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McIntosh guy buys his first Krell . . .

jdwk said:
- Mc stuff was sold mainly to doctors and lawyers. . . <<<< well, the stuff ain't cheap, also being made here where manufacturing costs are higher probably contributes to that, but then again I am neither a doctor or lawyer.....
- Mc stuff is for folks who like form over substance . . . nah, I spent a lot of money trying not to spend a lot of money, if I would have just went to Mc right away, I would have been happier years ago without the equipment merrygo round...
- No serious audiophile owns Mc gear . . . this is the funniest one of all, what company STARTED high end and equipment manufactured to a higher standard, how many other companies that started with this mindset are GONE while this one survives? it's not the blue lights I can tell you that much. many hate those who are successful, it's also called envy. many high end companies wish they had the reputation and re sale value that Mc has.

Yes I know you were stating that all these things have been said to you, I have heard it also, just wanted to plug my answers in> I have had people think I just blindly bought the stuff and can't possibly enjoy the sound.....alot of other high end gear often sounds to me like it has an exaggerated Mid range. I haven;t heard Krell, so I can't make any comments on how it sounds but I can say this.....what I currently have leaves me feeling like I just don't need a krell, how ever owning what I have makes me want 1.2KWs...... :) oh well maybe someday, but then again....maybe I'll just keep what I have, it certainly doesn;t leave me unhappy, and that is the key.

Bein
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I could probably say that I would've saved some good money had I gone to McIntosh first when I started to become more serious about audio. That was 1974.

But the ride was fun though, playing with some Sansui And Marantz goodies beforehand.

That switch to McIntosh, with two brand new MC-2105 Amps kept me quite content for a period of about 44-45 years. As time passed, I had found those Amps weren't what lacked in my System, it was everything else that came before those Amps. And as time passed, and one by one, all other components were culled, upgraded. The Mac Amps stood up to the task admirably.

And of course at the time, the JBL L-65 Jubals I had paired with were quite good, but surely not in the realm of better speakers built today.

There sure were many decades of great audio enjoyment, absolutely no regrets. And neither ever seen a shop, although I had to replace a On-Off Switch myself once on one unit after 35 years of use. About the biggest regret was selling those two Amps. I should've kept them, had them both rebuilt with new Caps-etc where needed.
 
damacman said:
Bryston is on my radar sir. I'll own some, just you watch. I've admired them from afar for a very long time now.
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I’ve owned a Bryston 4bNRB amp and currently own a BP25 pre. I regret selling the amp. The pre stays. Well engineered. Well built. Well supported. Just like McIntosh.
 
x3workshop said:
I’ve owned a Bryston 4bNRB amp and currently own a BP25 pre. I regret selling the amp. The pre stays. Well engineered. Well built. Well supported. Just like McIntosh.
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I have heard the new cubed series of amps are very good. I'd like to hope that my 7BSST2 Amps come at least some, if not most of the way to those. Mine were the later models with better Transformers, were custom ordered.19" Silver Face with Rack Handles, and Blue LED Lights

There was a short period where Bryston had thought of offering the cubed upgrade from SST2, but re-certification of a modded product would've been cost prohibitive for them, so, such is not available.

Sorry to veer off here.
 
Well, I believe I like the Krell less than the MC2600s … at least when driven via the C200 and powering the XRT22s. The Mc amps are simply more neutral and the Krell sounds voiced to these ears. It’s as if the Mc amps impart nothing …
 
somehow I'm not at all surprised this was your conclusion. Again , not all other high end gear is terrible, but it just doesn't have that sound.....which is oddly no sound, just the music.....besides, dakrellguy or dakrellman, just wouldn't have had the same ring to it (:
 
I'm not ready to throw the towel in yet. I have a C37 that I can use to drive the Krell and I haven't connected it to my big Altecs yet. Of course, it'll have to square off with the MC7300 in that system tho ...

Amps like the Krell, MC7300, and MC2600 have such massive power supplies and current reserves they're really more suited to drive highly reactive speakers ... of which I presently have none.
 
damacman said:
Well, I believe I like the Krell less than the MC2600s … at least when driven via the C200 and powering the XRT22s. The Mc amps are simply more neutral and the Krell sounds voiced to these ears. It’s as if the Mc amps impart nothing …
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I could imagine the combination of various components, and as well what Speakers used, such could be a "battle of the Amps", and assembled Systems that could take long years to do. Even if you had access to anything imaginable for free!

I can say this for McIntosh. And although the Company changed hands a few times, they've been in the game for a long long time.

Over the many long years, it's tough to count on more than a few fingers, any production product that wasn't exceptional.

If I had more mad money to dig, I know there's quite many fine Amps Mac has made. And many that I'd be very proud to own.

I always wanted an MC-352. And/or the MC-501 Monoblocks.
 
I think that my Altecs, the Model Nineteens, are super easy to drive, but sensitive enough to reproduce even small amounts of noise and distortion and therefore punish me if the “first watt” isn’t really clean (really the first 1/4 watt).

For that in theory, the Krell’s Class A bias should reward you with a clean first watt.
 
SaturationPt said:
I think that my Altecs, the Model Nineteens, are super easy to drive, but sensitive enough to reproduce even small amounts of noise and distortion and therefore punish me if the “first watt” isn’t really clean (really the first 1/4 watt).

For that in theory, the Krell’s Class A bias should reward you with a clean first watt.
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Soon. I just gotta’ get that room cleaned out and get the amp up there …
 
It's all relative I suppose. I preferred my old KSA-250 to the MC452 I had on loan/demo. I know, sacrilege, I should be burned at the stake, and yes, I know I am in the MAC Side of town. But, to me at least. I liked what the Krell did with my then Aerial Acoustic 10T's and Infinity RSII's way More. Either way, Glad you are having fun as that is ultimately what this is all about.
 
Sound Dragon said:
It's all relative I suppose. I preferred my old KSA-250 to the MC452 I had on loan/demo. I know, sacrilege, I should be burned at the stake, and yes, I know I am in the MAC Side of town. But, to me at least. I liked what the Krell did with my then Aerial Acoustic 10T's and Infinity RSII's way More. Either way, Glad you are having fun as that is ultimately what this is all about.
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I didn't have the balls to pull the trigger on a KSA-250!! Personally, I feel I need to spend more time with the amp and try it with different preamps and speakers. I bet I can find a combo which shines!

We like what we like. No harm in that. I honestly thought the Krell would show up my Macs ... and I was ready to accept that.
 
As it turns out my buddy Garry has a big pair of Acoustats that may make a fine candidate. He’s currently powering them with a hafler 9505 …
 
I loved and hated my acoustat 1+1s. Excellent SQ, wonderful range, but the listening area was so small my son called them headphones, that and the dynamic range was a little bit on the weak side for my really LOUD sessions. Still, I feel that everyone should experience a good set of electrostatic speakers at least once as it truly is different and for some a visit to the 'Hotel California".

Which model are you looking at?
 
Not sure ... 2+2s maybe ... ? I'm not a buyer, but we discussed dragging the Krell over for a listening session. We will see.
 
damacman said:
Not sure ... 2+2s maybe ... ? I'm not a buyer, but we discussed dragging the Krell over for a listening session. We will see.
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If the MC2300 sounds like the MC2505 (only with more power), I think the MC2300 would be very good with 2 + 2s (maybe 2 MC2300s if the room is large). MC2505 sounded great on my Acoustat 1s at least but lacked power. Anyway, I'd like to hear that combo.
 
damacman said:
I didn't have the balls to pull the trigger on a KSA-250!! Personally, I feel I need to spend more time with the amp and try it with different preamps and speakers. I bet I can find a combo which shines!

We like what we like. No harm in that. I honestly thought the Krell would show up my Macs ... and I was ready to accept that.
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Why is that may I ask, is the KSA-250 a more expensive, or more respected Amp than the KSA-300S? Am I missing something?
 
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