MC501 Club

[Yamaki]

Welcome to AA!

I love my 501's and I am sure you will too!

[SD Modiano]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

SD Modiano... Welcome to AA!

Thank you for the warm welcome.

[SD Modiano]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

SD Modiano..... Welcome to AA!

As a fellow MC501 owner, I offer my hearty congratulations. I have no doubt that the 501's will make those 250ti's sing beautifully. I look forward to seeing some photos of your rig.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'm hoping the 501's and the 250ti's mate up well. We'll see soon enough.

I'll be certain to post more photos as the "rig" comes together.

[SD Modiano]

Originally Posted by Yamaki

Welcome to AA!

I love my 501's and I am sure you will too!

Thanks man. I'm giddy with anticipation.

[prepress]

I am actually considering an upgrade to my 501s—via power cords. Because of improvement upstream, most notably the Transparent HPPC power cord on the C2300, I'm thinking to do the same for the 501s. I now have HPPCs on the 501s too, and they are being broken in as I have time to play the system. With the HPPC on the 2300, there was improvement in the bottom frequencies, a bit more extension. With the not-yet broken-in HPPCs on the amps, I noticed what I guess you'd call greater sustain and decay of some instruments; maybe this was there before, but the point is, I notice it now.

My eye is toward Kimber PK10 Ascents for the 501s, if I don't keep the HPPCs there. I am also thinking of standardizing power cords on sources with the HPPC, due primarily to my distrust of the IEC connections of the WW cords on them now; I've chronicled my struggles with those elsewhere.

I anticipate that, whichever PC I end up with, the 501s are going to sound even better.

[Yamaki]

I can attest that a PC upgrade for the 501's does produce results, specifically in the bass handling. It becomes more precise, the sustain extends and it's as if the bass is being handled by an iron fist in a velvet glove.

Good luck with your upgrade!

[Chad.Wagner]

I could not believe the improvement that Shunyata Sigma HC's made with my three MC501's. (I moved to Shunyata from Wireworld Silver Electra power chords.) I bought left and right first and was shocked at the deep bass and accuracy. The image became more precise and I could hear how far back people were on stage especially with live recordings. On one recording I could hear the rain stick just right of center being moved side to side.

When I upgraded the center channel things really came together. Movies and TV primarily use the center channel. A friend upgraded his center channel to a Sigma before his left and right and what I heard on his system showed me that I needed to upgrade my center chord as well. I did compare the Shunyata Alpha HC to my Wireworld Silver Electra and found the improvement not to be worth the upgrade which says how good Wireworld cables are. (I wanted to convince myself I could spend less.)

I had Shunyata Alpha HC and Digital chords on my processors and CD player and have since upgraded to Shunyata Sigma Anolog on the processors which have added to the improvements.

I was not a believer in power chords, but I am now. I have dedicated 20 amps circuits which should be your first upgrade.

[prepress]

I failed to include Transparent's Premium PC in my list. It's next model up from the HPPC. Also Shunyata's Venom HC and Zitron Viper.

A dedicated line would be nice, but I'm renting so that's not an option. Plus, my checking account is a bit thin with several obligations looming, so the Premium (PRPC) represents the limit of where I'll want to go with this (probably!). Still, these kinds of tweaks let me know that the 501s are capable of more than I'd been getting from them; indeed, that's true of the system as a whole.

Never underestimate the power of the 501!

[es347]

..I owned 501s for about 7 yrs and they were great ����

[prepress]

Something I have realized in my recent power cord machinations is the fact that since the 501s aren't high-power class A current guzzlers, they don't need megabucks power cords with extreme gauges to sound good. I'm using modest Transparent HPPCs on them ($320 for a 2m cord) and the sound is great. Putting HPPCs on sources also has enhanced the experience; yesterday I heard things on a couple of very familiar recordings I hadn't heard before and didn't know were there to begin with. McIntosh knew what they were doing when they included a 14AWG cord with the amps; they don't need more than that, and the sound was pretty good with the stock cord. The HPPCs are "only" 12AWG and represent a new level of enjoyment going forward. I am pleased.

The 501s have been models of efficiency in my time with them, aren't fussy, and a nice, compact size (but still heavy!). If I ever get rid of them, it will be because 1) I need the money, or 2) I can't manage them physically any longer.