McIntosh C500T - Anyone?

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JuanR
JuanR Posts: 718
edited February 2017 in 2 Channel Audio
Has anyone here auditioned the McIntosh C500T? I am putting this on my short list along with the Cary 05 and a Joule...

Hopefully I get to hear some McIntosh and Cary Audio at the upcoming Axpona show.

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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,185
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    Joey just got one, maybe he will pop in. Also has the 05..
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 718
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    He sure did...never mind here, I'll go over to his thread and shoot him some questions...

    Thanks stangman67
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    Between me and @WagnerRC , we have all 3 preamps.

    I'm off the next couple days, I'll get you a better idea of the preamps
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    @JuanR

    Preliminary thoughts... At first the c500t against my tweaked Cary 05, I thought the imaging on the c500t was flat and fuzzy comparatively.

    Then I realized I had the wel PC hooked on the Cary 05, so I took the wel PC and brought it to the c500t and the difference was dramatic.

    Still have more listening to do but the c500t is one musical machine.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
    edited February 2017
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    Further prelim thoughts. The cary05 with wel PC is better at imaging than the c500t with wel PC.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
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    Cables don't matter Joey, you should know that. LOL

    You only have one Wel PC ? Thought you had a few.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
    edited February 2017
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    tonyb wrote: »
    Cables don't matter Joey, you should know that. LOL

    You only have one Wel PC ? Thought you had a few.

    I have 2 wel PC

    1 nrg 10
    1 nrg 4

    (AQ goes nrg 2 4 10 1000 wild then finally wel)

    I have the wel PC hooked to the dac and the preamp

    The source aka transport has the nrg 10.

    It's a beast to wire this all wel... I give up tony!
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    Oh yeah Cary 05 w wel PC is smokin... It sounds real.

    Dang... This preamp is truly legit.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,079
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    When comparing tubed gear head to head unless you are using the exact same tubes you have to be careful because the difference could be more attributed to the tubes used than the actual gear.

    I never hear people talk about what tubes they are using in each piece of gear when they are comparing them.

    If you are using the Pope's made in Holland in the Cary and stock tubes in the Mac then there's going to be a difference just because of the tubes used.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 718
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    I've found that when your pre-amp and amplifier share the same kind of tube is when you have the most synergy...

    Example:

    I was using my Rogue Audio 99 pre-amp (4 Sylvania 6SN7WGT) with my Rogue Stereo 100 amp (4 Tung-sol KT120, 2 GE JAN 6814WA, 2 12AX7WA) and it sounded great, but when I swapped the Stereo 100 with a Stereo 90 amplifier (only difference in tubes is that the 90 uses 2 6SN7WGT instead of 2 GE JAN 6814WA) the sound was more lush and just sounded better to me. Both components were using almost all 6SN7 tubes..

    Currently I have the Rogue 100 hooked up with the Joule LAP-150 and they make beautiful music together... I'm using Tyler Acoustic Decade D10 speakers, but I do not own a super expensive set of speaker cables -Monster Cable Z2 Reference Series Speaker Cables...that will be later down the line....

    Speaking of the Joule, I spoke with Rich Brkich to ask him a few questions. I asked what his thoughts were on phase inversion because the Joule manual recommends to flip the + and - on the speakers, I asked if it was necessary and/or made a difference. Rich stated that he thought it made a difference to him and recommended I give it a try - so I did - and it made another leap in sound improvement for me. So if your pre-amp is phase inverting and your amplifier is not, then you should try this, easy as pie if you have easy access to your amplifier, you can just do it there.

    How are your speakers connected?

    Juan
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    Brock,

    I agree with your statements. This would be my 4th tube preamp.

    I will strip both down to full stock without wel PC and see what's what. I was just trying to compare the best of what I got with one and another.

    Juan,

    They are connected to the Boulder which means no tube amp. Connected to Boulder via xlr. Input was also xlr from the emm labs dac2x
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • WagnerRC
    WagnerRC Posts: 2,139
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    The slp05 is very impressive.
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    WagnerRC wrote: »
    The slp05 is very impressive.

    I will agree, Bob.

    What I am trying pin down is how does the music make me feel with the C500t vs the 05 as well.... there's something slightly different about the presentation through the c500t. Can't put my finger on it but prelim thoughts are that the c500t allows me to just enjoy the entirety of the musical presentation rather than pick it apart as on the cary 05.

    Weird...

    I'm having others come by and listen..
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,314
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    Joey, you just basically described the McIntosh sound. Wait till you swap the stock tubes!.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,518
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    erniejade wrote: »
    Joey, you just basically described the McIntosh sound. Wait till you swap the stock tubes!.

    Also, The Mac has a waaaay better interface. I love the remote.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
    edited February 2017
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    JuanR wrote: »
    Currently I have the Rogue 100 hooked up with the Joule LAP-150 and they make beautiful music together... I'm using Tyler Acoustic Decade D10 speakers, but I do not own a super expensive set of speaker cables -Monster Cable Z2 Reference Series Speaker Cables...that will be later down the line....

    Juan

    Man Juan, all that nice gear....Monster Z2's ? C'mon man, aim higher. :)

    xebm5080wny4.jpg
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 718
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    LOL @tonyb !

    I know I need better speaker cables, but it will be down the line, unless someone here has a nice pair collecting dust...

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  • megasat16
    megasat16 Posts: 3,521
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    Cary SLP-05 sounds divine with the Pope 6SN7s. Well, the darn thing needs the Pope. It sounds unholy otherwise.

    Trying out Different Audio Cables is a Religious Affair. You don't discuss it with anyone. :redface::biggrin:
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
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    lol...."Unholy" ?

    What....like a spiral vortex opens up in your room and Demons come out to reek havoc on your ears. :)
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
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    Joey
    For my Mc C2300 preamp I had to break it in for 100 hrs before it started to hit its mark. At first listen I thought about boxing and returning but my dealer encouraged me to give it some time. Glad I listened to him. Plus, I swapped my Mc tubes with Gold Lion gold pin reissues (line stage) and Tele ribbed for the MC phono stage.
    [
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,314
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    Agree on the Gold Lion on with McIntosh. I had them on a 2200 and it was a night and day difference.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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