Thread: Am I Doing my new MC462 a great disservice?

Originally Posted by MDJAK

I was living in Brooklyn Heights in the 1980s and purchased my first quality system from a man named Elliot of Innovative Audio. It was a Linn Naim system and I loved it. I still have the LP12 though it’s packed away and hasn’t seen daylight in many years.

When home theater became a thing, I sold all my audio gear and went 5.1 channel. I still love home theater but have rediscovered 2 channel audio.

having always wanted a McIntosh, I just purchased the MC462. I love it. It’s reinvigorated my living room which fell into disuse after we built an addition with a non dedicated home theater 2 years ago.

my LR thus has my old system consisting of a Marantz pre-pro 7703, a 7 channel Emotiva amp, a 75” Samsung and the original high end Oppo DVD player. Assorted surround speakers numbering 4 dot the walls. The 3 main speakers are Revel f208 along with the matching center. I have a JL Audio sub in there also.

with that background, here’s my question (with many more to follow).

Am I doing the new McIntosh 462 a disservice by using even pure direct on the Marantz as my preamp and SACDs in the Oppo?

if so, what preamp is recommended? I have never had tubes nor desire them.

I am basically satisfied with how it sounds but I’m sure there is room for improvement.

ty for now.

Mark

Not sure, but there is nothing wrong with Marantz, but if you can find a 2500 or the newer 2600, it pairs well and is tube.

I think Mac used Oppo for their players, but that’s a “think” statement.


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Which DAC are you using, Oppo or internal Marantz? Just curious if you've compared.

I don't know about disservice but a dedicated stereo preamp would be a place to upgrade. If you still do HT you can run the Marantz left/right preamp outs into a bypass on the stereo preamp.

I personally would try to use a preamp that is similar is signature to the Mac, if not Mac, then perhaps a Conrad Johnson or Pass. Not that these brands sound alike, they are just on a more musical or romantic side of things.

Another area I would look at, and, probably for me, even before a preamp. I know people like the Oppo but I think you could improve on that for playback. Not sure your budget, Levinson just came out with the 5105 which streams and plays SACD for around $5k. Somewhere on the forum there is a thread about who still makes a SACD player, you can get some more ideas there.

Or, maybe just adding a DAC if the Oppo can output the SACD higher resolution.

If the Oppo is outputting audio via HDMI then chances are you are using the Marantz's DAC. If you want to use the Oppo's DAC then output the audio from the SE or XLR outputs of the Oppo to an Audio input on the Marantz and turn audio via HDMI off in the Oppo.

Originally Posted by MDJAK

wow. I very much appreciate your and other replies. Unfortunately, your questions are beyond my ken.

when you say which DAC am I using, I don’t know the answer. I have my Oppo connected to the Marantz with hdmi and I just put the disc in and hit play.

*> OK, you can have some fun. AS you have it now the Oppo is sending digital to the Marantz via the HDMI, the DAC (digital to analog converter) inside the Marantz is converting the signal to analog. Which is therefore passed along to the amp etc.

So what you can try is hooking the Oppo's analog output, (RCA jack L/R) into one of the Marantz analog inputs, like CD or AUX. This type of hook up is converting the digital to analog inside the Oppo using it's internal DAC, then will pass the analog to the Marantz. This may or may not provide better sound but it's worth experimenting with. It will depend on which unit has the better sounding analog signal.

as for my budget, I just busted it with the purchase of the 462. I will be back looking for a preamp though when I replenish my coffers.

*> I'm not very familiar with the operation of the Oppo but I believe it has variable outputs, meaning if using them the Oppo has a volume control. If you know how to use this, it may be fun to hook the Oppo directly to the Mac to see how that set up sounds. You'd be bypassing a preamp and using the Oppo's volume control.

Iff the rack and area are cramped this all may be a pain. However, it could be a way to see if any improvement in sound could be had with what you already have.

Of course if still watching movies this could also cause some decision making

Feel free if I need to clarify anything, we all had to start at the beginning and I don't mind helping when I can.

I have the McIntosh MC452. I recently added a McIntosh C2600 Tube Preamp and I cannot believe the improvement in sound in music collection!!!!! It's like I have a whole new collection of music to listen to. I love the warmer sound. It's the best change I have ever made to my 2 channel system. (Plus I now have twice the blue lights! ).

I have C302 and C2600 tube preamp and I feel the sane... Think it is the tubes preamp that give it's magic on warm..

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McIntosh, especially, is very easy on tubes. Preamp tubes can last 8-10K hours. Their power amp tubes can last 4-8K hours or even more depending on the amp. McIntosh has probably some of the easiest tube gear to maintain.