My first world problem and other thoughts..

[45shooter]

First off Id like to congratulate y'all for a great hifi community here. I just became a subscriber today and actually had a nice conversation with Mr Masterlu via cellphone. Ive also pm'd a gent whos been very helpful pointing me towards gear that would suit me. Thx to both of you Gentlemen

Anyway, I'm trying to put together my first Mac setup as I presently have a sx-1250 and Khorns. Sounds good to me but I'm kinda wanting to explore the MC world.
So my ideal system would be a MC 462/C52 or a MA 9000. Unfortunately I haveta put 3 kids thru college yet and this setup aint gonna happen.....

Soooooo, I'm kinda looking for some ideas/insights of what set up I should go with.

Ill probly keep the khorns for a long while but maybe down the road Ill get different less efficient speakers.

My listening space is my basement, kinda large space, shared with teenage kids and foosball and other assorted accoutrements.

I'm open to some ideas as I'm thinking MC 152/C47 as a top choice and the most economical.

Fire away with your ideas gents

[Masterlu]

First off college is over rated.

[mulveling]

Ask your kids which majors they're picking before you decide how much to allocate to audio upgrades vs. college funds

[clpetersen]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

First off college is over rated.

This could be a whole 'nother forum! Starting college education #3 here.

The McIntosh integrateds appear to offer a good value - not sure of the total retail of MC152 + C47 (now C49) vs say a MA8900 - but I would consider -

[Maks]

There just happens to be a MC152 in the Market as we speak...

[djcxxx]

I would go vintage tube Mcintosh w/ the Klipschorn.

[W9TR]

45......
Since funds are going to be tight my recommendation is to go with gently used gear.

That’s my MO and so far with McIntosh amps and preamps the net total cost of ownership has been zero! In other words when I sell something I get my money back or make a decent profit. Stay away from their home theater pre/pros and disc spinners as those depreciate at an incredible rate.

So on to the recommendations.
I really like the C2300 tube preamp. I’m on my second one and regret selling the first one.

For amps there are a lot of choices. I love my MC 275V and these come up pretty frequently used. You should be able to get the C2300/MC275 pair in the $8k range.

There are a lot of solid state options. I like the quad balanced amps like the 352/402/602. With Khorns these amps will be running class A most of the time. I own a 602 and it is an awesome amplifier.

Anyway you can’t go wrong with any of these choices or combinations.

Happy hunting!

Tom

[45shooter]

Quad balanced amps. Compared to a non quad balanced amp. I haveta admit i dont know what quad balanced is or what it does or if it sounds any better than non quad balanced.
I assume that the tube amps are non QB.
And integrateds are non QB also???

Maybe a ma7900 will be more bang for my buck than the 152/47 combo?

[W9TR]

Take a look at the owners manual for the MC 452 for a good description of the quad balanced amplifier topology.

The only quad balanced tube amp is the MC 2301 mono block.

The integrated amps are not quad balanced.

I don’t know what the sonic differences might be, if any, so you’d need to get opinions from people who have owned both over an extended period of time.

Tom

[crwilli]

Have you considered the MA252? I have heard it driving high Speakers and it all sounds fantastic. Won’t break the bank, gets you into the McWorld and with Tubes! It would definitely drive your KHorns.