Avantgarde UNO FINO w/MC275

[Experimentalist]

I'm listening to the combination as I type. I've had the Duos for many years and did the Omega upgrade just recently. I was struggling to find the right amp, trying both solid state and SE Triode Carys. Amps that worked with the old Duos didn't work with the Omegas. The Duo Omegas are RUTHLESSLY revealing. Today I received an MC275 MkV that I found used on eBaY.

All I can say is "Wow." The MC275 is a terrific match with the Duo Omegas. Timbre is exquisite; dynamics are just right; resolution is spot-on. Imaging is very good, but I had to move my speakers to install the amp, and I can't say for sure that it's going to be the best I've heard with the Duo Omegas. I have some fine tuning to do on speaker placement.

The sound is more relaxed than the somewhat uptight presence I got with a BAT VK220. It is as relaxed as with the SE Triodes, but the presence is better, probably in part because I can use balanced inputs on the MC275s. My Levinson 326s preamp is reputed to do better when it inputs and output in balanced mode. The MC275 is more dynamic than the 10-watt SE triodes as expected.

The MC275 is one of very few amps with 16 ohm taps, which mate well with the 18 ohm Duo Omegas.

I'm playing a hi-rez download of Jazz at the Pawnshop, and I AM THERE, in Stockholm, December 6, 1976, hearing the live playing of one of the most famous recordings of all time. I just had my wife listen; she played clarinet and piano, training on a Steinway concert grand. She has a golden ear, and she said it absolutely sounds like live music.

So there you have it. The combo is dynamite.

BTW, I encountered a strange thing with the MC275: one of the channels has the polarity inverted. The amp is mint. I can't imagine that it's been tampered with. Go figure.