C26 Question

[oplancq]

Hello, I found a nice C26...I plan to use it with a Quad 606 and some KEF104/2 (92dB) speakers. Input sensivity of the 606 is 500mV: It looks it does not match the C26 high output...As a consequence this is a quiet noisy trio when I do not play music. Is this a normal behavior from the C26 ?

Thanks
Olivier

 

[dshoaf]

I doubt it....

assuming that its still in original condition. I'd suggest you not pass judgement until its been looked at. Do a search here for others who have had their C26/28s updated and their reports after the fact. The beauty of Macs are that they all perform well but age does affect some of the components like capacitors. My MX-110 is old enough to vote many times over but sings once I did the cap updates. You should expect the same.

I don't have experience specifically with C26s but assume they would repond in the same way.

Cheers,

David

 

[Vinyl Rules!]

assuming that its still in original condition. I'd suggest you not pass judgement until its been looked at. Do a search here for others who have had their C26/28s updated and their reports after the fact. The beauty of Macs are that they all perform well but age does affect some of the components like capacitors. My MX-110 is old enough to vote many times over but sings once I did the cap updates. You should expect the same.

I don't have experience specifically with C26s but assume they would repond in the same way.

Cheers,

David

A hearty (and turkey-stuffed) :beer: agreement.

I have a C28 that was a bit noisy until Terry DeWick's talented hands touched it and and magically made it all better :grnbounce . No mods, just replacing what had gotten a bit old and worn. Am guessing that a similar repair would work wonders for your C26.

The great thing about McIntosh is that it's really worth fixing, you'll never regret getting it repaired, and McIntosh maintains its value should you ever want to sell it.

 

[ron-c]

The C26 was designed assuming a 2.5 volt amp sensitivity. I will agree with the others here that a re-cap with new polys does wonders for lowering the noise floor. Have it checked.
Ron-C

 

[crooner]

C26 had a remarkably long production run. Early units will be prone to capacitor failure. Early low voltage electrolytics such as the infamous "transi-lytic" by sprague are prone to failure due to age.

Later units had German sourced "ERO" green encapsulated caps, I believe.
I do remember my C27 from 1979 (basically the same preamp) had them. Worked perfectly until 2000 when I sold it.

The C26/27 circuit design is quite good IMO. I remember my unit sounding very clean and transparent.

Back in 1997 or so, after reading too many issues of Stereophool, I decided to connect my MCD7007 directly to my power amp, bypassing the C27. One day I reconnected the C27 and did some comparisons. The signal going through the C27 suffered no significant degradation to my ears. I hooked the preamp again.

Once your unit has been checked and brought to specs, you will have one nice preamp.

Enjoy,
crooner (my 400th post!)