New amp on the horizon.
 

I have been running McIntosh MC275 amplifiers for 5 years now, two of them running mono. After some arm twisting from my friend Marc I will be moving to a Audio Research GS150 very soon, should arrive mid next week. Honestly he didn't have to twist too hard. :banana::banana::banana:

Did you find a buyer for the MC275s yet? I would think those would sell fairly quickly.

- Buck

Congratulations Steve! This Marc guy sure seems like a great friend!

He’s a bad influence from what I hear.

- Buck

Yeah well you are worse, and you know it!

Yes that Marc guy is a good friend and a bad influence at the same time!!!

Buck I haven't tried to sale the MC275's yet. Probably have them posted for sale by next weekend.

I am not! :nono: I'm the frugal one......always looking for deals.

Look what you did to your last house guest!

Jodie, and I are getting a good chuckle out of this post! Congrats Steve! I'm sure it will sound amazing!

At least he won’t need a backhoe to get it in the house. :roflmao:

:lmao: You really liked that one! We do what we gotta do! :D

Congrats Steve, and well done Marc!:hypnotist:

Congratulations with the GS150 , will be interesting to hear your thoughts on it.
It sure looks good.

Excited for your updates Steve, and damn the enablers!

Happy Listening 🤺

New amp has arrived.

Ha! You should’ve seen Marc and Dave Gordon from ARC tag teaming Steve that day at RMAF outside the Sonus Faber room. He had no chance.

- Buck

Sexy!!

https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...8&d=1539797689

Pop the Hood!!

:naughty:

Steve they look really great , hope you already enjoy listening to them.

Did you get any sleep last night, Steve?!

:roflmao:

Final placement for now.

One more.

Very nice! That is a stellar amplifier with looks to match.

Lol fixed it for you

Steve,
That's a beautiful amplifier. Congratulations!

Congrats. You will enjoy it for many years to come.

Thanks guys. I can’t turn it off tonight, just listening and grinning. [emoji16]

So glad for you Steve! I know you have felt that something was kind of missing from your setup for awhile now. REALLY happy you have found it!

AR makes wonderful gear..and I'm sure you will be re-discovering your music collection.

Enjoy!

Awesome Steve, congratulations!

Hi Steve, congrats on your amp!
I am using a 300w per channel solid state amp driving my MartinLogan13A's. I have a REF6 preamp that amazes me and i am wanting to change to either GS150 or 150SE amp.

I am concerned that a tube amp might not have the control and dynamics required for electrostats. Please convince for otherwise!!! lol

thanks
mike

So this is the amp you missed the meet for... congrats!

Yes Joey, I missed the meetup because of this little old thing!!

Mike I haven’t ever used a large solid state on any of my Logan’s. I can say the MAC MC275 is what I had and the GS150 is MUCH better!!!

I would think the Mac as good as it is was probably a bit underpowered for the Martin Logans.

- Buck

Buck I was using two of them as mono blocks which is then rated to have the same power as the GS150 at 150/ch. But the GS150 sounds much more powerful!!!! And it just sounds better across the board.

thanks for the feedback! i hope to get back to you guys ...new ARC amp in tow!

mike

The 275 is a great amp - but it is colored and not always the best option depending on your speakers.

Congrats Steve on an awesome upgrade!

Tom

Yes I think the 13's needed more oomph. Just glancing at some reviews of the 275 does tend to have a soft sound and not as dynamic. As great as it is and I think originated in 1961; the 275 has a warm softer sound than even other tube amps.

Myself having owned the Martin Logans 13's for a few months; even going from the MC452 to the MC601's there was a greater sense of dimension and pace.

Congrats Steve and here's to many many years of audio bliss!

Congrats Steve! Keep us posted on your listening impressions.

Update time:

I’m really pleased with the Audio Research GS150 amplifier. It drives my Martin Logan 13A’s so much better than my former amps, McIntosh MC275. Even though I was using pair of 275’s, which are rated for the same power output as the GS150, the GS150 sounds more powerful. It also has much better high frequency definition and extension, so much so the Logan’s sound like they have a blanket over them when driven by the Mac’s.

And now for the good part………..soundstage depth………….the GS150 definitely has this in spades producing images that float in space with more of a 3D effect than the Mac’s could produce. As for the bottom octaves I really don’t notice any big differences as the Logan’s have built in amplification for their woofers.

But of course this upgrade just has me itching to make another upgrade……..maybe a ARC Ref 6 pre to drive the GS150!!!