Original mc275 or 275IV

[JPrest]

I recently purchased a MX110 from a fellow member here and looking to add a McIntosh MC275 amp. To be up front I really like the idea of the original.
With that said, which in your opinions is preferable. The speakers will be Magnepan 1.6's

[audiosalons]

There is a great appeal to owning an original MC275 however you have a 1.6 and depending on your room size it may max out your amp. Original clean MC275's may also cost 5500.00 and up, plus they could need service by a good tech like Terry Dewick. Mk4's having been showing up on the net in the mid to low 2000.00's. IMHO I would start with 1 MK4 to see how it performs with the Maggies and then maybe look for a 2nd to bi amp or bridge. A pair of MC275's are amazing and I believe to be one of the best bargains of any tubes amp.

[1KW]

The 275 is not powerful enough to drive the magenpans the way the were meant to be heard. You really need at least 200 watts as they are very inefficient. They will play with lower power but as soon as you want some volume you will run out pretty quickly. I am running a pair of MGIII's with 200 watts and it is just about pinning the meter when I raise the volume to 55 on my pre amp.

[Jerome W]

I don't know about the Maggies.
I just can talk of ESL speakers.
The tubes drive more efficiently ESL than SS amps.
My 275 was able of higher SPL and levels on my ESL than the 501's !
That's not a question of power but a question of perfect impedance adaptation between the amp and the speakers.
I really don't know if it could be the same with Maggies.
NSGARCH could tell us more about that....

[1KW]

Originally Posted by C220MC275

I don't know about the Maggies.

My 275 was able of higher SPL and levels on my ESL than the 501's !
That's not a question of power but a question of perfect impedance adaptation between the amp and the speakers.
I really don't know if it could be the same with Maggies.
NSGARCH could tell us more about that....

Sorry this statement makes no sense. Both amps have autoformers so matching impedance should be the same with either . Unless your 501's or speaker cables had a problem I really doubt that 75 watts will give SPL levels higher than 500 watts. Tubes or solid state is not the issue, current is the issue.

[jdandy]

JPrest.......Although the original MC275 was a landmark design, and an incredible amplifier, McIntosh has raised the bar substantially. Their newest MC275 MkV is the way to go in my opinion. Some of the design improvements include gold plated pins in the ceramic tube sockets that also have ventilation chimneys at the base of the four KT88 power tubes for cooler operation. All signal paths have been shortened with the use of circuit board topology. The MC275 MkV amplifier removed the two gain controls from the circuit path, and provides balanced inputs, and large gold plated three way speaker binding posts. The new speaker binding posts offer dramatically improved speaker cable terminations, and the use of various types of speaker terminations, including banana connectors. The newest design MC275 amplifiers use IEC power cord connections, so that power cord upgrading is simplified. Futhermore, with the upgraded component tolerences over the original amplifier, the newest MC275's are capable of 90+ watts per channel stereo, and well over 150 watts in mono parallel mode. A premium pair of MC275 MkV amplifiers on Audiogon will run you less than $6K. My suggestion would be to buy a pair, and run them mono. Your Maggies will be happy, and so will you.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Sorry this statement makes no sense. Both amps have autoformers so matching impedance should be the same with either . Unless your 501's or speaker cables had a problem I really doubt that 75 watts will give SPL levels higher than 500 watts. Tubes or solid state is not the issue, current is the issue.

David,

My 501's are perfect: I'm using them all the time.
You're not the only one having this kind of reaction but believe it or not, that's the truth and you would have to try it to believe it. But many people in the audiophile world know that fact already.
Just ask yourself why most of ESL users use tubes and not SS amps ?
This is what happens when you use very powerful SS amps with ESL : at a moment, the pannel flashes and can be detroyed by the current. This happens usually at about level 65 / 70 on a C220 or the C1000.
When you use a 275 amp, you can go up to 100 on the preamp : no distortion, no flashes and a very very high SPL.
Sorry too David, but my statement is based on experience and yours is based on ignorance.
Now I really don't know if this applies also to isodynamic speakers like Maggies.
For technical reasons, send a PM to NSGARCH. I did not see him for a while here. I think his struggle with Serge made him tired of the friendly forum !

Jérôme

[Ron-C]

J,

According to a large Maggie dealer I asked ,MC275 is a nice match to 1.6s. They have sold the same combination before with good results. Yes, two in mono will play a bit louder. MC275 as other McIntosh tube amps are very popular with panels and electrostats.

Thanks,
Ron-C

[1KW]

Jerome

Whatever you say.

[jdandy]

David.......We all saw the smiley moon before you deleted it. Mooning Jérôme was funny. It shows you've got chutzpah. I'm sure Jérôme got a laugh out of it, too.