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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: McIntosh MC225.....should I bite and buy?? posted by sonorasam on August 14, 2002 at 13:33:31:
$795 is a decent price for a McIntosh 225, and now that Electro-Harmonix makes a 7591, that problem (scarce tubes) is solved. I have a fondness for Mac gear, and I owned a 225. On the plus side, it is a beautiful amp cosmetically, produces far more than its' rated power, and has a full-power frequency response of 15-65,000 cycles. It is gentle on tubes. The most important quality is that it will retain its' value and if it turns out to be a mismatch in your system you will get 90-110+% of your investment back. On the downside, it will need new coupling caps, power supply caps, and a hexfred-based power supply to sound its best; these mods sometimes scare off collectors. Also, $795 is a chunk of change for what it delivers; the 225 has nice soundstaging, great bass, and tremendous dynamics, but it has two major sonic flaws-- the treble is a bit cold and grainy, making string instruments a bit edgy, and to get decent sound it must be played at or near its' maximum power output. I'm not sure why, but when I tried my McIntosh MC60s, the 225, etc. on an Altec VOT horn system (104 db/1watt) the sound was dreadful--flat and cold. On my Quad ESL 63s, which are even less forgiving of any sonic flaws in the amp, the 60s sounded FANTASTIC! The Quads are 86db/1watt, so I realized (after trying them on 84db Magnepans) that they must have good current flow for decent sound. But, it is a cool little amp, and despite owning much Mac tube gear in the past, I still drool when a nice one comes around. I'd go for it and sell it if its' sonics fall short. Chris
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Follow Ups
- Re: McIntosh MC225.....should I bite and buy?? - Chris Spafford 15:43:26 08/14/02 (0)
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