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WOW! MC501s ARE something special indeed...

A

aim9

New Member
I finally received my MC501s after over a month waiting for them. I had been using the MC402 while waiting. I have B&W 802D speakers.

I did not move the speakers. I used the exact same cables. I used the exact same source (MDA1000 straight into the amp w/ Transparent balanced cables).

I was 'skeptical' but hopeful. I had read all the 'MC501 vs MC402' threads. I stayed restrained, set my expectations relatively low, hoping for only minor improvements...

WOW!!!

I am simply speechless. The MC501s simply blow the MC402 away with these speakers. In ALL areas. There's bass where there was none before. It's more powerful and clear. The highs--I had some brightness before, and that's simply GONE, but with no loss of detail. Top to bottom everything is simply sublime. :music:

Sorry for making another 'MC501 vs MC402' thread, but to anyone even thinking of going for the MC402 instead of the MC501...sorry, but you're nuts :) No questions asked, the MC501 is worth every single penny of the cost over the MC402. Who cares about $xxxx more music, when with the MC501s all your existing music is soooooo much better sounding :music:

THANK YOU McIntosh for making such an amazing amplifier! :yes:
 
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Glad to read this ... ENJOY your fruits!

Now, to poison you! :D

Wait till you go up to the MC1201's or the more recent MC1.2K, .... the change will be more phenomenal!

Anyway, congrads on your acquisition ...... ! :thmbsp:

Cheers! :banana:

aim9 said:
I finally received my MC501s after over a month waiting for them. I had been using the MC402 while waiting. I have B&W 802D speakers.

I did not move the speakers. I used the exact same cables. I used the exact same source (MDA1000 straight into the amp w/ Transparent balanced cables).

I was 'skeptical' but hopeful. I had read all the 'MC501 vs MC402' threads. I stayed restrained, set my expectations relatively low, hoping for only minor improvements...

WOW!!!

I am simply speechless. The MC501s simply blow the MC402 away with these speakers. In ALL areas. There's bass where there was none before. It's more powerful and clear. The highs--I had some brightness before, and that's simply GONE, but with no loss of detail. Top to bottom everything is simply sublime. :music:

Sorry for making another 'MC501 vs MC402' thread, but to anyone even thinking of going for the MC402 instead of the MC501...sorry, but you're nuts :) No questions asked, the MC501 is worth every single penny of the cost over the MC402. Who cares about $xxxx more music, when with the MC501s all your existing music is soooooo much better sounding :music:

THANK YOU McIntosh for making such an amazing amplifier! :yes:
Click to expand...
 
Congrats on the 501s. :thmbsp: I've auditioned the 402, 501s and 1201s. The 501s came home with me. :yes: Give them a little more time to break in and they will blossom and open up with very musical results. :music:
 
Quick question-

When I first hooked them up I listened for around 20-30 minutes and thought something was a bit off, it turned out the switch on the left amp was in the 'unbalanced' position (again, I'm using balanced cables), that wouldn't have hurt anything at all will it have? Just want to make sure ;)
 
aim9 said:
Quick question-

When I first hooked them up I listened for around 20-30 minutes and thought something was a bit off, it turned out the switch on the left amp was in the 'unbalanced' position (again, I'm using balanced cables), that wouldn't have hurt anything at all will it have? Just want to make sure ;)
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I've done that myself a few times playing around with cables. Have not noticed any negative effects yet. Enjoy your amps.
 
Glad to hear that the change was such a positive one for you! Truly an upgrade!

B&W speakers and Mc electronics are a magical combination. The guy I bought my Mc 2600 from was using it to drive a set of 802's and I remember how fantastic his system sounded. Of course this was quite a few years ago now and they were much older model B&W's than yours, but the magic was there! I can only imagine how good the new B&W's must sound on the new Mc's. :music:

Enjoy your new Mc's! :thmbsp:
 
Jerry Seh said:
Wait till you go up to the MC1201's or the more recent MC1.2K, .... the change will be more phenomenal!
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I'm probably at the point where the upgrade to the MC1201/MC1.2K wouldn't make a difference. We have the B&W 803N (not even the Diamond series), so I doubt that we'd see that much of a difference.

If we were running the 803D ... I suspect it'd be a different story.

I do agree that the combination of B&W and McIntosh is pretty amazing. Even the 803Ns with the 501s can really put out some amazing sound.
 
aim9 said:
I finally received my MC501s after over a month waiting for them. I had been using the MC402 while waiting. I have B&W 802D speakers.

I did not move the speakers. I used the exact same cables. I used the exact same source (MDA1000 straight into the amp w/ Transparent balanced cables).

I was 'skeptical' but hopeful. I had read all the 'MC501 vs MC402' threads. I stayed restrained, set my expectations relatively low, hoping for only minor improvements...

WOW!!!

I am simply speechless. The MC501s simply blow the MC402 away with these speakers.
Click to expand...

Will you 501 guys please stop it! :D :tears:

Everytime I finally convince myself to stay put and forget the 501s, there's another post about how great they are ... it's making it very hard to me to stick with the 252 ... and 1000McW in my small listening room borders on crazy – or at least bananas :banana:.

Just when I think I'm over audiophilia nervosa for good ...

Jocking aside, congratulations on you new babies!

Alberto
 
I second your sentiments Alberto. As a very happy owner of mc402 over the last TWO months, i dont even want to think about how much better those darn 501s must sound. :drool:

thankfully, i have a small room and small speakers and the 402 is perfectly matched for me. :thmbsp:

enjoy your 501s, aim9!!
 
Ahhhh yes, I remember my first day with my 501 amps like it was yesterday... I started my Mclife with a MC-7205, (ok, but a little light) then a MC-207, better, and a great HT amp, but not "magical" with two channel. My time with my MC-402 was exquisite and bliss filled, I savored every moment.... When I finally went in deep and got my 501 amps it really was a big step and I am very happy that I made it. Every rung that I have climbed up the Mcladder has been a joy.

Would I really notice a difference with 1201 amps? I hope not, but I am afraid to taste the 1201 nectar...
 
Minor tiny perfectionist issue-

On one of the MC501s, the logo illumination on the "sh" in "McIntosh" appears to be dimmer than the rest of the letters, and is not uniformly lit. The other amp is uniformly lit and bright. Something I should be concerned about? Is this worth getting a replacement over?
 
I purchased a brand new pair of MC501:s recently to replace my MA6900 integrated. They are truly fantastic and drive our Sonus Faber Cremonas with that "iron fist in a velvet glove" which seems to suit the Cremonas perfectly. One other thing - I swapped the original mains cables to Transparent Reference cables. For those of you who haven't tried swapping the mains leads for something better, I strongly recommend that you give it a try. These babies do make excellent use of the higher quality mains leads.
 
I too considered the 501's, but ended up with two 402's instead. In the beginning, I was bi-amping, but the Infinity's sounded better with the amps in parallel. In some passages, they peak at 800 watts, but everything sounds great with nary a sign of strain. I wonder how they would sound with the 501's (500 vs 800 wpc).
 
forzaroma said:
Will you 501 guys please stop it! :D :tears:

Everytime I finally convince myself to stay put and forget the 501s, there's another post about how great they are ... it's making it very hard to me to stick with the 252 ... and 1000McW in my small listening room borders on crazy – or at least bananas :banana:.

Just when I think I'm over audiophilia nervosa for good ...

Jocking aside, congratulations on you new babies!

Alberto
Click to expand...


Hmmm.:scratch2: Guarneri Memento? MT10? MDA1000? 501s? Used 1201s? Audiophilia nervosa and drainus pocketus together!!
 
aim9 said:
Quick question-

When I first hooked them up I listened for around 20-30 minutes and thought something was a bit off, it turned out the switch on the left amp was in the 'unbalanced' position (again, I'm using balanced cables), that wouldn't have hurt anything at all will it have? Just want to make sure ;)
Click to expand...

Interesting story I have. 3 month old 801D's. Brand new 1.2 kW's with a C500 preamp. Hooked amps up via balanced i/c's. Forgot to switch the amps to balanced and left the switch in unbalanced. Played one Eagles track (the very first song I played on the amps), toasted my right 801D. Spectacular. I was less than impressed.
 
Having the switch in the wrong position will not damage your speaker. To much power could damage your speaker though. What ohm taps were you using on the amp?

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
I recently traded in my MC402 for the 501's- I heard much the same thing!:banana: I thought surely I was compensating, looking for a reason to love the 501's...nice to hear others hear what I heard! I'm using Thiel 6's and they just plain love the wattage of the 501.
Although I still miss the 402.....call me sentimental....it is a wonderful amp....
 
ron-c said:
Having the switch in the wrong position will not damage your speaker. To much power could damage your speaker though. What ohm taps were you using on the amp?

Thanks,
Ron-C
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Ron, thank you for clarifying that, though it did seem the needle swings were more erratic when I used the unbalanced switch with the balanced cable. I am using Harmonic Technology Magic Reference Tweeter and Woofer cabling (4 single cables to each speaker), all with spades (ordered before I received the 1.2's). I can't seem to get both Tweeter and Woofer cables on a single post, so I have split the taps - using 4 Ohm taps with the woofer cables for lows and have the Tweeter cable running off of the 2 Ohm tap for the mids and highs. According to this site, with the B&W 801D, should give more bass. I phoned for technical assistance at Mcintosh (can't remember who I spoke to), they concurred with this setup. Is this correct? I was always told that 801D's loved and needed massive amounts of power to really work well, are the 1.2's too much?? I did not have it that loud Ron. One would hope that the 801D should manage.

Thanks for your help.
 
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