Curious about the latest McIntosh MC75 mono tube amplifier

[jdandy]

I have been interested in the new McIntosh MC75 mono tube amplifiers for the past year or so. I go awhile without giving them much thought, then all of a sudden they are on my mind again. I am interested in hearing from those who own a pair of the current MC75's, what preamplifier you use, and what speakers you drive with the amps. Are you pleased with the power, and most of all are you pleased with the sound the produce? I am considering a pair of MC75 amplifiers for my living room system paired with my McIntosh C2300 tube preamp, and driving PMC EB1i speakers. Let me know what you think.

 

[crwilli]

I have not heard the MC75s but my reading suggests those that have were pleased with an improvement over the MC275VI. Increased Power Supply capacity and better separation showed. User JoeEnid had such an experience I believe.

 

[jdandy]

I have not heard the MC75s but my reading suggests those that have were pleased with an improvement over the MC275VI. Increased Power Supply capacity and better separation showed. User JoeEnid had such an experience I believe.

Craig.......I have read reviews and owner comments on a couple forums that echo your comments. The MC75's are said to outperform the MC275, particularly in dynamics, with more control of the lowest octaves. I have owned three different MC275 MkV amps. I used two in the studio system strapped for parallel operation, and one in the living room system. I like them. I felt the MC275 running in stereo mode offered a slight improvement in clarity over the amps running in parallel mode for 150 watts mono instead of 75 watts per channel stereo. I thought it might have been the opposite but it wasn't. I ended up selling all three MC275's, went with MC2301's in the studio, and MC501's, then MC601's, and now an MC452 stereo amp in the living room system. What I still remember about the MC275 running stereo in the living room is how magical and liquid the midrange was. If a pair of MC75 amplifiers are able to best that, I would be quite happy. It's not like I need the 450 watts per channel of the MC452. The PMC EB1i speakers are 89dB efficient and I rarely ever listen to them with peaks above about 30 watts. The MC75's would just be strolling.

I haven't made a commitment to purchase a pair of MC75's yet, but I can't deny I have been thinking about it.

 

[joeinid]

Hi Dan,

The MC75 amps are spectacular. They each have the same transformers as a single MC275 so they are a beefy 75 wpc. Probably closer to 90 wpc. Absolutely more/better separation and spooky quiet. My main reason for selling them is because the taps are setup for 2,4,8 ohms whereas the 275 has 4,8,16 ohm taps. I need predominantly 16 ohms now.

I think they were discontinued but I’m sure are still plentiful.

 

[jdandy]

Hi Dan,

The MC75 amps are spectacular. They each have the same transformers as a single MC275 so they are a beefy 75 wpc. Probably closer to 90 wpc. Absolutely more/better separation and spooky quiet. My main reason for selling them is because the taps are setup for 2,4,8 ohms whereas the 275 has 4,8,16 ohm taps. I need predominantly 16 ohms now.

I think they were discontinued but I’m sure are still plentiful.

Joe.......Thanks for the information about the speaker taps. I run my PMC EB1i speakers at 4 ohms so I should have no issues with that particular output arrangement.