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How Good Is Mc2500 Amplifier?

enrique

enrique

Active Member
HELLO, I AM THE (HAPPY) OWNER OF A C34V PREAMPLIFIER AND A MC2002 (200 w p/c, NO OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS) AND I´M BEING OFFERED a MC2500 FOR COMBINING WITH MY B & W MATRIX 802 S3. ANY OWNER OF A MC2500 COULD TALK ME ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THIS POWER AMPLIFIER?. THANKS AND GREETING (EXCUSE ME MY POOR ENGLISH; I´M FROM SPAIN)
 
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The McIntosh MC2500 is a powerful 500wpc amplifier, manufactured from 1980 to 1990. It often saw duty in recording studios, auditorium sound systems, and other professional venues. I have even seen them installed in record stores, back in the day, to power the in-store sound system. It has an industrial appearance, and weighs 129 lbs. The amp uses two fans mounted on the back for cooling, so fan noise might be a consideration, but the fans are thermally controlled, so unless you are really pushing the amp hard, they may never turn on. All in all, the MC2500 would be a great amp to own.
 
Thank you, Dan. Could you tell me the level of the fan noise when it's working? i´m concerned about it, in the night or low level listening.
Congratulations on your 2 fabulous systems.
 
enrique said:
Thank you, Dan. Could you tell me the level of the fan noise when it's working? i´m concerned about it, in the night or low level listening.
Congratulations on your 2 fabulous systems.
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The fan noise is similar to a power supply fan on a computer. Keep in mind though, the fans will not run at all unless the thermal sensors call for the fans. This will not happen unless you are really cranking the amp. At normal listening levels and below (usually 10wpc or less) the fans will never come on. You should have no problems with night or low level listening.
 
My 2300 fans come on for 1 to 2 minutes out of every 10 to 15 minuets of play time at 30W, they com on at slow speed and are barley noticeable only between songs, a quiet rushing sound unlike the wine of a computer fan,
 
This is the same amp that powered the entire USS Monticello ship's sound system - on only one channel. I have all the respect in the world for that amp, as the ship wiring for the all those compartments was AFU.

Talk about a load on the amp. Worked until the day the ship was decommissioned in 1985.
 
thanks to all. I´m going to hear the amplifier in the shop as soon as i can . i think i´m going to like it, and it will form a good combination with the rest of my system (B&W Matrix 802 S3, preamp.C34V, Sources Sony CDP XA50 ES / Thorens TD166 MK6 with Goldring 1022GX, cables Transparent in modulation - Atlas speakers). i really don´t need 500 wpc but ...who does not like having an unlimited power?. I welcome all comments about my system. Greetings to all of the forum
 
this amp is great, i own one. My father got this new in i think 1980. i have it now, and it is a huge amp. very heavy. but mine is in amazing shape. not a scratch on it. i have to say, i dont remember the fans ever coming on. and if they did, we could not notice. i have turned them on, manul. they are not loud at all. now for power this amp just has tons. its a typical sounding amp for that time period. but it does have a industrial look. huge handles ours is black, with two blue meters. and a big red power switch. by the way when you turn it on. you get a great snap. from the switch, you know you are turning on a big amp with this one lol. bottom of the amp has your dials this is one amp, that i dont think will ever fail. I am now sending this to mcintosh just to have it clean inside and check the specs. so i will be very curious to see after 20yrs if its right on. so i will have to say you are getting a great amp. how much are you paying for it?
 
Hello Itleo. i´m liking this monster... it semms like a tank. The initial price asked at the shop for the MC2500 is very high (3.500 eur), but we´ll have to negotiate extensively... besides, if I like it after listening carefully at the shop, i´ll try they to get with my MC2002 (i´m a veteran customer of that store).
Unfortunatelly, here in spain Mc Intosh used gear is few and expensive. The new equipment is extremely expensive.
Can you tell me the rest of your system? greetings
 
hello enrique,

the rest of my system includes 501's c2300, mht-200- right now i have dali helicon mk2 400 for my speakers but i just ordered a set of totem winds. my cd player is esoteric dv60 all audience aue 24 interconnects and speaker wire. thats me in a nut shell. oh i also have a shindo monbrison pre amp that i was using before i just got the c2300. wow that is alot of money, but i have to admit, this is one amp thats built like a tank.
 
excellent system. i hope I can slowly get close to that level ... the c2300 is fantastic, and all the rest of the components are superb. Congratulations.
I´m new at the forum, and i´m surprised by the high level of the systems in it.
 
this is a great forum. I am too new to this site. i have to say everyone has been very helpfull in anything that i needed. so feel free to ask anyone. and if i can be of any help please ask. though i am not as good as some of the other members.
 
It will drive anything!

fropiler said:
This is the same amp that powered the entire USS Monticello ship's sound system - on only one channel. I have all the respect in the world for that amp, as the ship wiring for the all those compartments was AFU.

Talk about a load on the amp. Worked until the day the ship was decommissioned in 1985.
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When I worked at "Litton Systems Ltd." we used them as DC supplies!!!!! That is why they will drive anything!!! Although the o/p transformers always made them sound too warm and tubby to me... inna home system- in a theatre HOWEVER with all that space, glorious!!! :)
 
I also remember reading here in AK that the MC-2500s were used by companies to drive sonar. A special version with a toggle switch was made. The switch allowed the power guard to be defeated. This piece was discovered in a warehouse and since been restored by a private collector. I had the silver (Version 1) in 1993 and it was a beautiful amp. Subsequently I went to a Version 4 (black but no block diagram on the top) and after 18 years I am still not tired of this beauty. It drives everything thrown at it beautifully and sounds wonderful. The only thing you have to be wary is the small pcb onto which the input RCA sockets sit on. Heavy interconnects could cause put strain on these. I changed to a insulated standard RCA check and modified the PCB to allow for the longer tang - that took care of everything and allowed for better interconnects.
 
We used 2500's in discos,and they provided yeoman service with never a failure in over 20 years of service as of my retirement. They got dirty, some filthy with smokers pollution, ran in unfiltered air and some in mexico from 90 to 135 volts all the while driving Cerwin Vega, JBL, Altec and Klipsch speakers at full power with power guard light flashing 10% or more of the time. They sounded good, too. I hated to see them go and 2600 come along. No real difference in sound, just money. I prefer the looks of gold ones. 2255's and 2250's supplemented with external fans, never seemed to have the safety margin the 2500 had, Repairs weren't often, but costly as the driver card was usually cooked in addition to the blown outputs and damaged transistor sockets.
 
Can anyone comment on the sound vs other Mc amps??? I'm amazed how much different the 2125 sounds Vs 2105???
 
I wish I had some other worthy Mc amps to compare my 2500 to. My only other Mc amp has been an mc250. That wasn't a fair comparison and of course the poor little 250 couldn't hang with it's 130lb sibling. What I do know is that the parade of amps auditioning in my main set up has ended with the addition of a 2500 6 months ago.
 
Clay55 said:
Can anyone comment on the sound vs other Mc amps??? I'm amazed how much different the 2125 sounds Vs 2105???
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Given the relative age of both of these models, any assessment of sonic qualities would be shrouded by the fact that there are aged components involved. That is, only those who had access to both models when they were new, decades ago, would be in a position to answer this question.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as raising a family back then took all the $$ out of my pocket. I can tell you that the improvements in a 2105 I restored some years back were dramatic and worth the effort.

Cheers,

David
 
I have to agree. I had my 2105 redone adout 4 years ago. Worth every Dime. I picked up a 2125 & a pair of XR6 speakers that I dont think have ever had anything done to them. The 2125 has a totallly different sound than the 2105. I was just wondering. My brother had an C28 preamp That seemed to follow the sound of the 2105. Not bad just warmer.
 
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