Does a "repair" effect value of a vintage McIntosh

ChoppieChops

ChoppieChops

New Member
Good morning guys,
I'm going to boil down a thousand-page, documentary-sized "rant" into just some very basic facts. So, get a coffee and for the 1960s guys, grab a pipe to puff on while you opine on what you are about to "have" read.

NOTE: I'll share "The Full Story", when I feel up to it and everything gets resolved--will be awesome reading for a late Saturday night.

McIntosh C30, (perfect condition)
Location: ebay, shipping from CA to FL, all original shipping cartons, all in perfect condition.

UPS tracking states delivery time 13th, found in my driveway in crystal clear view of anyone driving past my house 5 days early (tracking then shows delivered, signed for, verified by ID. (I was at work 30 miles away, no one was home!)

I placed the second, inner box on the roller top cover on the back of my pickup truck and opened the top flap. The 1800 hours, 6pm Sun light hit a tinny spek of glas that was resting on top of the beautiful wallnut case and it lit up like a bright shining LED light. So, I'm 100 percent positive that anyone which is reading this right now, already knows what I'm about to type here.

I knew that back in the late 70s early 80s, McIntosh didnt bore a hole in the walnut case and install a white LED light that lights with no power going to it and has no purpose...I carfully slid my hand between the cardboard and front face of the preamp--totaly distroyed glass face, almost looks as though some one did it deliberatly as there was no glass chip larger that 1.5 inches square in size.

I'm in the process of making a UPS claim, and getting it repaired. I ordered and received the glass and dropped everything off at Stereo Fixers in Boca Raton, FL, older guy thinking about retireing (50 years of experience!)

After the whole story is finished, and the repair is complete, my C30 Preamp will no longer be ALL origional and from what I have read here and there, the back lighting will look different with a new glass replacement. I understand replacing internal electronics is needed over time and pretty common, but things like the front glass, thats a major change to the origional vintage piece....

Sorry for the BOOK but, will this effect the overall "collectors" value.

Thanks guys.

P.S., not posting pictures yet, I'm afraid it will cause some to have nightmares...
 
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Did you get it for its utility, or as a museum exhibit "time capsule" piece?
If the first, get it renovated right by an expert and enjoy.
If 2, return for a refund, look for another, mint in box with all dox, and get a preamp to use while you admire it as it is. It's either /or.
 
Pio1980 said:
Did you get it for its utility, or as a museum exhibit "time capsule" piece?
If the first, get it renovated right by an expert and enjoy.
If 2, return for a refund, look for another, mint in box with all dox, and get a preamp to use while you admire it as it is. It's either /or.
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Well, over the years of working for a custom home theater company, I've collected about 20 or 25 really NICE Denon, Yamaha, high end receivers that get pulled during system upgrades for lack of having HDMI switching and that's what I'm using now, one of the Denon's. However when I simply want to switch between my computer and a DVD player, I get a headache navigating the menus looking for the right input--I really want to toss it in the ocean! This C30 was my solution to "that" problem AND also solve my "I like 70s, 80s stuff" problem. For some reason a C30 can't be found anywhare, where as a C29 can and I just like that its a bit of a odd piece to find, thus may add to its value. It will be a daily driver connected to a MC2205 OR a pair of Denon POA600 mono amps of which I have both options. Using klipsch chorus speakers.
 
ChoppieChops said:
Well, over the years of working for a custom home theater company, I've collected about 20 or 25 really NICE Denon, Yamaha, high end receivers that get pulled during system upgrades for lack of having HDMI switching and that's what I'm using now, one of the Denon's. However when I simply want to switch between my computer and a DVD player, I get a headache navigating the menus looking for the right input--I really want to toss it in the ocean! This C30 was my solution to "that" problem AND also solve my "I like 70s, 80s stuff" problem. For some reason a C30 can't be found anywhare, where as a C29 can and I just like that its a bit of a odd piece to find, thus may add to its value. It will be a daily driver connected to a MC2205 OR a pair of Denon POA600 mono amps of which I have both options. Using klipsch chorus speakers.
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Get it professionally done right then, you won't regret it every time you enjoy what it does well.
 
Pio1980 said:
Get it professionally done right then, you won't regret it every time you enjoy what it does well.
Click to expand...

Yes, makes sense. It's in the repair process already, waiting for UPS to pony up some cash for the damage.

Off topic question;
The Denon I'm using now which my computer is connected to, is on 24/7 along with my computer which is also on 24/7 and has been for over 5 years without issues.

Can a C30 / MC2205 setup fill this job and not have problems or damage to the electronics?

Will the MC2205 really draw a lot of watts from my wall even sitting idle as it is a class b or ab amp (not sure which)

thanks...
 
ChoppieChops said:
I placed the second, inner box on the roller top cover on the back of my pickup truck and opened the top flap. The 1800 hours, 6pm Sun light hit a tinny spek of glas that was resting on top of the beautiful wallnut case and it lit up like a bright shining LED light.
Click to expand...

Right off, that's First Commandment of shipping McIntosh broken: Thou shalt NOT ship thy McIntosh inside of thine cabinet!

Since the cabinet will not fit inside the proper McIntosh shipping box, it may also be inferred that one was not used either. Strike two.

NO matter what a seller says, they CANNOT be entrusted to ship a Mc properly. You must TELL them how - and order the packaging from Audio Classics and have it shipped it to them.
 
I haven't compared the original glass to new McIntosh glass to see what's different.

However, unless it's significantly different as in missing some of the gold and you want to have it, no big deal as the original glass probably was getting to the point where it wasn't perfect anyway.
 
62caddy said:
Right off, that's First Commandment of shipping McIntosh broken: Thou shalt NOT ship thy McIntosh inside of thine cabinet!

Since the cabinet will not fit inside the proper McIntosh shipping box, it may also be inferred that one was not used either. Strike two.

NO matter what a seller says, they CANNOT be entrusted to ship a Mc properly. You must TELL them how - and order the packaging from Audio Classics and have it shipped it to them.
Click to expand...

All new lessons being learned :-/
 
ChoppieChops said:
Yes, makes sense. It's in the repair process already, waiting for UPS to pony up some cash for the damage.

Off topic question;
The Denon I'm using now which my computer is connected to, is on 24/7 along with my computer which is also on 24/7 and has been for over 5 years without issues.

Can a C30 / MC2205 setup fill this job and not have problems or damage to the electronics?

Will the MC2205 really draw a lot of watts from my wall even sitting idle as it is a class b or ab amp (not sure which)

thanks...
Click to expand...

By what means is the computer hooked to the Denon? Digital outputs from the computer may work with the Denon but will not work with the C30. If your computer has stereo (L & R) analog outputs, those will work with your C30.

Your computer (being a computer and all) is a digital source for music. Your C30 is all analog so somewhere in there you need a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). If your computer has analog outputs, then your computer has a DAC in it. If your computer has only digital outputs (i.e. USB), then you must have a DAC inside your Denon (likely if it's a HT receiver).

The DAC function is pretty critical to sound quality and you don't want to use a cheap DAC with high quality stuff like your McIntosh / Klipsch.

Unless you have a "high end" sound card in your computer, the DAC in your computer is likely a cheap one. If you want to hook your computer to your C30, I recommend that you find a good quality, stand-alone DAC to go between.

Also, the MC2205 is class AB. You should have no problem leaving the C30 and MC2205 on 24/7 if needed. This assumes that both units have be electrically restored and are operating correctly.

I don't think you'll notice much change in your electric bill.
 
Both the C30 and MC2205 or more than 30 years old and should be electronically restored. Unless you have good evidence that such a restoration was recently done, you need to have that done to ensure that they are performing correctly and will not cause damage to parts that are still working. Safety might even be an issue with unrestored units running 24/7 unattended.
 
I would love to trade my older C-34 for a C-40, the last highly flexible analog pre-amp, but it won't fit in the same space, so I guess the C-34 and I are destined in becoming lifetime friends. My 2505 and I have been together over 50 years. The MPI-4 has been rebuilt and will be 50 years old here very soon. The MR-80 is close to 40 years and the MR-78 is over 40 years. Both having been restored by the original designer. Everything else Mac is less than 12 years old. One piece about 12 weeks a guess. Then I have some 12 year old Mac speakers coming. Not worried about that purchase either.
 
twiiii said:
I would love to trade my older C-34 for a C-40, the last highly flexible analog pre-amp, but it won't fit in the same space, so I guess the C-34 and I are destined in becoming lifetime friends. My 2505 and I have been together over 50 years. The MPI-4 has been rebuilt and will be 50 years old here very soon. The MR-80 is close to 40 years and the MR-78 is over 40 years. Both having been restored by the original designer. Everything else Mac is less than 12 years old. One piece about 12 weeks a guess. Then I have some 12 year old Mac speakers coming. Not worried about that purchase either.
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You find some XRT28s??
 
TSmith8605 said:
By what means is the computer hooked to the Denon? Digital outputs from the computer may work with the Denon but will not work with the C30. If your computer has stereo (L & R) analog outputs, those will work with your C30.

Your computer (being a computer and all) is a digital source for music. Your C30 is all analog so somewhere in there you need a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). If your computer has analog outputs, then your computer has a DAC in it. If your computer has only digital outputs (i.e. USB), then you must have a DAC inside your Denon (likely if it's a HT receiver).

The DAC function is pretty critical to sound quality and you don't want to use a cheap DAC with high quality stuff like your McIntosh / Klipsch.

Unless you have a "high end" sound card in your computer, the DAC in your computer is likely a cheap one. If you want to hook your computer to your C30, I recommend that you find a good quality, stand-alone DAC to go between.

Also, the MC2205 is class AB. You should have no problem leaving the C30 and MC2205 on 24/7 if needed. This assumes that both units have be electrically restored and are operating correctly.

I don't think you'll notice much change in your electric bill.
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Well, I have been connecting computers to receivers and preamps starting in 1990. I don't ever remember having or using a computer which didn't have some type of LR out put , even a head phone jack would work when connected to an AUX or any non phone input. I do remember though, always having to buy a sound card for 30 or 70 dollars depending on what the specs were and in the late 90s mos all sound cards were 24 bit with 192 sample rate. I have a computer repair business and bought about 60 Dell Precision 380 work stations from a middle school which all had 200 dollar creative labs sound cards in them....today worth 20 dollars on ebay but still I guess my point was...even cheap computers will have some type of sound card. Early 2000s most all computers had onboard audio and even 7+1 out and now, its hard to find a sound card, its all onboard very high quality. However, I'm reading the voltage output is around 4V and I assume the receivers and preamps are looking for a few volts more which only means you need to slide up the volume on the computer slightly or play with the preamp, amp and computer to see which way has the least noise... Also, I'll most likely connect a BluRay player that will play MP3, I've been ripping my CD collection to MP3s and storing several hundred songs on a single DVD. Hid the random play and forget it. Also at one point back in the early 90s, I was using high quality metal VHS tapes to store ripped CDs and believe it or not, was recording MX radio when it was popular and came FREE with cable connection.

My real problem is, lifting the MC2205 up and placing it on top of my Herman Miller filing cabinets that I have all along the wall.

I think I'll look in the "phone book" for a crane rental company.

I do get carried away when juiced up with coffee....sorry...
 
Weight has regulated my choice of gear in the last decade, so I understand. 30-40 lbs is about the limit these days for anything off the floor that gets shelved.
 
Don't mean to disregard anyone's emphasis on importance of gear's originality, but for a preamp like C30, I'd just focus on its performance, restore it properly, and enjoy the heck out of it. From a collector's point of view, replaced glass would effect the value, I'm sure.

I've personally seen a handful of McIntosh preamps with broken glasses after shipping. It happens too often. Hope you get yours looking and performing great.
 
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gogofast said:
Don't mean to disregard anyone's emphasis on importance of gear's originality, but for a preamp like C30, I'd just focus on its performance, restore it properly, and enjoy the heck out of it. From a collector's point of view, replaced glass would effect the value, I'm sure.

I've personally seen a handful of McIntosh preamps with broken glasses after shipping. It happens too often. Hope you get yours looking and performing great.
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Yes, without going crazy trying to make something not happen that has already happened (broken glass), I absolutely have to do exactly what you said, basically fix it and use it--and I need to worry about other more important things.

Well, when the repair is complete, I'll post a before/after picture.
 
A little birdie called me because I was on the waiting list. There is another pair in the State of Washington and a pair in Palm Springs for sale, too. But I prefer to buy from dealer in case there are issues later on. The original owner has all the original packing and that is saving me a bunch or money and hopefully any worries about shipping. video.cgi.jpg
 
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