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Old 05-26-2019, 11:24 AM
Progfan2112 Progfan2112 is offline
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Default Anyone Ever Get a McIntosh Lemon?

....subtitled a rant I guess!!

I only have two pieces of Mc gear, but my C2300 has been such a problem for me, they will likely be my last. I bought a dealer demo version of the C2300 five years ago. For the first year, I was thrilled. But then the MC section of the phono stage developed a really strange problem in which a static discharge gave off a loud and consistent popping sound. After researching here, I found i was a known issue for certain models of the C2300. I drove my C2300 the two hours to my dealer and they sent it off to McIntosh and repaired it for free as it was still under warranty. No biggie, really.

Fast forward another year or so and then the middle display window would no longer light up so I couldn't see the "Tube Warmup" or the volume or input selected in the display. At this point, my unit was no longer under warranty so per McIntosh's instructions, I drove to my nearest service center (a 3 hour drive) and left it there for 6 months. They replaced a relay switch (or something to that effect) and it worked fine for a month or so. Then the display section stopped working again. This time, I decided not to mess around and got in touch with Audio Classics. Ryan fixed me up and the unit worked fine....for a couple of months. I turned it on this morning and once again, the display was out. I turned the unit off and back on again and the display lit up. But I know it's going to be out permanently again.

To make matters even worse, I seem to be having another issue with the phono stage. There's a real noticeable channel imbalance issue and the left channel is louder than the right. After a few weeks of experimenting and setting up my turntable all over again, I discovered the same issue to be true with the MM section of my phono stage. There is no such problem with the other inputs, it only appears to be happening with vinyl. So....very long, boring story short, it's looking more likely that I'm going to have to send the C2300 back to Audio Classics again for its fourth repair in five years. Not a good batting average, IMO. It's either that or throw it away and get something else. It's been very frustrating, because when the unit works, I've been very happy with it. But I'm getting tired of shipping this thing around only to have it break down again months later. Does anyone have any similar stories to share? Or am I just that deeply unlucky with my C2300?
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Old 05-26-2019, 12:47 PM
TWInsall TWInsall is offline
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The channel imbalance could just be tube. I would plan on having a complete back up set at. all times. Tubes will let you down at the most inconvenient time. The display is another issue all together. Call Ryan he and Steve do warrant their work. They are pretty generous with warranties.

Way back when I bought a C-28 that had issues when new. Davie Obrien worked on it twice and then I bought a C-29. No more head aches. The controls on top of the 28 and the Volume control were two big issues. The phono and mic input panel was another issue. Lining up the switch sections with the extensions on the input selector was another issue. Cross talk that required a mechanical fix on the phono stage board was another issue with the 28. So rather than let Davie try a third time to fix it I bought a 29. It was the 76th one built and worked perfectly with control cleaning annually for over thirty years.

Last edited by TWInsall; 05-26-2019 at 01:15 PM.
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Old 05-27-2019, 07:14 AM
1KW 1KW is offline
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Time for a trade for something new. I have not had any problems with my C 2300 but I would not put up with what your going through. I had a MC207 that had a bad hum in the transformer right out of the box. The dealer did get me a new replacement after I drove 4 hours each way to pick up the first amp. then again for the exchange, luckily the second amp has been working perfectly and hum free.
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Old 05-27-2019, 07:41 AM
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Old 05-27-2019, 08:26 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Progfan2112 View Post
Anyone Ever Get a McIntosh Lemon?

Oh yes. Lot's of folks have.

Yes, I traded my dud in but I have felt guilt ever since. The dealer did not toss it and McIntosh did not take it back. So someone else also got screwed. I wonder have many times the same unit screwed folks.
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Old 05-27-2019, 08:49 AM
Flyingfrog Flyingfrog is offline
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I tried a C46 Preamp a while back........buttons worked intermittently......fixed twice and same problems......My MR80 and MC252 have worked flawlessly.
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:34 AM
alkizz alkizz is offline
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I almost turned a MC2301 into a lemon by foolishly horsing around with the speaker connections while it was powered on. Thankfully the Sentry Guard saved me.
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Old 05-27-2019, 11:10 AM
Macuser Macuser is offline
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My only bad experience (knock on wood) was with a mcd205 cd changer. It would occasionally scratch a brand new cd and then skip on the very spot it scratched.
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Old 05-27-2019, 12:08 PM
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I too would have headed to the dealer in order to trade my constantly broken preamp. You have already wasted much time and money on this unit. Time to move on.
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Old 05-27-2019, 01:06 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Some folks think that the word "high-end" implies reliability. It does not. In fact the more exotic and expensive the gear the more likely for bizarre unfixable problems. It could have easily been dropped, abused, damaged during shipping etc. who knows. I have never and I mean never traded in a piece of equipment I knew to be defective. That's not fair to the person on the other end.

If it is not a tube I would call Mac send it back to them and pay the price to have the unit overhauled. That's your best chance for success. I have most definitely had defective Mac gear but it was bought new. I had a C34 that had a channel go out intermittently. Mac attempted one repair which didn't work. They sent me a new unit that worked flawlessly. Recently, my D1100 was defective because it was an early unit with a defective capacitor. I received a new unit that worked flawlessly. Also, my MCD1100 stopped playing several years ago (I thought too soon for a piece of Mac gear) and was out of warranty. There was a local Mac repair shop but after 3 mo they were getting nowhere fast so I paid the bill and sent the unit to Mac. I sent the receipt along. Three weeks later I received the unit back repaired at no charge including free shipping. It has performed flawlessly ever since.

About 3-4 years ago I noticed on just one cut of one HD tracks download a ringing in the Maxx3 tweeter right channel. I honestly thought my hearing was going. I could only hear it from the sitting position. I put up with it for 8 long months. Finally I sent the tweeter/midrange module back to Wilson with the instruction not to send the old tweeter back to me. It took about 3 months and 1,000.00 dollars (even under warranty) but the new tweeter fixed the problem. Wilson acknowledged the bad tweeter but said they were surprised I could actually hear it.

I was able to sell my Maxx3 through my dealer with a clear conscience several years later who was aware of the problem. You are experiencing the frustrations of the "high-end". I hope things work out.

Last edited by Charles; 05-27-2019 at 05:16 PM.
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