Another very fun trip and visit with Dan....

[Vintage Pete]

It's been a fun couple of days. Yesterday, I made the 3-1/2 hour trek to Live Oak, Florida to visit with Dan, aka jdandy once again. Not too long ago Dan had driven down for a visit, now it was my turn.
I was quite eager to see his latest upgrade, that being the addition of a very sweet pair of McIntosh MC75 tube power amplifiers to the living room system. I've always had a hankering for this particular amplifier.
Now is my chance to see and hear a pair for real, and of course to have a great time once again as is always the case when Dan and I get together. It was also a great day to make the drive.

When I arrived, we first made a quick stop in the downstairs studio, where Dan's world-class McIntosh system resides, build around the venerable C1000C/P preamplifier, and the mighty MC2301 Tube amplifiers.
They were sitting there in off state, like silent giants waiting to be awakened. These beauties never fail to amaze me, even before they are turned on. This time, the tube cages were off, exposing the gleaming chassis
and the tube compliment. These amps are a sight to behold...





After some general chit chat, we went upstairs to check out the new arrivals. The MC75 amps are absolute gems, in every way. Beautiful to look at, with the warm glow of the tubes from within the cages, and listening
to them reveals that these amps are nothing short of supreme. Absolutely musical, smooth, lush, organic, or whatever superlative you'd care to apply. I want a pair! The trouble is, I really haven't a system for them.
At least, I don't think I do....



We played a variety of music on the living room system. Man oh man, what a fabulous system. One might think replacing the well respected, and more powerful MC452 amp might be a step back, but I'm here to tell you,
it isn't. Not in this case. I could see listening to this setup hour after hour, day after day, night after night. It is fabulous.

After a few hours of listening, Dan treated me to a great dinner at a great barbeque house in Live Oak, called Big Wood BBQ and grille. This was my first chance to ride in Dan's new Lexus IS350 F-sport vehicle, which was
a treat by itself. We are both Lexus nerds now, both owning IS series vehicles. We both kind of look for excuses to get in our cars and drive somewhere. Lexus is like McIntosh in my opinion. Once you have one, there is no
turning back.

After a delicious meal, we returned and retreated to the studio, listening to a handful of holiday themed CD's I brought along that I find particularly good for system demos, and with Dan interspersing other selections from
the Aurender N10 music server. The end result of the combination of gear Dan has assembled in the studio is nothing short of stunning. The Aurender server, together with the Esoteric K-01X Transport/DAC, the C1000C/P preamp, MC2301
amplifiers and the Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario speakers is a simply world class system. Not to mention of course all of the cabling, power conditioning and a myriad of other tweaks that bring this system to a level of perfection
that's hard to explain.

In between musical fun, we had fun reminiscing about all the wild things we did in our younger days, and pondering how we ever survived it. Somehow we did, and now we've just become crazy audio junkies. It turned into a
late night, and before we knew it it was nearly 1am.

This morning brought more fun talk, coffee, delicious breakfast treats, and of course more music on the living room system. I shoved off around noon for the trek back down to Largo. I had a great time.

I can recommend without the slightest hesitation the McIntosh MC75 amplifiers to anyone looking to assemble a premium tube system-or a premium system, period.

Thanks Dan for your hospitality and for a great time. I really enjoyed it.

[bart]

Pete, that was fun to read!
I always love to read about these visits between AA members, as I have enjoyed quite a lot of them myself.

Nice photographs, entertaining prose, beautiful systems!

[For The Love of Music]

Originally Posted by bart

Pete, that was fun to read!

I always love to read about these visits between AA members, as I have enjoyed quite a lot of them myself.



Nice photographs, entertaining prose, beautiful systems!

Bart, I agree [emoji3516]

[tweet]

Pete,
Thanks for another excellent writeup on your visit with Dan. I really enjoy reading these posts and always feel like I'm missing out on the fun. I'm glad you had a good time with Dan and the chance to listen to the MC75s. They are outstanding amplifiers. I regret selling my pair more every day. If you ever get your hands on two of them, bolt them to your rack and keep them.

[W9TR]

Always fun to read about these get togethers - keep 'em coming!

[jdandy]

Pete.......That is a fun post to read on your visit here, and some nice photos of the gear. I'm still trying to figure out who that old guy is in the last photo. Man, I'm getting old. I don't think of myself as old but photos don't lie.

I had a lot of fun showing off my sound systems, playing lots of music, and cranking up the volume on several great tracks. I think the McIntosh MC75 Mk III mono tube amps really surprised you, not only with their astonishing sound quality and effortless dynamics, but also in the muscular power on tap driving the PMC EB1i speakers. These amps can rock the house.

I particularly enjoyed the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CD's you brought up. Playing them on the studio system at a substantial volume was a real treat. The synthesizer arrangements can put a sound system to the test. And of course the time just flew by. I was surprised when we realized it was 1:00 AM and decided to shut things down for the night. Listening to music to those late hours is not unusual around here.

I enjoyed our dinner at Big Wood Bar-B-Que and Grill. The food there is excellent, and I enjoyed having company at the table. Naturally I ate way more than I should. Love Bar-B-Que ribs.

Thanks for coming to visit me. I enjoyed the time, the conversation, the stories we shared about our youthful days, and of course the music. I am sure we will do it again.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Pete.......That is a fun post to read on your visit here, and some nice photos of the gear. I'm still trying to figure out who that old guy is in the last photo. Man, I'm getting old. I don't think of myself as old but photos don't lie.

I had a lot of fun showing off my sound systems, playing lots of music, and cranking up the volume on several great tracks. I think the McIntosh MC75 Mk III mono tube amps really surprised you, not only with their astonishing sound quality and effortless dynamics, but also in the muscular power on tap driving the PMC EB1i speakers. These amps can rock the house.

I particularly enjoyed the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CD's you brought up. Playing them on the studio system at a substantial volume was a real treat. The synthesizer arrangements can put a sound system to the test. And of course the time just flew by. I was surprised when we realized it was 1:00 AM and decided to shut things down for the night. Listening to music to those late hours is not unusual around here.

I enjoyed our dinner at Big Wood Bar-B-Que and Grill. The food there is excellent, and I enjoyed having company at the table. Naturally I ate way more than I should. Love Bar-B-Que ribs.

Thanks for coming to visit me. I enjoyed the time, the conversation, the stories we shared about our youthful days, and of course the music. I am sure we will do it again.

Dan.....

Originally Posted by jdandy

Pete....... I'm still trying to figure out who that old guy is in the last photo. Man, I'm getting old. I don't think of myself as old but photos don't lie.

I have that same feeling whenever I see a photo of myself too Dan....thank goodness we didn't take any photos of me!

I also get that same sensation when I'm in a shopping mall or department store and I walk by a mirror. Who's that old geezer in the mirror?

The least they could do is cover up all those mirrors....

[80B]

Nice to hear you guys got to visit again, and Pete's impressions of the MC75s, especially knowing the evolution of Dan's system since AA's early days.

[Joe]

You guys have WAY too much fun!!