McIntosh Hybrid Drive
- Thread starter ACRucrazy
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Seems like it takes the fun out our hobby, one amp that's Solid State or tube.......all in one chassis. Lord knows what this thing costs as well..... to each his own though.
jayvis
Addicted Member
They already use it in three integrated amps with one that's very affordable by McIntosh standards. Maybe it'll finally help quell the "tubes vs. solid-state" debate.
One amp with solid state AND tube, not or. Used to bi-amp a speaker.
SS for the bass, tube for the mid/high.
Seems like adding more fun to the hobby..
twiiii
Lunatic Member
My MA 230 I bought new back in 1963 or 4 was SS and tubed. So this is nothing new. Even a MA 1500 and 1700 were hybrids. Its just an ad mans idea to stir up some interest. Sales must be sagging. As far as the add is concerned where are the power transformer and the output transformer and autoformer ?
The SS pieces have really improved over the years so I see no use for tubes. I gave up on them in the middle 70's, when I got rid of my matched pair of 275's and MC 60's. I admit I should have kept the 275's till the 7000 series of amps came along, but I didn't. The DC 300A's were much better at driving my bi-amped woofers in the meantime, though not so great for the mids and tweeters.
I use two MC 207's now for the HT system. . Where do you put 7 MC 7200's? No they don;t have the peak capability of a 7200, but I never use much above 75 watts anyway for techno movies. Other wise when in the stereo mode 2 watts average with maybe a 20 to 30 watt peaks for Telarc and Sheffield recordings. The 1812 overture by Telarc can turn on some power guard lights for sure. Even with my MC 830's driving my XRT 28's used with the stereo system. Thats over 600 watts per channel with the needles pegged at 4 ohms. .
The SS pieces have really improved over the years so I see no use for tubes. I gave up on them in the middle 70's, when I got rid of my matched pair of 275's and MC 60's. I admit I should have kept the 275's till the 7000 series of amps came along, but I didn't. The DC 300A's were much better at driving my bi-amped woofers in the meantime, though not so great for the mids and tweeters.
I use two MC 207's now for the HT system. . Where do you put 7 MC 7200's? No they don;t have the peak capability of a 7200, but I never use much above 75 watts anyway for techno movies. Other wise when in the stereo mode 2 watts average with maybe a 20 to 30 watt peaks for Telarc and Sheffield recordings. The 1812 overture by Telarc can turn on some power guard lights for sure. Even with my MC 830's driving my XRT 28's used with the stereo system. Thats over 600 watts per channel with the needles pegged at 4 ohms. .
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Looks like a lot of fun! You can switch amps without having to move anything heavy. Bi-amp with the crossover in front of the signal is an interesting capability to have...seems like it would be more efficient. I would love to play with the 451 for a while but I am sure that my main setup will always be vintage.
Luckily, I like to fix old things and love the look and sound of the vintage gear....because....I can't really afford any new McIntosh gear anyway. LOL
I am satisfied with having the best of yesteryear with a Bluetooth receiver in the aux jack for modern convenience for my more passive listening. (see my list below)
Luckily, I like to fix old things and love the look and sound of the vintage gear....because....I can't really afford any new McIntosh gear anyway. LOL
I am satisfied with having the best of yesteryear with a Bluetooth receiver in the aux jack for modern convenience for my more passive listening. (see my list below)
frodaddi
Active Member
I'm not the target customer either, for multiple reasons. But I totally understand the appeal. If I had the time, budget, and speakers to play around with biamping, this new amp would be very interesting to me. I think it's a pretty clever setup for the deep-pocketed biamp crowd. No need for external crossover, two mono amps in a single chassis. And the new 451 would personally interest me more than the 1901 just for the more traditional form factor.
damacman
Resident Psycho
That's lots of stuff in one chassis ... personally, if I were going to embark on such a system, all of the components required would add to the allure.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Well Mac came thru with something I recommended the day The MC 901 was released. It was introduced today and for only $14,000.00 ea. . The MC 451. 150 watts tube combined with 300 watt SS amplifier with crossover, that can be bi-passed. Perfect for those big Jubilees Klipsch makes.
Seeing that the Klipsch have their own crossover I guess a 1502 and a 312, would be a better more economical choice. Maybe JBL DD67000 owners would like them. They wouldn't work for me, but they would for a lot of other folks. 150 watts just isn't enough for the stereo system with the XR 28's. Here the 901's might be a perfect match if I were going back to tubes. But I am not and Won't. If I want to go into debt give me a pair of the original MC 3500's. Audio Classics has 5 of them.
Seeing that the Klipsch have their own crossover I guess a 1502 and a 312, would be a better more economical choice. Maybe JBL DD67000 owners would like them. They wouldn't work for me, but they would for a lot of other folks. 150 watts just isn't enough for the stereo system with the XR 28's. Here the 901's might be a perfect match if I were going back to tubes. But I am not and Won't. If I want to go into debt give me a pair of the original MC 3500's. Audio Classics has 5 of them.
