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Fast amp?

I have newer, and older, from my '60s McIntosh tube amps and '60s (and some older) NOS tubes to much newer tube amps, in solid-state I have again from '60s McIntosh to very new. Power from 25wpc to hundreds/channel.

I feel that older gear, such as the old McIntosh gear does sound different, in most cases people will describe it as "warmer" where newer gear can sound "brighter", more "detailed", and other descriptions (but age alone does not mean it sounds one way or another).

Much has been written about these differences, and much is subjective, even more depends on your paired speakers, your music, your room, your ears. As nj said above believe everything that you hear from your speakers.

I don't know anything about your speakers, think you mentioned them above, but there certainly is some improvement to be had in power with newer McIntosh and if your speakers are very power hungry (the 2205 is no power slouch) then more power will help to improve dynamics (the softest to loudest) and other qualities.

However, if someone walked into my listening space and told me the same thing (presuming the word speed isn't a mis-translation into American English) I would probably laugh and realize that the person speaking hasn't a clue.

Others have brought up the need to restore an older piece like you have, even a couple of aging audio-coupling caps can reduce the SQ of a piece of gear significantly, and listen to the music, not the opinions of self-professed audio experts.

They probably have a heavy dose of "authority belief".
 
My son (an aspiring and very talented composer and EDM musician) is constantly challenging me and my system with newer music. This album (on vinyl no less - think about that if you give it a listen) is an absolute torture test for "speed". It's not something I listen to for enjoyment, but I liken it to a chassis dyno for my system. Played loudly, it mercilessly reveals any slop anywhere in the chain.

Give it a listen (loud) if you dare. Better yet find a better source than YT, but this will give you an idea of what "fast" music is, to me at least:


jblnut

(the 501's and Salon2's absolutely crush it :) Our first listen after the 250TI's left had us both speechless.)
 
SaturationPt said:
I have newer, and older, from my '60s McIntosh tube amps and '60s (and some older) NOS tubes to much newer tube amps, in solid-state I have again from '60s McIntosh to very new. Power from 25wpc to hundreds/channel.

I feel that older gear, such as the old McIntosh gear does sound different, in most cases people will describe it as "warmer" where newer gear can sound "brighter", more "detailed", and other descriptions (but age alone does not mean it sounds one way or another).

Much has been written about these differences, and much is subjective, even more depends on your paired speakers, your music, your room, your ears. As nj said above believe everything that you hear from your speakers.

I don't know anything about your speakers, think you mentioned them above, but there certainly is some improvement to be had in power with newer McIntosh and if your speakers are very power hungry (the 2205 is no power slouch) then more power will help to improve dynamics (the softest to loudest) and other qualities.

However, if someone walked into my listening space and told me the same thing (presuming the word speed isn't a mis-translation into American English) I would probably laugh and realize that the person speaking hasn't a clue.

Others have brought up the need to restore an older piece like you have, even a couple of aging audio-coupling caps can reduce the SQ of a piece of gear significantly, and listen to the music, not the opinions of self-professed audio experts.

They probably have a heavy dose of "authority belief".
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Thank you very much for your answer. It was really what I was looking for, as you have experience with a wide range of MC amps.

Oh, and they surely do have a dose of 'authority belief' :)
 
jblnut said:
My son (an aspiring and very talented composer and EDM musician) is constantly challenging me and my system with newer music. This album (on vinyl no less - think about that if you give it a listen) is an absolute torture test for "speed". It's not something I listen to for enjoyment, but I liken it to a chassis dyno for my system. Played loudly, it mercilessly reveals any slop anywhere in the chain.

Give it a listen (loud) if you dare. Better yet find a better source than YT, but this will give you an idea of what "fast" music is, to me at least:


jblnut

(the 501's and Salon2's absolutely crush it :) Our first listen after the 250TI's left had us both speechless.)
Click to expand...
Cool! The track is available on Qobuz and I'm going to try it out this weekend!
 
c_dk said:
Since your " friend" dissed you and your choice can we help set you up to diss him?

I would suggest some oenophile terms to start.......
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Hahahaha just enjoying the Mc sound is more than enough for me :)

I’m glad I found this forum.
 
Ahhhh shucks, I was looking forward to some fun.....

"your new amp has a bit of a hard edge to it, probably needs a few more years to mature"
 
Some folks love distorted high ends that give an extra sizzle and austere sound to anything above 5000 HZ. That is not a 2205 for sure. They wouldn't be happy with a MC 501 either. If fact they wouldn't like any Mac amp. No high frequency distortion to peak their compromised hearing. They probably love amps that ring, have over shoot, and crossover distortion with a little TIM thrown in too. I have a real dislike for Threshold and Krell amps when used with paneled speakers with ragged high ends. Macs 1K and 2k speakers don't work for me no matter which Mac amp you use. Even a slow MC 60 or MC 3500 would still turn me off with the 2k speaker. In fact one time I was auditioning Magico speakers and a little 275 found it to better than 2301 or 601. Go figure. Raunchy high ends are not always the answer. New B&W speakers are almost as bad as the Mac speakers with the 8 to 10 db peak around 10 KHZ.
 
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Fast amps, of course there are fast amps, refer to slew rate, not sure why everyone got there nickers in a tangle, its a known thing, often very fast amps such as say a Sansui AU-X1 which is incredibly fast and has huge bandwidth to boot, have very low TIM which is important for reproducing complex waveforms such as music, however, the part about the "suits slow music, and not music that demands more speed", is just complete nonsense.
Yes the newer McIntosh's are faster amps with more bandwidth, but of course having owned a MC2120/2205 can tell you from my own experience that I never felt the 2205 was "too slow" at all, what a HOOT!! These guys are Buffoons, and I wouldn't listen to their opinions.
 
Could always get more personal: you could check out the success of other tube amp companies divergence into transistors........Other than Mac most all were failures in that attempt: Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Counterpoint all come to mind.
 
At 60 years old I am not considered Fast. Half fast mabe. I have read stuff about McIntosh gear with Autoformers not being as fast as Amps without them. I also read if you play A Black Sabbath album backwards. You see Godd. I would say Satan. Never tried it . What was the question again???
 
Is there a similar historical phrase in Portuguese, which is the native tounge of Brazil I believe, as the American coal miner sourced phrase "pulling a guys chain"?

According to the history channel program it involved a miner doing his business in the dark on the honey pot cart, and his friends pulling the chain holding the cart stationary on the tracks sending him riding down the tracks.......

I believe Prrr's friends have propelled him down the audio upgrade track, what's next speakers?

I have had clients have me help them design rooms around their systems, is a addition in order?
 
c_dk said:
Is there a similar historical phrase in Portuguese, which is the native tounge of Brazil I believe, as the American coal miner sourced phrase "pulling a guys chain"?

According to the history channel program it involved a miner doing his business in the dark on the honey pot cart, and his friends pulling the chain holding the cart stationary on the tracks sending him riding down the tracks.......

I believe Prrr's friends have propelled him down the audio upgrade track, what's next speakers?

I have had clients have me help them design rooms around their systems, is a addition in order?
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hahahahaha yep, they did. My new speakers arrived today: B&W 803 Diamond, and the MA7900 got here last week. Oh, man... I'm really in love with this setup (even though my wife's not... not at all :))
 
jimimac said:
At 60 years old I am not considered Fast. Half fast mabe. I have read stuff about McIntosh gear with Autoformers not being as fast as Amps without them. I also read if you play A Black Sabbath album backwards. You see Godd. I would say Satan. Never tried it . What was the question again???
Click to expand...
:rflmao:
 
jblnut said:
My son (an aspiring and very talented composer and EDM musician) is constantly challenging me and my system with newer music. This album (on vinyl no less - think about that if you give it a listen) is an absolute torture test for "speed". It's not something I listen to for enjoyment, but I liken it to a chassis dyno for my system. Played loudly, it mercilessly reveals any slop anywhere in the chain.

Give it a listen (loud) if you dare. Better yet find a better source than YT, but this will give you an idea of what "fast" music is, to me at least:


jblnut

(the 501's and Salon2's absolutely crush it :) Our first listen after the 250TI's left had us both speechless.)
Click to expand...
I've listened to it and liked it! I think (can't be sure, of course ;)) that the MC2205 could be fast enough for the song. Now I'm going to enjoy it with my MA7900. Send my regards to your son! I've also sent it to my friends who enjoy EDM and they liked it very much as well!
 
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