MX-117 Preamp 12 hr decision

[lakegville]

Hi to all. There is a MX-117 for sale locally that i have to make a decision on by tomorrow. It is a one owner with box, papers, and the walnut case. I already have a MC 2200, 2120, and 2300 which i have at the shop but have never listened to. I really am a little clueless when it comes to dedicated pre-amps and performance. I do however remember reading somewhere here that a member stated that one reason first time Mcintosh owners were not as impressed with the sound coming from their amps was because they did not have it paired with a good Mcintosh pre-amp. I took this to heart and began looking for pre-amps and this one popped up. There are a decent amount of the pre-amps popping up around here for local sale. This one seemed interesting to me because it has a tuner, it's a one owner with papers, and the price is not great but fair. As far as performance i have no clue between MC SS pre-amps. Is this a good one? Should i try and catch it or wait for a better one? Are there better ones to match with the amps i have? Lastly i asked this question before that i have some good receivers (not Mcintosh) with the pre-out jacks. Would the sound be better using the MX-117 paired with the MC amps than using the receivers for pre-amps. I told you all i was struggling with this one. Anything to get me on the right track would help.

 

[Mike Gibson]

Here is some information you can read on it. You might bookmark both sites.
http://mcc.berners.ch/tuner-pre-amps/MX117.pdf

http://www.roger-russell.com/tunpre.htm

 

[damacman]

The MX117 is my all time favorite Mc tuner / preamp - I've owned several. They also offer a great value with an exceptional feature set and great sound.

 

[twiiii]

As I have stated previously the MX-117 was my favorite tuner pre-amp, especially when used with 2205, 2120, 2155, and 2255. It was a great piece with a very smooth sound. At its current stage in life I would want audio classics to go thru the unit and thoroughly check it out to make sure its up to snuff. I really liked the sound when they were new and we installed quite a few of them in low boy consoles with Mac Power amps that were very popular at the time when the 4000 series receivers weren't strong enough to be used with matching Mac speakers. Is the unit as good as a MR 78, no, but its the equal of a MR-77 and the very famous MR-74 which is considered by some to be the best tuner from the period.

 

[62caddy]

The MX117, MAC4100 receiver and MR75 tuner all share the same ALPS tuner which uses an automatic stereo blend circuit to reduce noise on weaker stations.

Agreed with the others, MX117 was McIntosh's last and most refined FM tuner-preamp; thereafter, all subsequent MX models were HT units.

I could never understand why Mc saw fit to design the MAC4100 receiver with 5 band EQ and FET input switching, yet deny these refinements from the ostensibly "better" separate, MX117.

 

[damacman]

Agreed with your agreeing with twiiii agreeing with me.

 

[lakegville]

Thanks to you all for the input and the MX is being added to the collection this weekend because of it. I will post when i get it hooked up. I think it will start life here paired with two Spec 2's...... found out my GJ Mac amps were in the great Nashville flood....going to need a good overhaul.