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MCS Audio Gear
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Just got done with a MCS 3249 minutes ago. June of '82 build date by NEC. Winged it and set the bias at 12.5mv (was 18 and 15 point sumpin).
Quartz lock digital tuner, 45w 8ohm @ .02%thd. Discrete outputs.
Bass, Mid, and Treble controls with a bypass. Loudness contour also. A+ B speakers parallel.
Some crude LED output meters to boot.
Refoamed the tuner presets
Sounded fine testing through some minimus 7's. Test material was some Senking (fumble) and a little Keith Tenniswood aka Radioactive Man, ...you know...Two Lone Swordsman fame.
Seems a quality build on par with other manufactures of the day.
Now to decide what to do with it.
Quartz lock digital tuner, 45w 8ohm @ .02%thd. Discrete outputs.
Bass, Mid, and Treble controls with a bypass. Loudness contour also. A+ B speakers parallel.
Some crude LED output meters to boot.
Refoamed the tuner presets
Sounded fine testing through some minimus 7's. Test material was some Senking (fumble) and a little Keith Tenniswood aka Radioactive Man, ...you know...Two Lone Swordsman fame.
Seems a quality build on par with other manufactures of the day.
Now to decide what to do with it.
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SVI2004A
Synchro Bias
Sometimes hidden in plain sight under the bonnet
A MCS 2270 in front of a Technics Z400 (Equiv MCS 2250)
Anyone have any MCS audio gear? They certainly look impressive but how do they sound?
Most of the older ones from back in the "hay day" compare well with many of the "mainstream brands". They were "sleepers" and had the stigma of being marketed by JC Penney, so most people passed them over in favor of "prestige". I have a 3235 silver faced (yes, real brushed aluminum) receiver that sounds just great!
I have no idea who actually made it, but every original semiconductor/transistor was Motorola with the same quality of electrolytic capacitors the "others" had, and was built well. There was nothing really "cheesy" about it, except for (ahem) the JC Penney logo. 
I even have a pair of MCS 683-8360 3-way speakers (12" woofer) that actually sound pretty good too for what they are. But like any receiver/amp that lacks a relay/delay start, you get that annoying "thump" when you hit the power switch. But it doesn't hurt anything. I got in the habit of turning the speakers off when I powered it off so when I power it up, and 3 or so seconds later turn them on with no thump.savatage1973
Addicted Member
I have one of those, but it is the actual NEC AUA8000e--that is what you have there, and it is quite a beast of an integrated for the time.
Just got done with a MCS 3249 minutes ago. June of '82 build date by NEC. Winged it and set the bias at 12.5mv (was 18 and 15 point sumpin).
Quartz lock digital tuner, 45w 8ohm @ .02%thd. Discrete outputs.
Bass, Mid, and Treble controls with a bypass. Loudness contour also. A+ B speakers parallel.
Some crude LED output meters to boot.
Refoamed the tuner presets
Sounded fine testing through some minimus 7's. Test material was some Senking (fumble) and a little Keith Tenniswood aka Radioactive Man, ...you know...Two Lone Swordsman fame.
Seems a quality build on par with other manufactures of the day.
Now to decide what to do with it.
Find something similar that uses the same output transistors and you can get a pretty close idea what the BIAS should be running at.
Meridian23
Member
What i have observed about MCS gear is they
are pretty rare. I never saw one in person.l’m
from Canada and no one came for sale in local
kijiji or CL...
So where did you get the MSC you have?
just a curiosity
are pretty rare. I never saw one in person.l’m
from Canada and no one came for sale in local
kijiji or CL...
So where did you get the MSC you have?
just a curiosity
Mine came from eBay a number of years ago as a non-working unit. I think it was a whopping $30 shipped. Didn't get around to fixing in until about 2 years ago. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised! I just picked up one of those little speaker relay/delay "kits" to install to rid it of the turn-on thump, and add some DC protection for the speakers. Now to find the time to do so.
Meridian23
Member
glad that you found a MCS unit on youpay.I have come and go visiting thrift store for
many years without never saw a single
item of a MCS unit ???
BUT this is what who made this hobby funny trying to found and invest time in searching made the score more valuable for us.
And after working to bring back his found ( if need) in is full potentiel sound.
As say we became active in the buying process from
the start till the end. The opposite of going to an audio
store put the money on the table and get back home...
This is what i love from being involve in this hobby
I have come and go visiting thrift store for
many years without never saw a single
item of a MCS unit ???
BUT this is what who made this hobby funny trying to found and invest time in searching made the score more valuable for us.
And after working to bring back his found ( if need) in is full potentiel sound.
As say we became active in the buying process from
the start till the end. The opposite of going to an audio
store put the money on the table and get back home...
This is what i love from being involve in this hobby
Actually when I was very young, there were two local JC Penney stores and both of them sold the MCS line of audio gear. And at times saw them in thrift stores on occasion. Back then I had no real interest in audio though. So there are/were some of those units around here somewhere in the wild.
Meridian23
Member
JC Penney brand MCS was more sold in USA than
in Canada... I presume, that explain why i never saw
a single unit...
in Canada... I presume, that explain why i never saw
a single unit...
