I have been an audio "nut" since the 1050s (when my parents would finally let me touch their "hi-fi" system - a mono Magnavox). In the 1960s I was building amps & tuners from kits (Lafayette and Harmon-Kardon).
In my teenage years I thought I wanted to be a jazz musician (but after two or three "gigs" I found out a needed a "day job" to earn a living).
I was also the conductor (and ersatz recording engineer) for a 50 piece volunteer orchestra for several years.
This background taught me what real acoustic sound was supposed to sound like in it's native environment.
I have had both Oriental built gear and US built gear. My early components were Lafayette, Harmon-Kardon, Sansui, Magnum Dynalab, Pioneer, Sony, Luxman, Teac, and Yamaha. After a few years I could afford Carver gear.
While using the Carver gear, I obtained my first piece of Mac gear (MS7270) When I first hooked it up i thought the MC7270 was lacking in the treble. I put on some source material with plenty of treble content. It came through VERY clear.
I then realized the Carver gear (and most of what I had heard previously) was lacking in low mid-range response.
I have wanted McIntosh gear since 1964, but at a wage of $1.50 an hour it was WAY out of my price range.
It wasn't until working several years as a CPA that I could finally afford Mac gear, and at that time still not new, but used.
Since then I have collected over 20 pieces of Mac gear. My personal favorites are four MC2255s. Although my two MC7270s speck out better on the test bench, at age 79 I can not tell a difference. My preference for the MC2255s is that it was the last Mac amp with a chrome chassis, it has very good "overload" protection, and it goes through a "self test" set of procedures that will beep as each test is successfully completed. I also have two MC2500s, and a MC2205.
All but three of my Mac units are at least 40 years old, and still work flawlessly. The "newer" ones are the Men 220, the Moving Coil cartridge. and the Moving Coil preamp.
Recently I acquired a pair of KLH Model Nine full range electrostatic speakers, and sent them to David Janszen for a complete re-build. With my 40 year old Mac gear and a pair of 50 year old speakers, the resolution and detail are OUTSTANDING! You can tell the difference between an alto sax and a tenor sax, a "stand up" bass and an electronic bass, a violin and a viola, a flute (in its top octave) and a picollo. a grand piano and an upright piano,etc. Also when hearing strings, you do not hear "a set of strings", you hear individual violins, When listening to a chorus you do not hear a single sound, you hear individual voices.
Aside from the "Pride of Ownership" matter, I really appreciate the sound quality I get from this vintage gear.
So, I am FIRMLY in the McIntosh camp. I will say that as long as Saul Marantz was in the company, much of his equipment was equal to (or in some cases possibly better than) Mac gear.
Yes, I enjoyed the earlier equipment I had. I do not want to disparage the other manufacturers.
But with the full range electrostatics and the vintage Mac gear, I hear detail and clarity I have never heard before. My first exposure to the KLH Model Nines was at a local audio store about 1970. They had a Crown tape deck playing a jazz quintet at a supper club through the KLH Model Nine speakers. The most outstanding item was that I could hear the customer's silverware hitting their plats. I remember that sound from the few "gigs" I tried to play when I was younger. I have not heard that from any other speaker.
Could any of my earlier gear generate that level of detail for the speakers? I do not know.
Thanks,
Jiim
In my teenage years I thought I wanted to be a jazz musician (but after two or three "gigs" I found out a needed a "day job" to earn a living).
I was also the conductor (and ersatz recording engineer) for a 50 piece volunteer orchestra for several years.
This background taught me what real acoustic sound was supposed to sound like in it's native environment.
I have had both Oriental built gear and US built gear. My early components were Lafayette, Harmon-Kardon, Sansui, Magnum Dynalab, Pioneer, Sony, Luxman, Teac, and Yamaha. After a few years I could afford Carver gear.
While using the Carver gear, I obtained my first piece of Mac gear (MS7270) When I first hooked it up i thought the MC7270 was lacking in the treble. I put on some source material with plenty of treble content. It came through VERY clear.
I then realized the Carver gear (and most of what I had heard previously) was lacking in low mid-range response.
I have wanted McIntosh gear since 1964, but at a wage of $1.50 an hour it was WAY out of my price range.
It wasn't until working several years as a CPA that I could finally afford Mac gear, and at that time still not new, but used.
Since then I have collected over 20 pieces of Mac gear. My personal favorites are four MC2255s. Although my two MC7270s speck out better on the test bench, at age 79 I can not tell a difference. My preference for the MC2255s is that it was the last Mac amp with a chrome chassis, it has very good "overload" protection, and it goes through a "self test" set of procedures that will beep as each test is successfully completed. I also have two MC2500s, and a MC2205.
All but three of my Mac units are at least 40 years old, and still work flawlessly. The "newer" ones are the Men 220, the Moving Coil cartridge. and the Moving Coil preamp.
Recently I acquired a pair of KLH Model Nine full range electrostatic speakers, and sent them to David Janszen for a complete re-build. With my 40 year old Mac gear and a pair of 50 year old speakers, the resolution and detail are OUTSTANDING! You can tell the difference between an alto sax and a tenor sax, a "stand up" bass and an electronic bass, a violin and a viola, a flute (in its top octave) and a picollo. a grand piano and an upright piano,etc. Also when hearing strings, you do not hear "a set of strings", you hear individual violins, When listening to a chorus you do not hear a single sound, you hear individual voices.
Aside from the "Pride of Ownership" matter, I really appreciate the sound quality I get from this vintage gear.
So, I am FIRMLY in the McIntosh camp. I will say that as long as Saul Marantz was in the company, much of his equipment was equal to (or in some cases possibly better than) Mac gear.
Yes, I enjoyed the earlier equipment I had. I do not want to disparage the other manufacturers.
But with the full range electrostatics and the vintage Mac gear, I hear detail and clarity I have never heard before. My first exposure to the KLH Model Nines was at a local audio store about 1970. They had a Crown tape deck playing a jazz quintet at a supper club through the KLH Model Nine speakers. The most outstanding item was that I could hear the customer's silverware hitting their plats. I remember that sound from the few "gigs" I tried to play when I was younger. I have not heard that from any other speaker.
Could any of my earlier gear generate that level of detail for the speakers? I do not know.
Thanks,
Jiim
