Tube-alicious

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miner
miner Posts: 1,305
About 4 mons ago I went with all tubed gear - McIntosh C2300 preamp and a pair of MC275 MkVI bridged for mono-block use - 150 w/ch. I hade traded my MC452 SS amp for the tube amps. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and my dealer gave a 30-day return policy if I was not happy. 4 months later, needless to say, I am more than please with the 'upgrade'. The amps and pre are very quite - no obnoxious tube rush, the 150 w/ch are more than enough fro my listening levels, even when I want to blast some SRV. My speakers have sensitivity of 89 dB so all is well there. In the MC275s I am using a full complement of Gold Lion reissues and in the C2300 pre I have Gold Lions in the line stage, Teles in the MC phono stage, and McIntosh tubes in the MM phono stage since I am not using it. I am not looking back, just facing forward towards the music. This is my end-all front end.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,314
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    miner wrote: »
    About 4 mons ago I went with all tubed gear - McIntosh C2300 preamp and a pair of MC275 MkVI bridged for mono-block use - 150 w/ch. I hade traded my MC452 SS amp for the tube amps. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and my dealer gave a 30-day return policy if I was not happy. 4 months later, needless to say, I am more than please with the 'upgrade'. The amps and pre are very quite - no obnoxious tube rush, the 150 w/ch are more than enough fro my listening levels, even when I want to blast some SRV. My speakers have sensitivity of 89 dB so all is well there. In the MC275s I am using a full complement of Gold Lion reissues and in the C2300 pre I have Gold Lions in the line stage, Teles in the MC phono stage, and McIntosh tubes in the MM phono stage since I am not using it. I am not looking back, just facing forward towards the music. This is my end-all front end.

    Wonderful Stereo you've put together! I guess no-one has to tell you just how ADDICTIVE Tubes are ;)

  • TEAforONE
    TEAforONE Posts: 1,002
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    A while ago a good friend brought me to his buddies house to hear his system. I believe it was the same pre as yours, with just one MC275. It was a special edition,I just can’t remember which one. He had a nice AR turntable with a Cambridge CD player driving a pair of Altec Model 19’s. That system sounded SOOO good!
    Congratulations!
    See my profile for list of gear.
  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
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    My guess would be the Frank Gow Commemorative Edition MC275. At least I know if I have an issue with one of the amps I can still have tunes while it is getting repaired.
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  • TEAforONE
    TEAforONE Posts: 1,002
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    miner wrote: »
    My guess would be the Frank Gow Commemorative Edition MC275. At least I know if I have an issue with one of the amps I can still have tunes while it is getting repaired.

    Bingo! Thanks for jarring my memory.
    See my profile for list of gear.
  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
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    Those were the MkII version of the MC275. Frank was Gordon Gow's son (McIntosh co-founder). Frank convinced me to buy my first McIntosh piece when he worked at AudioClassics - a C2200 preamp with the LED display kit. He was such a pleasure to talk to and discuss anything audio.
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  • TEAforONE
    TEAforONE Posts: 1,002
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    It is definitely GREAT sounding gear. Also,WAY out of my price range! LOL!!
    See my profile for list of gear.
  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
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    TEAforONE wrote: »
    It is definitely GREAT sounding gear. Also,WAY out of my price range! LOL!!

    ...for now. Keep the faith, one day you will get there.
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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
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    miner wrote: »
    About 4 mons ago I went with all tubed gear - McIntosh C2300 preamp and a pair of MC275 MkVI bridged for mono-block use - 150 w/ch. I hade traded my MC452 SS amp for the tube amps. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and my dealer gave a 30-day return policy if I was not happy. 4 months later, needless to say, I am more than please with the 'upgrade'. The amps and pre are very quite - no obnoxious tube rush, the 150 w/ch are more than enough fro my listening levels, even when I want to blast some SRV. My speakers have sensitivity of 89 dB so all is well there. In the MC275s I am using a full complement of Gold Lion reissues and in the C2300 pre I have Gold Lions in the line stage, Teles in the MC phono stage, and McIntosh tubes in the MM phono stage since I am not using it. I am not looking back, just facing forward towards the music. This is my end-all front end.

    Love to see some pics! :)
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.