The wait is part of the journey

[crwilli]

That’s sexy!

[miner]

Well, when I auditioned at the dealer I knew I would love the warmth of the tubes but you never really know for sure until you get them into your own environment. The dealer was gracious enough to install a new set of Gold Lion KT88s plus I have a new full set of Gold Lion tubes for both MC275s. I should be set for a while. I was somewhat hesitant due to the fact of going from 450w per to 150w per. With my Sf EA IIIs I rarely got above 45w per when listening. I like to listen at a comfortable level during my sessions. The 150w per is plenty and I barely touched 15w on the C2300 meters. The bass was taught, highs not stringent, but the mids were so silky smooth. These were evident while listening to Harry Nilssons's "A Bit Of Schmilsson In the Night". Such a wonderful voice he was gifted with - I can see/hear why he was Lennon's and McCartney's favorite US musician. My soundstage seemed to open more from front to back, but remained the same from right to left compared to my MC452. And this is in a medium-sized room (16' x 16' {open to the back} x 8'). The bass remained tight and defined, not flabby in the least bit. I tested this out with Peter Gabriel's "So" LP which has a plethora of bass notes throughout his signature album. I am pleased with my decision to move to a full tubed system. Will I miss my MC452 - yes I will in some respects but it was more horsepower than I currently needed to provide to my speakers and I do not foresee upgrading to a more power-hungry speaker in the future due to my room size limitations.

[jdandy]

Kevin.......Congratulations on the migration to tube power amplifiers. The MC275 Mk VI amps are wonderful. I am pleased to read your expectations have been met, perhaps even exceeded.

[miner]

The way I have my trigger cables set up now is C2300 out > in PS Audio P5 out > in MC275 (1) out > in MC275 (2). This way when I power on the C2300, the P5 turns on, then the MC275s. Now, to control the tube LEDs on the MC275s, how would I need to redo the triggering/power control? And, can I control the LEDs in both MC275s?

[b1n4r7]

Congrats on the beautiful new amps. Did you get them brand new? I'm wondering because my local dealer said it is discontinued and I can’t believe it.

[Maks]

Originally Posted by miner

The way I have my trigger cables set up now is C2300 out > in PS Audio P5 out > in MC275 (1) out > in MC275 (2). This way when I power on the C2300, the P5 turns on, then the MC275s. Now, to control the tube LEDs on the MC275s, how would I need to redo the triggering/power control? And, can I control the LEDs in both MC275s?

I believe you've need to have the first amp connected directly to the C2300 as it has the meter illumination control signal in the stereo 1/8" cable, my guess is your P5 doesn't support that.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by Maks

I believe you've need to have the first amp connected directly to the C2300 as it has the meter illumination control signal in the stereo 1/8" cable, my guess is your P5 doesn't support that.

Yes. McIntosh uses a stereo 1/8” jack where the sleeve is ground, the tip is power control, and the ring is light control. I believe the light control on the 275 VI controls the tube illumination.

Check the P5 power control input and see if it is 3 conductor or two conductor. If it is two conductor then the ring will short to the sleeve and the lights in the amps will stay off when you plug in the power conditioner.

If you connect the power control of your C 2300 with three conductor control cables daisy chained with the MC 275 power control in/out jacks, the amp lights should follow the c2300 meter lights.

If you plug the power conditioner into the last MC 275 power control out and the amp lights turn off you have found the culprit.

One workaround is to create a trigger output for, say, Main 1, and use that to control the power conditioner. Run the amps off the main power control output of the C2300.

Tom

[miner]

^ Thanks Tom will try that. The way I have it now the tubes LED do illuminate even though chained after the P5.

I bought the MC275 MkVI as demo models, still shown on Mc website as current production models.

[W9TR]

Nice - you should be able to turn them on and off with the C 2300 meter illumination settings. If you can you are good to go.

[miner]

Meter turn off did work as I currently had it set up
C2300 > P5 > MC275 #1 > MC275 #2

No "regerts" with moving from a SS amp (450w per) to a pair of tube monos (150w per). I understand now why there is such a loyal following for tubed amps. I can faithfully state this will be my end all setup.