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MCS 3125 Score

The 3235 I picked up last week is seriously over built and weighs a ton for it's 35 watts. Whoever the original builder was(NEC, Technics...) did a great job IMO.
 
Susurus, have you ever heard the MCS 3125 and compared it to the Concept 16.5? It's interesting that many of these house brands outdo the Marantz, Pioneer, and Sansui receivers of the time
 
I've got one of the older big MCS recievers. The build reminds me of Sansui while the sound is full and warm, almost a marantz kind of sound. (to my ears. YMMV)
One of the best "Bang for yer buck" brands out there in my opinion. When they were good, they were GOOD.
 
That's interesting that you think the sound is warm, because the sound on the MCS 3125 isn't warm. That said, it isn't shrill either. The best way I could describe it is clean and effortless. I do not like the Marantz sound, but I love the sound coming out of this receiver. I've never heard anything besides marantz and harman kardon, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I'd like to hear a Concept 16.5.
 
Keep in mind that several different manufacturers made the MCS receivers / integrated amps, so there is no "MCS sound". In my opinion, there is a "NEC sound", that to my ears is very clean, detailed, and easy to listen to for many hours on end. I own many NEC built amps - some with the MCS badge, and they all sound similar. I hope to someday hear the 3125.

I've also listened to several of the MCS receivers made by other people - most of those were lower wattage, made in Taiwan units. They sounded very full, warm, and punchy. Similar to the Marantz / Superscope sound. Some of the later 80s integrateds that were made by Technics sound very "Technics-ish", which was a good thing, IMO.
 
Hifirob2, you are right, thanks for reminding me. I think the 3125 was built by NEC. I've heard a lot of their stuff was made my Technics as well, but I don't know of any other builders besides NEC or Technics.
 
Yeah, I'm sure that NEC built the 3125. Look at the attached pic of a NEC AG-100 graphic EQ, and you'll see the resemblance to the EQ on the 3125. Also, the tuner board in the 3125 looks almost the same as the tuner board in the NEC AUT-8000E, and the twist capacitor and frequency display board are from the NEC AUT-8300E.

As for the 'other' builders for MCS, MCS would set the specs, and farm it out to the low bidder. Sometimes that meant Taiwan, sometimes Japan. My MCS 3822 integrated amp looks nearly identical to the NEC A110E, but MCS specified a 'better' final amp section - using nice Sanken outputs instead of the NEC UPC1188H chip used in the NEC version. MCS didn't have to do that, but it probably resulted in a better performing product.
 

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Susurus said:
more discussion

But Sonny's MCS shrine page seems defunct...maybe the Wayback Machine still has it.

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Click to expand...

See post #22 for the link to the wayback machine.

Between Sonny's page, the Vintage Knob, and numerous threads here on AK, there is a lot of guessing and misinformation floating around on who made certain MCS pieces.

I hear mention of Itoh Japan many times, but no amount of googling has confirmed (to me) that they ever manufactured stereo gear. I do love a good mystery, though, so I'd love to find out more...:yes:

NEC did manufacture all it's own stereo components (not including turntables and speakers). They got into home hifi in the late 70s, and got out of it in the early 90s. More than a handful of the MCS pieces were simply NEC rebadges, while some were made by NEC built specific to MCS specs. NEC provided many pieces for Curtis Mathes, also - I have a handful of those, too.

Of the MCS pieces I own now, or have owned in the past, here are the ones built by NEC - as confirmed by the manufacture's codes on the circuit boards:

3253, 3275, 3125, 3246, 3260, 3265, 3285, 3035, 3822, 3830, 3835, 3847, 3865, 3872, 3530, 3556, 3562, 3563, 3564, 3595, 3700, 3701, 3710, 3730, 3050, 6805, 6806, 6807.

From doing research online, I will also add these: 3248, 3249, 3226, 3236, 3224, 3237, 3820, 3823, 3845, 3837, 3850, 3870, 3871, 3873, 3874, 3520, 3565, 3596, 3522, 3523, 3575, 3705, 3722, 3723, 3720, 3051, 6803

I do own one piece that is a complete unknown to me, so maybe Itoh Japan made it - the 3561 cassette deck. It was made in Japan (not Taiwan), and the insides give up zero clues as to who made it. That one really stumps me. :D (Update: the 3561 is a twin to a Project/one deck that was made by Pioneer)

The lower power receivers like the 3212, 3223, 3233, 3235, and 3245 were all from Taiwan. Maybe Itoh designed them, supplied the parts, and had them assembled in Taiwan? I'd sure like to know for sure.(Update: Itoh did NOT make these units. They were designed in the USA by Arvin Electronics, and manufactured in Taiwan)

Maybe someone can add to this and help fill in some knowledge...
 
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I've never heard or had one, but I have never liked the look of the parametric EQ on the faceplate. That said, I would still love to have one for the hell of it.
 
You'd think it would be easier to find out who actually built this receiver! It has a lot of similarities to the MCS 3275 though, and I know the 3275 was built by NEC. That said, I'm pretty much certain NEC built it by this point. I have never even heard of Itoh Electronics though... did they make any other receivers?
 
Charliep127 said:
You'd think it would be easier to find out who actually built this receiver!
Click to expand...


Well...if you ever get a chance, flip the receiver over, and remove the bottom panel. You should have access to several of the circuit boards. Look for a code imprinted on each board - usually along the edge or in the corner. If it says something like "YEC-YE - 35V", then it's a NEC product. The codes can be on either the solder side, or the component side of the boards. The "YEC" is what you're looking for. If the codes are different, then it must be from a different manufacturer.
 
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