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synergestic speakers for C22 pre and MC462 power amp

murali-reddy

murali-reddy

New Member
Hi all

I have Mcintosh C22 preamp and MC462 power amp. Right now I am using it with Harbeth SHL5.

I am looking for speaker which has more livelier presentation, and dynamic, yet has natural tonality.

I like the Harbeths but lived with classic BBC style non-offensive speakrs for a while. looking for a change in singature

Would love to know what speakers you had best success with MC462.

I am considering B&W 804/805 D4, JBL 4367, Focal sopra 2, ATC SCM 50. Unfortunately its hard to audition and take a call.

Appreciate any insights. I use lumin X1 as streamer + dac.

thanks
 
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If you keep the speakers wires short and use at least 12 AWG wire a 462 should be able to drive almost any speaker. The question is how many speaakers are their that can handle the 600 watts per channel capability of the amp. I would be looking at Magico if I had sufficient somes of money. The new S5 MK III should be a great speaker with its more advanced woofer design, etc. For something less pricey, pre-owned Mcintosh line arrays. XRT 28's or if you have the room XRT 30's., There was a time when you could find a pair of XR 290 economically, But no more as they are so rare now days. If you want a very dynamic pair of horn loaded speakers, try a pair of JBL DD 67000. Canton, KEF and larger Magnepan 30.7 might be something you like. too. A 462 is just to much for any Tannoy or Klipsch speaker. How about a stacked pair of restored Mcintosh ML-4's. Yes thats Davie O'brien of Mcintosh who performed the amplifier clinics for years.cushman dob ml4.jpg
 
twiiii said:
If you keep the speakers wires short and use at least 12 AWG wire a 462 should be able to drive almost any speaker. The question is how many speaakers are their that can handle the 600 watts per channel capability of the amp. I would be looking at Magico if I had sufficient somes of money. The new S5 MK III should be a great speaker with its more advanced woofer design, etc. For something less pricey, pre-owned Mcintosh line arrays. XRT 28's or if you have the room XRT 30's., There was a time when you could find a pair of XR 290 economically, But no more as they are so rare now days. If you want a very dynamic pair of horn loaded speakers, try a pair of JBL DD 67000. Canton, KEF and larger Magnepan 30.7 might be something you like. too. A 462 is just to much for any Tannoy or Klipsch speaker. How about a stacked pair of restored Mcintosh ML-4's. Yes thats Davie O'brien of Mcintosh who performed the amplifier clinics for years.View attachment 3162825
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Thanks for your reply. I just added few more details to my query. Wish I could buy wonderful speakers your recommended and use in the room that I have.

Looking for under 20k USD for a 12x18 feet room.
 
The world is your oyster at your target price
You really need to get out and hear as many speakers as possible.
You already have excellent power
That can handle any impedance load
Presented by most speakers
In a relatively small room you have
Any speakers will work and play louder
than you can stand
You mentioned Jbl 4367’s
I know that would work incredibly well but they are
The polar opposite of the Harbeths.
I personally like to buy gently used speakers
For 1/2 their list price or less
Good luck and welcome to AK
I would add always look at speakers
As if you don’t like them
As can I get out of them and not Loose
Any $$ when upgrading
Something we all do eventually
Jbl’s in particular are easy to Resell
So buy wisely
 
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I am running JBL 4367s on an MC462, very much love the combination. Measured response as well as listening impressions, both excellent. They are possibly “overkill” in their size and efficiency for the space and available power that you have but they are amazingly accurate and dynamic even at low SPLs and have excellent dispersion characteristics also.

In a room that size speaker placement will be important, and you will likely want to add some room treatment to your budget for the best accuracy. The JBL 4367 is just under $17,000 USD and leaves a little room for sound treatment.

<edit>
Don’t be concerned if your speaker choice doesn’t require much power, the MC462 like all modern McIntosh amplifiers is accurate and low-noise even at a small fraction of a watt. KInd of like driving a Porsche GT2 RS on the street, it can go slow well also.
 
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murali-reddy said:
am looking for speaker which has more livelier presentation, and dynamic, yet has natural tonality.
Click to expand...
You'll have a ton of good options that fall within your budget. Out of the ones you mentioned, I'd have the Focal Sopra II at the top of the list. If you find them to be a little too revealing, the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III is another one that excels with McIntosh amplification. I've heard both in my system and chose the Sonus Fabers because they just sound right to me. BTW, I use a Lumin T3 for streaming and am impressed with its capabilities.
 
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jayvis said:
You'll have a ton of good options that fall within your budget. Out of the ones you mentioned, I'd have the Focal Sopra II at the top of the list. If you find them to be a little too revealing, the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III is another one that excels with McIntosh amplification. I've heard both in my system and chose the Sonus Fabers because they just sound right to me.
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And this is why you need to audition if possible. My JBL dealer is also a Sonus Faber dealer,. Obviously @jayvis and I drew different conclusions based on our own taste and expectations, speaker choice is so very personal and subjective (and as mentioned above the MC462 will drive most anything). Consider how it’ll fit into your space physically and aesthetically as well as sonically.
 
SaturationPt said:
Obviously @jayvis and I drew different conclusions based on our own taste and expectations
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Unfortunately, I don't have a full line JBL dealer within decent driving distance. Otherwise, I would have definitely given something like the 4367s a listen before making my choice. As said, if you're serious about spending that kind of money, you'll be best served by auditioning as many candidates as you can.
 
I heard the 4367’s a while ago
And I would gladly trade my Vintage
Jbl 4343’s for them
And the 67’s do just about everything better
At slightly more than 1/2 of the weight
And size of the 43’s
 
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12 X 18 meaning you want to sit about 12 feet from the speakers and have something to break up the reflection off the back wall to prevent large dips and peaks in the response above 200 cycles. The question then becomes are you after a very detailed sweet spot or a larger spot for more than one listener at a time. Steve at Audio Classics as some model XR 19's which would give you a broader sweeeeet spot! But they are only rated around 250 watts continuous as I remember. A pair of Snell A7 Illusions is what I would want if I could find them. For detail and yet again with a little wider sweet spot. My XRT 28 might work but placement would be very important and really should use a MQ 107 and have some one come in and voice your speakers. Or maybe use a MEN 220 automatic room analyzer room equalizer. How you point them would determine how large the sweet spot is for you. . JBL's 67000 are to big for the room though they have that great mid horn and tweeter. With the new Magico S5 MK III some one wanting to upgrade from MK II's might gain you some graet speakers for a great savings. But then again maybe not. Some Legacy speakers might work, but you will want to audition them. In fact no matter what you choose you should always audition the speakers with your favorite sources of music. I always have a couple of LP's and CD's with me that I use when auditioning speakers. Using a iPhone or iPad or even a Mac book with me just doesn't work for me as a source. Just so you know I am not a fan of te last two generation s of Mcintosh speakers, B&W speakers, and many others with peaky high ends as I can still hear to 17 KHZ. Also speakers that aren't clean and clear in the bass don't interest me either. It took me almost a year even observing with my spectrum analyzeer to get the balance I wanted with the direct sound and the ambient sound using te XRT 28's. What is my preferred sound is definitely not flat frequency response though it has to be flat in the bass and up to 3000 hz from there on up it depends a lot on how the music was recorded mixed and mastered. I am always playing with te 10K graphic control on my C-34 and fiddling with the 150 HZ control. A lot of times album producers crank up the mid bass when there is no low bass to try to fool the listener that there is low bass. That doesn't work for me at all.
 
I am shopping for speakers for my 8950. Currently have Klipsch RF-7 II but thinking I’d like to try something that measures well for accuracy. Also want wood cabinets and would like to stay around 100 pounds each max

Revel f228be and KEF R11 meta are leading contenders. Magicio really measures well but above budget. Focal is a possibility but would be budget limited to Kanto which honestly I don’t like the look of.

Considered SF Olympica V which are beautiful speakers but their response curve is not very flat. Legacy would be a candidate but I can’t find measurements for them anywhere.
 
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Published specs are only a small part of the story, especially if it doesn’t have graphs, SPL references, and whether it’s in-room or anechoic as the room response can play a large part in the LF. Most speaker manufacturers bend the truth a lot.

A speaker manufacturer that doesn’t publish anything? At least they’re honest I guess.
 
There are a few sources for independent measurements out there which can be fairly thorough. Stereophile usually does them in their reviews, then you got ASR and some other reviewers that do Kippel scans etc.

The thing is it’s not feasible, or even possible usually, to do in person auditions these days. Which leaves you with reviews as the only source of information. And you rarely see a negative review in the magazines etc. so I figure measurements are about the best chance to get an idea of what to expect. It’s a fairly expensive purchase, so I want to have some kind of way to narrow the field.
 
I've never found flat frequency response or any other measurements to be a guarantee that speakers will sound good to me. Too many other variables within an audio system and ourselves to rely on specs alone. In other words, regardless of how hard it is to do in-person auditions, it's still THE way to determine if speakers will work for you.
 
Am going to be very sarcastic this time. You ever hear of Steinway- Lyngdorf? He developed Room Perfect among other things. Here is a photo of one of is full range systems that I am sure will work for you. But you might need some 1.2K's to drive the very lowest of the woofers. He is famous for his all digital electronics with only the final stage of the power amplifiers being analog. You might need a pair of 1.25 K amps for the woofer section. Maybe 951s's for the tweeter and mids, and then 1.25K for the woofers as another choice. IMG_0715.jpg
 
My suggestion: Trade in the 462 for an MC 275. Get some Klipsch La Scala, Cornwalls, or, if you have the proper room and corners, Klipschorns.
 
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