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McIntosh Audio A Tradition of Excellence

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Old 11-11-2018, 04:16 PM
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miatadan miatadan is offline
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Question MC312 vs MC301

Besides the Quad Balanced Design, there seems to be no more advantage to the MC301 compared to the MC312.

S/N below rated output both 120dB

Dynamic headroom: MC301 2.0dB, MC312 2,3dB

Damping Factor both >40 Wideband

filter capacity has been doubled in MC312
Direct LED backlighting on MC312

as well as $7000 for MC312 compared to $10,000 for pair of MC301 amplifiers

unless there is other factors I am not considering?

Seems the MC462 too be better upgrade path at this point

Decided on the new McIntosh C70 preamp but trying to make correct decision on power amplifiers, appreciate any advise

Dan
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Last edited by miatadan; 11-11-2018 at 04:43 PM. Reason: more info
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Old 11-11-2018, 06:02 PM
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Dan,
Quad balanced requires double the number of amplifier parts and so the cost is much higher watt for watt. With the introduction of the MC 462 the MC 452 is showing up on the secondary market for very reasonable prices and would be a great alternative.
Tom
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Old 11-11-2018, 06:13 PM
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I think you should not stress it at all, I own mono blocks and 2 ch amps from MC. I am telling you yes the mono has a better overall voice etc... but how much and dollar for dollar?

This topic comes up again and again. I did all the testing with my 452 and 601s. i think I was one of the 1st on the board to get a 452. I love that darn amp, and I am sure the 462 is a tad bit better

If you dont need to ekk out the last bit of cleaner amp the monos IMOP and a tad more overall power etc. Go with a 462. You wont feel bad you did!

Enjoy Dan.. Save the bucks.. you will spend it on cables to interconnect and power cables too. Many folks connect a nice amp to a nice preamp with low end cables that is a NO NO!

Sir Ivan can save you there too!
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Old 11-11-2018, 07:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miatadan View Post
besides the quad balanced design, there seems to be no more advantage to the mc301 compared to the mc312.

S/n below rated output both 120db

dynamic headroom: Mc301 2.0db, mc312 2,3db

damping factor both >40 wideband

filter capacity has been doubled in mc312
direct led backlighting on mc312

as well as $7000 for mc312 compared to $10,000 for pair of mc301 amplifiers

unless there is other factors i am not considering?

Seems the mc462 too be better upgrade path at this point

decided on the new mcintosh c70 preamp but trying to make correct decision on power amplifiers, appreciate any advise

dan
c70??
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Old 11-12-2018, 12:16 AM
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Same question, you had mentioned a 70th anniversary preamp. Any details on this? Pulled the trigger on a C1100 today, hopefully this 70th version does not top the C1100...

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c70??
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Old 11-12-2018, 01:52 PM
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C70? Did someone let the cat out of the bag?
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Old 11-12-2018, 02:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stahle View Post
C70? Did someone let the cat out of the bag?
All I know at this point is the C70 is the 70th anniversary model, it is a tube preamp, most likely based on C22 design, should be officially announced sometime in November.

Dan
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Old 11-13-2018, 04:36 PM
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I want to see that.
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Old 12-06-2018, 03:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stahle View Post
I want to see that.
See McIntosh C70, I submitted earlier today
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