Thank you.
 
paulvo said:
Thanks Kevzep , Chef free . I'm looking on ebay for the preamp now . C33 OR 34 but I see more of c39 for sale than c33 and the price around $1000 . What is your though about the C39 . Thanks again
Click to expand...

C39 is a multi channel pre amp, you are a two channel guy! Consider the C712, it is a nice pre amp and goes for about a grand. The C36 and C38 are also excellent pre amps, they have the modern sealed switches for zero maintenance, they come up regularly.

Ebay is a crap shoot, you never know what you are getting and shipping/packing can be sketchy. Join AK to get access to the Barter Town section, you can get some great deals from the honest folks around here. Try Audio Classics or McIntosh Home Audio for some good deals and great service too.
 
Thanks Chef_free will try to look to the Barter Town . AC is good place to buy but it price is all way higher . I may just keep looking in here to see if any preamp come up for sale . Thank you
 
:music:
damacman said:
Jim, around these parts we post pics of systems like those in your sig!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion.
My problem is that systems are in a "state of flux" at the moment. I have four power amps at the technician's place - three of them with the common "broken power switch" problem with 22XX and 72xx series power amps, (plus a direct drive turntable that no longer "drives"). Also - at home half of the system is 30 feet away from the other half, because when I designed the house 35 years ago there was no such thing as Home Theater, 5.1, 7.1, HDMI, etc., etc., - so things are sort of "cobbled" together to accommodate the sound closet on one side of the great room and the TV on the opposite side - 30 feet away - which makes for a 50 foot run (after transformer to balanced line) - to clear obstacles downstairs - from the TV output to the MX130 (and another transformer on that end). Then another long run back for speaker cables (at least I was able to find 10 gauge stranded wire for the speaker runs when I built the house).
Plus - my wife will NOT tolerate any more than two speakers in the living room. I am still trying to convince her that TV would be sooo much better with 5.1 sound. So far she is unconvinced.
When I get things straightened out I plan to try to post a pic in the sig.
Thanks,
Jim
 
paulvo said:
Thanks Kevzep , Chef free . I'm looking on ebay for the preamp now . C33 OR 34 but I see more of c39 for sale than c33 and the price around $1000 . What is your though about the C39 . Thanks again
Click to expand...

Don't give up on the C39 too quickly. I have the MX130, which is really the C39 with a tuner section added.
Mac originally marketed the C39 for audio-video use. But - it has no provision for any high definition video. So - once that hit the market it lost a lot of favor.
When the C39 first came out, it was fairly highly rated by Stereophile (class B if I remember correctly). And this was at a time when Stereophile did not have much good to say about anything from McIntosh.
As a two channel pre-amp/control-center it is the most flexible piece of consumer control gear I have seen (this is with 50 years of "drooling" on the carpet at local audio shops).
By using the VCR inputs for audio tape, you can hook up four tape decks and record any source to any of the tape decks. Short of having a full "patch panel" it has the most flexibility of anything I have seen.
I use one of the tape "loops" for a ADC/DAC unit connected to my computer.
You can also run a second source to a "B" system in the other part of the house.
When I first got the unit I was worried about "cross-talk" when running two sources through the unit (which was a problem on some early 80s units with separate tape source selectors). But after digitizing 195 LPs to 192k/24bit (using the ADC/DAC unit mentioned earlier) at the same time my wife was using the same system to watch her TV shows - I had NO cross talk problem at all.
I believe the C39/MX130 is the MOST underappreciated and undervalued piece of McIntosh gear there is.
It also has a good phono input - although it will not handle low output moving coil cartridges - but for high output moving coil, or moving magnet cartridges, I find the phono input the have very good resolution.
 
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