FedEx man arrives with some loot - Macs and Aq

Joey_V
Joey_V Posts: 8,552
in 2 Channel Audio
So I was finally able to intercept the FedEx man... Missed him the last 2 business days.

Dropped off:
Mcintosh c500 tube preamp with c500 controller
Audioquest Nrg4 power cord
Audioquest nrg10 power cordxfcjikdg8zvk.jpeg
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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Comments

  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,117
    You will hate it.....just send it to me.
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
    SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
    Onkyo TX-DS898
    GFA 555
    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    I have an NRG4 on my cd player. Not too bad. What's the weight on the preamp pieces?
    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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  • WagnerRC
    WagnerRC Posts: 2,157
    finally delivery. congrats
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  • ZLTFUL
    ZLTFUL Posts: 5,648
    My buddy's shop has a C500T in stock (used) I may have to go check out just to see what I am missing. Hehe.
    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
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  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,117
    Well, you've had over 2 hours, where is the review??
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
    SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
    Onkyo TX-DS898
    GFA 555
    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
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  • jumpindick
    jumpindick Posts: 428
    congratulations and happy listening.....
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    You had to start a new thread? Wasn't the "en route" good enough?

    :(:(:(
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    Ricardo wrote: »
    You had to start a new thread? Wasn't the "en route" good enough?

    :(:(:(

    Makes it seem more Twitter-like. New thread for unboxing, initial impressions, critical review... ;)
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    erniejade wrote: »
    I have an NRG4 on my cd player. Not too bad. What's the weight on the preamp pieces?

    90lbs with carton on both. The boxes themselves feel a lot more sturdy than the usual gear I've had.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    mdaudioguy wrote: »
    Ricardo wrote: »
    You had to start a new thread? Wasn't the "en route" good enough?

    :(:(:(

    Makes it seem more Twitter-like. New thread for unboxing, initial impressions, critical review... ;)

    Critical review gets its own thread. So it's easy to find and search for when others need the info
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Ricardo wrote: »
    You had to start a new thread? Wasn't the "en route" good enough?

    :(:(:(

    Can't help the excitement
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    Mcintosh cardboard boxes are definitely hefty!
    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: 8,552
    edited February 2017
    OK, finally got it unpacked and upstairs.

    1. It is so much better packed than any Cary gear I've had.
    2. It is so much bigger than the Cary SLP05.
    3. There is a double box but it is more like a shell within a bigger shell, hard to describe unless you were here unboxing it with me.
    4. Seems a little more complicated to run than the purely analog SLP05.
    5. Probably 50-100% bigger than the SLP05... barely fits on my rack.

    And the sound?

    I have not been able to listen too long, but the first notes caught me by surprise... and I haven't hooked up the WEL power cords on them yet.

    Will listen some more tomorrow... but tonight, I'm actually sweating from the unpacking.

    Geez... this is a effing beast. I think this might actually be better than the 05 unfortunately.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Here are some pics of the damage and this was after I cleaned up.

    Little things that count - see the inner box? It has "handles" for when you pull it out of the bigger shell... It's actually like someone actually thought of how to make things easier for the end user!

    I am very impressed at this point... Silly I know... But now I understand why Mac had a following and I haven't even gotten deep into the sound yet!

    fq3dmsent0p3.jpeg
    dc6wcvb8m9xy.jpeg
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    Mc gear is a bit bigger / heavy vs some other brands. My MC402 amp has packing like that except, the bottom is plywood called a shipping skid and the 120+ lb amp bolts to the "skid", then you build the inner box around it, then more foam and then the outer box. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/100843/Mcintosh-Mc402.html?page=19

    If I had to guess sound wise without hearing the 05 or the c500T but hearing other preamps from those brands.... I am going to say the 05 might be a little bit more accurate but the c500T might be more musical and maybe even less floor noise. With the rest of your system, I think both will have good synergy and in general match up well.

    I look forward to hearing your impressions.
    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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  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,701
    erniejade wrote: »
    Mc gear is a bit bigger / heavy vs some other brands. My MC402 amp has packing like that except, the bottom is plywood called a shipping skid and the 120+ lb amp bolts to the "skid", then you build the inner box around it, then more foam and then the outer box. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/100843/Mcintosh-Mc402.html?page=19

    If I had to guess sound wise without hearing the 05 or the c500T but hearing other preamps from those brands.... I am going to say the 05 might be a little bit more accurate but the c500T might be more musical and maybe even less floor noise. With the rest of your system, I think both will have good synergy and in general match up well.

    I look forward to hearing your impressions.

    My 601's were packed the same way. Skid with inner box, then outer box with additional packing material. I think the boxes alone weighed 40lbs each.

    To date the McIntosh packaging is the best I have seen.

    I also look forward to your thoughts when comparing to the Cary.
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    Joey will be keeping the C500. After listening to the stock tubes Joey swap them out for some reissued Gold Lion gold pins tubes - a step in the right direction.
    [
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  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,133
    Gotta love the way Mac packs things to withstand just about anything. I went to a trucking terminal to pick up one of my Mac monoblocks last year. That 130lb amp was in a big box which which was strapped to a pallet. They brought the pallet out with a forklift and loaded into my suv with it as well. Maybe it's me but there's something impressive about having an amp loaded into your vehicle with a forklift.
    I'm certainly looking forward to some pics and your impressions of your new goodies; enjoy.
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    Joey,
    If the C500 is like my C2300, it will really start to bloom at the 100 hr mark.
    [
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    miner wrote: »
    Joey,
    If the C500 is like my C2300, it will really start to bloom at the 100 hr mark.

    Good point.

    Been a bit busy so I have not been able to play around with it too much, but the initial listening session was very good. I don't know if it sounded as tight in the image as my Cary 05 does but it's way too early, plus the right door next to the speakers was open so that sucks the image a little to the right....

    I have the weekend off so I expect some good listening to be had.

    I also did not plug in the WEL power cord to the Mac so we shall see what scaling up the PC would do.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    Sell it and get this

    https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-mcintosh-c1100-dual-chassis-tube-preamplifier-2017-01-29-preamplifiers-91745-hacienda-heights-ca
    "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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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Sell it and get this

    https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-mcintosh-c1100-dual-chassis-tube-preamplifier-2017-01-29-preamplifiers-91745-hacienda-heights-ca
    Haha I think I'm good here
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    Looks like fun. Audioquest rules!
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    Joey_V wrote: »
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Sell it and get this

    https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-mcintosh-c1100-dual-chassis-tube-preamplifier-2017-01-29-preamplifiers-91745-hacienda-heights-ca
    Haha I think I'm good here

    Could always getting for the baby's room...
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 718
    Joey - I'm interested in the Cary 05 and McIntosh C500T, how do they compare against each other?
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    JuanR wrote: »
    Joey - I'm interested in the Cary 05 and McIntosh C500T, how do they compare against each other?

    @JuanR

    I think I can answer this now after having the two next to each other for the past 2 months.

    I prefer the Cary SLP-05.

    Caveat - I have not rolled Golden Lions into the Mac.

    The Cary is staying.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,010
    edited April 2017
    He's back!

    How hard was it to stay away? Did you buy any new gear or was that off the table too?
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  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 718
    Maybe the Cary slp-05 will be next down the line. I do enjoy the Cary PH-302 phono very much and that would make a perfect match.

    I must say I love the sound of the Joule Electra tremendously - especially after I swapped out the tubes in it.

    Juan
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    JuanR wrote: »
    Maybe the Cary slp-05 will be next down the line. I do enjoy the Cary PH-302 phono very much and that would make a perfect match.

    I must say I love the sound of the Joule Electra tremendously - especially after I swapped out the tubes in it.

    Juan

    Yeah it's surprising that I've listened to 2 other hi-end preamps and I still stick with the Cary 05. The ARC 5SE and MAC C500T have come through here and none have left a lasting impression.

    Not to say it's the best pre around, but at that price point, I haven't found anything significantly better for my listening biases.

    That said, I've heard an Allnic system that absolutely decimates my system in terms of back to front staging.... like full court basketball shot type depth.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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