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McIntosh MC601's rock!

joeinid

joeinid

Well-Known Member
My C500T and MC601's showed up today. Wow! So beautiful. I love what my MC601's are doing to my TADs. Yes, they are still breaking in and were terrible out of the box (for the first 30 to 60 minutes like many other amps that I've had) but now they are starting to sweeten up and smooth out. I don't remember the meters being this HUGE! Tons of power and full sounding. The whole package makes me happy. And, isn't that the point? The C500T will wait until tomorrow to be hooked up as I am getting familiar with the amps direct from my EAR Acute III CD/DAC. They are worth every penny! Thank you McIntosh. :banana: I love my new gear! They are amazing.
 
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Remember your speakers are only rated at 200 watts and with an amp with potential of over 900 watt peaks, driver damage could result. I have not heard the CR-1 but reAd the Stereophile report and they read as winners. Curious to what your average power usage is? I love the C500 and have heard the C500T used with 2301's and was favorably impressed when Driving Snell A7 Phantom. Would love to hear some pristine LP's with a Dynavector XX-2 on your system.
 
Hi twiiii,

Thank you. I've been seeing up to 6 watts avg. with 60 watt peaks. That's pretty loud for me and not normal, but I figure to help them break in, I'd push them a little. I am sure the speakers could handle more peak power than stated as long as it's clean power. I think it's the distortion that kills speakers. I never play loud anyway. I'll add in the C500T soon. The MC2301 are killer amps but bought the MC601's because I wanted SS and I play music 6-12+ hours a day. Also, I was hoping that the McIntosh gear would tame the high end or the TADs a little, it sure sounds great.
 
joeinid said:
My C500T and MC601's showed up today. Wow! So beautiful. I love what my MC601's are doing to my TADs. Yes, they are still breaking in and were terrible out of the box (for the first 30 to 60 minutes like many other amps that I've had) but now they are starting to sweeten up and smooth out. I don't remember the meters being this HUGE! Tons of power and full sounding. The whole package makes me happy. And, isn't that the point? The C500T will wait until tomorrow to be hooked up as I am getting familiar with the amps direct from my EAR Acute III CD/DAC. They are worth every penny! Thank you McIntosh. :banana: I love my new gear! They are amazing.
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Thats awesome, I like reading "new McIntosh out of the box" stories......

I noticed the MC452 was the same, seemed to smooth out after a weekend of almost continuous use.....
Once they settle in they are magic sounding amps, and I imagine the MC601's are no exception.....

Enjoy.......:music:
 
I'm glad to read you acknowledge the tweeter resonance as an issue. It's great to be honest with your self. Have you considered a MEN220 for your system. It would allow you to use one of the custom parametric filters to be manually inserted in one of the presets to control or tame the resonance, that could be easily switched in and out. The 220 is a great tool for folks with pre amps without tone controls or tunable filters. Why did you choose 601's over a 452?
 
Thanks Kev,

Reading your and everyone's posts here really helped me decide to reawaken my inner McIntosh. I am very happy. I will be running them continuously for the next few days and then back to my normal 8-12 hour rotation. The quality seems way better than I remember. I would have gone for the MC452 but my dealer convinced me to get the MC601's. How could I argue :)


kevzep said:
Thats awesome, I like reading "new McIntosh out of the box" stories......

I noticed the MC452 was the same, seemed to smooth out after a weekend of almost continuous use.....
Once they settle in they are magic sounding amps, and I imagine the MC601's are no exception.....

Enjoy.......:music:
Click to expand...
 
The TADs tweeter has always been love/hate thing for me. At low to mid volume it is just outstanding. At more spirited listening with less than perfect recordings, I seem to be more sensitive to the hotter highs. I've never complained about fatigue because the TADs are the least fatiguing speakers that I've ever heard. The McIntosh gear seems to balance out my speakers very well. I've thought about the MEN220 and may try it. I don't like to complicate things so I need to experiment.

I had planned on the MC452 based on hearing a friends MC452 extensively, but my dealer had the MC601's in stock and convinced me (based on my history) that I'd love/want the 601's. Well, I really wanted them anyway and now I am supremely happy.



twiiii said:
I'm glad to read you acknowledge the tweeter resonance as an issue. It's great to be honest with your self. Have you considered a MEN220 for your system. It would allow you to use one of the custom parametric filters to be manually inserted in one of the presets to control or tame the resonance, that could be easily switched in and out. The 220 is a great tool for folks with pre amps without tone controls or tunable filters. Why did you choose 601's over a 452?
Click to expand...
 
Joe, I have about 400 hours on my 601s and believe me, the sounds is still getting better and better. I was once told that after about 500 hours, the break-in period is about done. Man, that's a lot of hours. Congrats on your new Mac. set and happy listening and happy breaking-in your system.:)
 
Thank you Mike. A lot of people don't believe in break in but I do. I'm enjoying the ride immensely. I also have to say these pieces are way more beautiful than I remember and build quality seems much better too. This gear is not going anywhere. I appreciate everyone's support and love for McIntosh.


miketuason said:
Joe, I have about 400 hours on my 601s and believe me, the sounds is still getting better and better. I was once told that after about 500 hours, the break-in period is about done. Man, that's a lot of hours. Congrats on your new Mac. set and happy listening and happy breaking-in your system.:)
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joeinid said:
Thank you Mike. A lot of people don't believe in break in but I do. I'm enjoying the ride immensely. I also have to say these pieces are way more beautiful than I remember and build quality seems much better too. This gear is not going anywhere. I appreciate everyone's support and love for McIntosh.
Click to expand...

As a tech, never really believed the amp could sound different with hours on it, but, I heard it for myself, they really do....I'm not sure about 500hrs, but most certainly I found there was a significant change over 60-100hrs for sure....

Great to read your journey!! its exciting stuff isn't it?

New Mc's, blue meters, sudden motivation to listen to all your music and enjoy it in a way you never have before....
Thats what this hobby is all about....:thmbsp:
 
Thanks Kev,

I remember your excitement when you got your MC452. Yes, very exciting indeed. Thank you for the kind words. It's fun to share with people who "get it". :D

kevzep said:
As a tech, never really believed the amp could sound different with hours on it, but, I heard it for myself, they really do....I'm not sure about 500hrs, but most certainly I found there was a significant change over 60-100hrs for sure....

Great to read your journey!! its exciting stuff isn't it?

New Mc's, blue meters, sudden motivation to listen to all your music and enjoy it in a way you never have before....
Thats what this hobby is all about....:thmbsp:
Click to expand...
 
The combo with the C500T and MC601's is wonderful. Here's a quick and dirty photo. Not the final arrangement. I'm just having too much fun to disconnect it and rearrange everything.

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So how do you like the 500T? Looks great there.......

The setup looks awesome, and I get not wanting to move it too....you'll have to make a plan, set aside a whole morning, get a friend to help because the damn things are so heavy......

OR you can leave it like that and just listen........:music:
 
Hi Kev,

Thanks :music: I really like the C500T. It not only looks great but sounds great too. I thought I'd miss the tone controls. Right now, not really. The C500T/MC601 combo is very musical and ballsy at the same time. I'm very happy. I'll leave it like this for the next week or so and figure out what I want to do setup wise.



kevzep said:
So how do you like the 500T? Looks great there.......

The setup looks awesome, and I get not wanting to move it too....you'll have to make a plan, set aside a whole morning, get a friend to help because the damn things are so heavy......

OR you can leave it like that and just listen........:music:
Click to expand...
 
3 501's checking in

Joe - Glad to see you're liking your new gear. I love my C500T - great unit. I really don't miss tone controls, I use the 5 band equalizer in my MAC 4300V if I need to touch up a bad recording. It's in the tape loop so only 'in circuit' when needed. My 601's are doing an awesome job in the theater.
Tom

DSC_2699_edited-2_zpsa4d30ddc.jpg
 
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