301 Still Out

[prepress]

Still no 301, but today I played some ELP, disc 2 from their The Return of the Manticore anthology. It has tracks such as Tarkus, Rondo, Knife Edge and From the Beginning on it. The sound with the DV8400 was really nice, with detail I hadn't heard before. It occurred to me, albeit briefly, that I wasn't missing the 301. The DV8400 in this setup sounded plenty good.

Who knows, maybe I'll have both players in the system for a comparison of sorts when the 301 gets back.

[marklar182]

Originally Posted by prepress

That was nice and quick. What is the MC2102? Sounds like a power amp.

MC2102 is a Tube Power Amp

[prepress]

I did e-mail McIntosh, and the reply came that an estimate will be submitted either tomorrow or Monday to the store. I should hear soon.

[prepress]

I heard from the store today (Lyric HiFi). The repair will cost $176. Some parts were replaced, perhaps the tray. I gave the OK, so Lyric will Mac back and the unit will ship. I should hear from the store when the 301 is there. I'll have them ship it to me at that point.

[prepress]

The store called today. The 301 is in! The bill is $200, with $33 for parts and $133 labor. The rest is shipping and tax. All amounts rounded off.

I've asked the store to ship it to me and it may well arrive tomorrow via UPS. Just in time for a system reconfig featuring the AQ King Cobra I bought.

[jdandy]

Charles.......Reasonable repair cost. Happy listening.

[prepress]

After a day wrestling with a system reconfiguration I connected the 301 and proceeded to play a Jimmy Smith CD. The tray moves smoothly but there is a noise, as if something is being scraped against, when opening and closing. No effect on the sound, but I wonder. I think I'll phone this in to the store (Lyric HiFi) or e-mail McIntosh to see what's up.

[jdandy]

Charles.......Hopefully just a minor adjustment for proper alignment. The issue should have been caught by the service tech.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Charles.......Hopefully just a minor adjustment for proper alignment. The issue should have been caught by the service tech.

I called Lyric just now to ask about this, and my regular salseman is out sick. Since McIntosh did replace some parts, it may be that they need to break in or that the tray is a more robust one (it appears so) and the noise is natural. Meantime, the tray is quite smooth as it opens and closes. Also, the Lyric guy suggests not to worry unless something starts to go wrong. I think I'll shoot Mac an e-mail to see if I can get some info.

[jdandy]

Charles.......It's beginning to sound like the disc tray is a non-issue. How is the MCD301 sounding?