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LED Kit for C2200

chuckworkb

chuckworkb

Super Member
I ordered two LED kits from Mike at Audioclassics. One for the C2200, and one for the MC352.
I recently received them, and decided to do the C2200 one today.

The C2200 pictorial instructions are very easy to follow. The kit is pretty straight forward to install. The only issue I had was with one of the new grommets getting pushed out of the hole as I pressed in the new LED. That was a little tricky to get out, put I got it, and was able to continue without any other issues.

I fired it up before putting the cover back on and the meters look great, and the lettering looks excellent as well.

Closed up the preamp, and put it back in. Tomorrow I will do the MC352, ( when someone is here to help me flip that 105 lb monster upside down to get to the circuit board.

Thanks Mike, and Audioclassics, for a great modification.
 
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Too late for C2200 pic's, but might prove helpful to others if you can post a few pic's of the MC352 when you you do it.
 
I did mine a few years ago. I noticed that the logo and letters aren't as full in color as the bulbs. I also don't like how bright the meters are and over powers the green logo and lettering lights.

Can you please post some good pics of yours so I can compare?
 
Mike sent me a PDF of instructions with pictures that are far better then I could ever take. I have the same thing for the MC352 upgrade.

I'll ask him if I can post those here, since I have the pdf's still in my email.

It is really very easy, once you read through the instructions.

My only issue will be turning that amp upside down. That ought to be interesting.
 
HiFiGuy528 said:
I did mine a few years ago. I noticed that the logo and letters aren't as full in color as the bulbs. I also don't like how bright the meters are and over powers the green logo and lettering lights.

Can you please post some good pics of yours so I can compare?
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I didn't think the lettering was any less in color.

The meters are bright, but I really like it. I actually left the meters off most of the time in the past, because wasn't that fond of the lights. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

After I get the amp done I will snap a picture with my camera.
 
HiFiGuy528 said:
I did mine a few years ago. I noticed that the logo and letters aren't as full in color as the bulbs. I also don't like how bright the meters are and over powers the green logo and lettering lights.

Can you please post some good pics of yours so I can compare?
Click to expand...

The meters of my MC352 are brighter with the LED kit when compared to the meters on my MC501's -- when I do my other MC352 in a few months, I plan to add one more blue filter and see if it tones down the brightness slightly although the extra brightness is not horrible since I am a big fan of the meters.

As I recall, with my aging sieve-like memory, it was Ryan on the phone that did a great job talking with me regarding some questions as I did the install.

MikeSp
 
Okay, here's mine. As you can see, the LED does not fill the logo as nice as bulbs on my Mc602. I am thinking of going back to bulbs and sell the kit since I don't like how bright the meters are.

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5463217709_c073a161c3_z.jpg
 
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I see what your talking about now.

My C2200 wasn't as bright as your 602 in the lettering before I put in the LED's, that I remember.

I don't think my MC352 is either.

I am going to try to get the MC352 done today.

I saved all the parts for the C2200, so if I ever sell it, the buyer can put in the bulbs or leave the LED's.
 
HiFiGuy528,

I had my C2200 LED kit installed by Audio Classics when I purchased it and the lighting of the lettering is pretty much identical to yours. While I would prefer that its intensity perfectly matched that of my other pieces, I am happy enough with the peace of mind of not worrying about bulbs..

Of more concern to me was that the meter lights were noticeably different than those of my MC252. I was able to adjust the meter lights of the 252 and now have a near perfect match.

Mike
 
quinlanmw said:
HiFiGuy528,

I had my C2200 LED kit installed by Audio Classics when I purchased it and the lighting of the lettering is pretty much identical to yours. While I would prefer that its intensity perfectly matched that of my other pieces, I am happy enough with the peace of mind of not worrying about bulbs..

Of more concern to me was that the meter lights were noticeably different than those of my MC252. I was able to adjust the meter lights of the 252 and now have a near perfect match.

Mike
Click to expand...
Hi, how much did the LED kit plus install set you back at audio classics?

Thanks
 
Hey HiFiGuy, what happened to the pics? edit: Oops! Just noticed this is an old thread... never mind.

I was wondering if there was some correct voltage LEDs or a kit available for my MC202 and C712 but I'm really concerned it will not look as good with LEDs. Incandescent bulbs always have a more wide and smooth projection of light, and so I fear the LEDs won't illuminate an even spread across the nomenclature and meters, or be too bright in some areas.
And yet hadrian333 seems to be getting good results with the LEDs in his older Macs, at least based on the photos.
 
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MORTIS said:
Hey HiFiGuy, what happened to the pics? edit: Oops! Just noticed this is an old thread... never mind.

I was wondering if there was some correct voltage LEDs or a kit available for my MC202 and C712 but I'm really concerned it will not look as good with LEDs. Incandescent bulbs always have a more wide and smooth projection of light, and so I fear the LEDs won't illuminate an even spread across the nomenclature and meters, or be too bright in some areas.
And yet hadrian333 seems to be getting good results with the LEDs in his older Macs, at least based on the photos.
Click to expand...

Don't mess with the perfect bulb beauty that you have. I've never seen bulbs look as wonderful as in your 202 and 712. You did an amazing job. There's something more soothing about the look of bulbs vs. led's.
 
robbanks said:
Don't mess with the perfect bulb beauty that you have. I've never seen bulbs look as wonderful as in your 202 and 712. You did an amazing job. There's something more soothing about the look of bulbs vs. led's.
Click to expand...

Perhaps a bit overly generous compliment there robbanks but I thank you just the same.
Certainly while changing them I discovered that it isn't always simply a case of swapping the old with the new. Some of the bulbs do have a margin of positioning that will affect optimum illumination. It was therefor important to me to install all the bulbs in the pre and power amp so as to get the units to look as good as when they were new, which is probably the best you can hope for.
It was especially difficult to position the bulbs for soft, even illumination when I installed the LED's in the meters of my Phase Linear 400. They turned out well but it took between 2 and 3 hours to get them to look right, so I wouldn't want to have to do another PL400.
Getting LED's to look right in my Macs is the only thing that concerns me about making the change. You're absolutely right that incandescent bulbs have a softer, warmer and more pleasing look to them, and for that reason I'd prefer to stay with them; however, each time I turn on my gear I wonder if I'm going to see a bulb out (or several), partly because I have the vague impression that the MC202 eats bulbs. What's worse though is that the MC202 in particular was a bitch to change those 10 bulbs. All 10 are soldered onto various sized boards and you have to do some very delicate dis-assembly to access the 2 bulbs behind the Mac logo. I'm really not looking forward to changing all those bulbs again.

Come to think of it, Mac has gone through some peculiar changes in the manner in which they attach bulbs. You would generally expect the design and engineering of high-end component, particularly Mac, to improve over the decades and model generations, but that doesn't appear to me to be the case when it comes to their bulbs. For example, the C712 is a breeze to change bulbs; they're all easily accessible and each simply plugs into its own harness and each bulb slots into a rubber grommet. You can open up the case and change them all and get it back together in about 15 minutes. The MC202 on the other hand is a major job in comparison.
The only reason I can think of for this huge difference of design is to reduce the cost of materials and factory assembly time for the MC202. I figure it must cost more in materials for each bulb to have its own harness, and take a longer assembly time to build those harnesses and wire them into the circuitry, and of course there's the full width metal plate behind the glass with the holes for the grommets; whereas cost less and take less time to simply solder them onto tiny boards with most of the bulbs in groups sharing a single board. Unfortunately for the owners, it then requires much longer labor time and cost to change those bulbs in the MC202 when they burn out.

Maybe I'm out to lunch on this theory, plus I'm rambling on again, so... I'm done :)
 
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