Mac 1900

[guitarman50]

I'm thinking about buying a nice fully restored MAC 1900 Receiver on canuck audio mart.
I'd be mating it with my Klipsch Cornwall Verticals.
Can anyone tell me how this pairing would be?

 

[nj pheonix]

I have no first hand knowledge of the pairing. I had a 1700 which I really liked and wasn't restored . I can't see how that wouldn't be a really nice pairing (without antagonizing the synergy police) two nice pieces should work well together. Let us know how your ears see it.

 

[guitarman50]

I'm currently weighing the options of getting a Marantz 2325 which there seems to be a lot available right now but prices for them are much higher than for this MAC 1900. It seems in my area the holy grail seems to be a Marantz 2325. But I've heard such good things about MAC gear I'm wondering if I'd be better served picking it up instead. I know that the Marantz receiver would sound warmer than my current Pioneer SX5580. But from what I read so would the MAC

 

[VintagePlus]

Did you get the 1900?

 

[CohibaJoe]

This is my restore on 1900:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=458357

Now I have 2 1900's. They are in the closet.
The 1 I have restored sound Very Very Nice.

But it's the 4100(http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=6228120)..yes Recapped...that I have hooked up and it's a Dream to work on...All of it.

IMOP the 1900 was built to "Throw Out". The Push Switches are not well designed nor is the Volume Switch. If you look into replacing Switches/Pots....

While the Recap is Easy to do...It's not Very Friendly at all once you have switch issues.

 

[MORTIS]

I too was looking at that 1900 on CAM; its not too far from me (an entertaining read). It seems to be very nicely restored, including the cabinet. The seller himself did the work and he sounds like he knows his stuff. He also believes the 1900's are very precisely designed and built. I don't know, but from just looking at them, I find them a little cheap looking.
If however he did a quality restore, it should sound very good, particularly with the Cornwalls.

 

[twiiii]

A very close friend of mine had a pair Beta 075 as I remember. Same as Corn wall same drivers, but a little different crossover and the cabinet was narrower, but deeper with 2 ports, one on each side, They were tuned differently, too. But be that as may he started off with a Sansui receiver then a Crown IC-150 with a D150A. The only problem was the TIM distortion of the pre-amp. Then he tried a 1900 and he and I were favorably impressed. Plenty of punch, very quiet and easy to listen, too. Even if he was using a Technics 1100 with an SME and a V-15III. He used to record his own boot legs of Herman, Kenton, Basie, Rich, and Harry James were his favorites and they all sounded better than any of the LP's available at the time and the 1900 sure helped. So I would say if you have the Cornwalls with the EV tweeter and Atlas mid driver you should be very happy. Even if you have the later units with the in house tweeter if you back of the highs just a touch you should be very happy.

 

[twiiii]

One of our sales men had Cornwalls C-28 and 2105 with Nakamichi 700 cassette a B&O 4002 turntable and the system sounded fantastic. When he got divorced and moved into an apartment he kept his speakers and got a 1900, a Tandberg cassette and a old Thorens table. The system sounded better in the apartment with the 1900 than it had at home with the separates. I have had plenty of customers who liked their 1900 driving, Altec, JBL and smaller Bozaks, too. I thought at first the 1900 was to mellow, but leaned later on the 1900 was a great piece at the time. My Boss even drove his Concert Grands with a 1900 in his pool room, the VP used a 1900 to drive ML-1c in his small library and in both cases the 1900 did a great job.

 

[CohibaJoe]

One of our sales men had Cornwalls C-28 and 2105 with Nakamichi 700 cassette a B&O 4002 turntable and the system sounded fantastic. When he got divorced and moved into an apartment he kept his speakers and got a 1900, a Tandberg cassette and a old Thorens table. The system sounded better in the apartment with the 1900 than it had at home with the separates. I have had plenty of customers who liked their 1900 driving, Altec, JBL and smaller Bozaks, too. I thought at first the 1900 was to mellow, but leaned later on the 1900 was a great piece at the time. My Boss even drove his Concert Grands with a 1900 in his pool room, the VP used a 1900 to drive ML-1c in his small library and in both cases the 1900 did a great job.

I agree that the 1900 does sound best in a small room.

I would still spend the extra for a 4100 if you can swing it.