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First Mcintosh purchase

I've been playing around with different speaker combinations with my 1700. Just for the heck of it I tried a pair of Canton Karat 30's. Bookshelf speaker ...4 ohm, not ported. They sound very nice...bass was quite a bit tighter than other ported speakers I tried. Makes me think an enclosed box is the way to go with the 1700.
 
Go Giants said:
I've been playing around with different speaker combinations with my 1700. Just for the heck of it I tried a pair of Canton Karat 30's. Bookshelf speaker ...4 ohm, not ported. They sound very nice...bass was quite a bit tighter than other ported speakers I tried. Makes me think an enclosed box is the way to go with the 1700.
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This is great info! I am still waiting for my 1700 to come back from its repair/restoration and the wait is driving me crazy! I am lining up as many speakers as I can to try with it. Do you by chance know what the sensitivity rating of those speakers is? Happy listening!
 
The Cantons might be a little power hungry but the 1700 drives them easily. As someone here mentioned already, the wpc specs seem understated on this receiver. A poster earlier mentioned his benched at 62 wpc. Not surprising. It's fun trying different combinations to see what sounds best.
 
Tried my KLH sixes....they sound even better than the Canton's as they go a little deeper. Again, the KLH's are a closed design.
 
Go Giants said:
Tried my KLH sixes....they sound even better than the Canton's as they go a little deeper. Again, the KLH's are a closed design.
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I just bought a pair of KLH 17's to use with mine. I tried them on my modern amp and they need some work, but I have ordered the woofer sealant and it should be here Tuesday and then I will take them to be recapped. I am very excited to see how they will sound.
 
Should sound very similar to the sixes. I have a pair of 17's too, but one has an issue so they're on the bench. The 17' have a slightly small box if I recall.

The closed box design has a little different sound...not as airy, but I don't mind it since I grew up in an era of acoustically suspended speakers.
 
Go Giants said:
To be clear...the 17's are only slightly smaller than the 6's.
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Yes and it seems the 6 may have the edge sound wise. Soon I will be able to compare KLH 6, AR2ax's, Klipsch Heresy's, and some other vintage speakers with my Mac1700 at my technician's place. I plan to try several vintage speakers over the next year or so. Now to find the ideal turntable.
 
Both very good vintage speakers. Folks claim the model 5 is even better, but I believe they were sold in smaller numbers so a little harder to find. The other speakers you mention are too notch too. Nice that you have access to hear them and compare.

Tons of turntables and cartridges out there. Right now I'm running a Pioneer PL 518 tt with a Ortofon Super OM mm cart with the Mac1700. Sounds really nice. In my man cave setup I run a Denon DP 1500 tt with a Denon dl 103 mc cart. They are both solid Direct Drive decks. The Denon is manual ...The Pioneer is semi automatic....good for when you doze off...lol.
 
Go Giants said:
Both very good vintage speakers. Folks claim the model 5 is even better, but I believe they were sold in smaller numbers so a little harder to find. The other speakers you mention are too notch too. Nice that you have access to hear them and compare.

Tons of turntables and cartridges out there. Right now I'm running a Pioneer PL 518 tt with a Ortofon Super OM mm cart with the Mac1700. Sounds really nice. In my man cave setup I run a Denon DP 1500 tt with a Denon dl 103 mc cart. They are both solid Direct Drive decks. The Denon is manual ...The Pioneer is semi automatic....good for when you doze off...lol.
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There are some 5's in the pawn shop here in town, but the cabinets have been painted and they want $100 for speakers that aren't in great shape.
 
Sounds like a project then. If you know the drivers are good, you could offer less and see if they bite. If the drivers are shot, probably not worth the effort.
 
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