McIntosh 2100 Tube Hybrid Custom?

[Drakevinyl]

Recently was on Marketplace and found a McIntosh 2100 on there for what is normally pretty low compared to other McIntosh gear ($550 for those curious). Looked into the listing and the model and noticed the listing had customized it with tubes. I’ll provide some pictures but I was wondering, what’s the overall thoughts with this sound and concept wise?
Not necessarily asking for value but I hope I put this in the right forum

 

[nj pheonix]

Keep in mind the heatsinks are hot ( voltagewise ) to the chassis. With cage off, that's a shock hazard.

 

[arts]

Ya gotta luv the wankers that think they're smarter than McIntosh

 

[swechsler]

Ya gotta luv the wankers that think they're smarter than McIntosh

To be fair there are lots of people that modify all different sorts of hardware, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. It's not a question of being "smarter than McIntosh", but engineering is always a compromise, and this amp was originally designed in the 70s. It's possible that the seller has decided to design around the compromises using components that weren't available 50 years ago.

 

[RVT1K]

As someone who has done extensive engine work a few times over the years to boost performance, I'm all over d-i-y mods. It would be a very, very rare situation when some hindsight can't come up with an improvement.

That being said, I can see how someone working a little over their head can hose things up in a big way.

It would be cool if a real A/B comparison could be done between this unit and an unmodified one.

 

[titanstats]

>>modernized for the 21st century
With tubes, lol.

 

[arts]

It's possible that the seller has decided to design around the compromises using components that weren't available 50 years ago.

That is one of the most laughable statements I have ever read

Nice try though....

 

[KentTeffeteller]

To be fair there are lots of people that modify all different sorts of hardware, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. It's not a question of being "smarter than McIntosh", but engineering is always a compromise, and this amp was originally designed in the 70s. It's possible that the seller has decided to design around the compromises using components that weren't available 50 years ago.

A 2100 which meets specification, and in good condition beats hacked up junk like this. And will be making music when many newer amps are in landfills, or unrepairable.

 

[RVT1K]

I'm pretty sure that if you were able to interview the original design engineers and ask if they thought there was any room for improvement in their 50 year-old design, they would chuckle and say "Why, of course!". I'm sure people I worked with only 10 years ago would give the same answer to the same question.

If this particular modification is an improvement or not is certainly up for debate and would call for some proof.

But to suggest that there can be no room for improvement in an old design is unrealistic no matter how skilled the original team may have been.

Isn't the audio world filled with mod's, suggestions for mod's, people searching for info on mod's....?

 

[twiiii]

2105/2100 were designed in the 60's along with the 2505 which was introduced first in 69 with the 2105 soon to follow.

 

[TSmith8605]

. . .If this particular modification is an improvement or not is certainly up for debate and would call for some proof.

But to suggest that there can be no room for improvement in an old design is unrealistic no matter how skilled the original team may have been.

Isn't the audio world filled with mod's, suggestions for mod's, people searching for info on mod's....?

This is not a modification of a McIntosh design, it is a completely different design using a McIntosh chassis to hold the parts together. It probably uses the original McIntosh power transformer but are the autoformers even used or just along to cover their mounting holes?

[. . .I’ll provide some pictures but I was wondering, what’s the overall thoughts with this sound and concept wise?
Not necessarily asking for value but I hope I put this in the right forum

The ad does not provide near enough information for anyone to determine the sound quality or reliability this thing can achieve. It does not really say much about the design, shows or claims no performance specifications or bench testing results, does not cite any existing, established design as inspiration and does not say who designed it. Also, if it does not work, or stops working, you may have trouble finding someone who will fix it - it sure won't be a McIntosh tech or probably not any other tech. You'd likely have to fix it yourself.

If the chassis and transformers looked good, you could probably part them out to others trying to restore a 2100, but they don't.

My personal reaction is it looks like total junk and I would not spend money on it.

I also think this is the wrong forum. That is not a McIntosh amplifier (despite what it says on the side). You might post your question on a DIY forum - maybe someone there knows more about this thing. But I would not waste any more time even thinking about this mess.

 

[gadget73]

I did actually entertain the notion of designing a tube driver circuit for a solid state amp once. Then I realized the practical considerations of no space and how stupid the design would have to be in order to accomodate not having the correct power supply voltages or any space to build one and gave up on it. Never really got beyond the "hmm, what if..." stage.

 

[arts]

A 2100 which meets specification, and in good condition beats hacked up junk like this. And will be making music when many newer amps are in landfills, or unrepairable.

Mine was rescued from a recording studio that had suffered a fire, where it sat in the flooded basement listening room for quite some time. It was then thrown into the box of a pickup truck and driven across Canada (in the winter; snow, slush, rain, go figure..) and was presented to me as a "gift" when it arrived in Montreal. After a massive cleaning and a couple of minor repairs, it met specs and became a mainstay in my system for many years, after which it became my backup amp. Still one of the only SS amps that I enjoy listening to. But boy, does it look like ten pounds of s**t in a five pound bag

 

[Pio1980]

Mine was rescued from a recording studio that had suffered a fire, where it sat in the flooded basement listening room for quite some time. It was then thrown into the box of a pickup truck and driven across Canada (in the winter; snow, slush, rain, go figure..) and was presented to me as a "gift" when it arrived in Montreal. After a massive cleaning and a couple of minor repairs, it met specs and became a mainstay in my system for many years, after which it became my backup amp. Still one of the only SS amps that I enjoy listening to. But boy, does it look like ten pounds of s**t in a five pound bag