Yet another MC452 arrives...

Rayooo

Rayooo

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Joined
Apr 5, 2013
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As luck would have it through no planning whatsoever, it arrived on my birthday. :D

The short story is that I continue to be absolutely enamored with the ARTs, but, but but, the heat and tube-worry do cause a bit of angst. I tried every which way I could to figure a way to part with them, in the end, angst or not, I can't bring myself to let them go, so the ARTs are here to stay.

So what to do... a backup/summer/alternate amp to use? 'got to be solid state / efficient + cool running for use in the hot hot summer.
choices: Bryston, Sanders.. a few others on the short list for months. 'sure would be nice to find a cool running solid state amp that had at least some of the character of the ARTs. Impossible? yea, probably, but what the heck, just need an amp for use a few months tops each year.

Then out of the blue, I see all the chit-chat here about MC452s, hmmmm Mcintosh? hmmmmm.

..It's done.
The packing and fit-finish on the MC452 is absolutely first rate, better than expected. I've been running it now for 10ish hours. I won't go into colorful descriptions of the sound at this point, suffice it to say I'm plenty plenty happy already.

I plan to use the 452 for a few weeks, then put the ARTs back on line until summer. I don't think I've ever had a better chance to compare to amplifier setups, this should be fun.
One thing not fun is lugging all this heavy metal around. will someone please figure a way to put the sound I want in a digital chassis.

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Ray,

I am so glad you are happy. My experience with the MC601's and GAT lead me to believe you will be over the top with the GAT/MC452 combo. I've been going through the same thing with the tubes as you and while I love the music the ARTs put out, it's not practical in my situation to leave them on 12 hours a day. Glad you are having fun.
 
Ray....Congrats !!!! Another McIntosh products! Nice to see some :heart: for Mc :D
Please hear some classical music album ( big orchestra piece ) You will be very surprise to compare with your Art's.

Oh yes Happy Birthday ~!
 
Happy Birthday Ray !!

I think you have all the seasons covered now ! Enjoy it all in good health :woot:
 
Happy Birthday Ray and congrats on the MC452. That will come in handy on those hot summer nights when firing up the ART's would be brutal.
 
Thanks everyone for the happy birthday wishes! :) ...

been running the 452 for awhile now, I continue to be pleased. two surprises:

1. with the ARTs..system current draw is 8-9 amps.... with the MC452, it's around 2 amps! am I green or what?
2. I've not had a set of Meters on a power amp since many many ages ago with a Heathkit AA1640. yea, I'm that old. anyway, I listen about 90% of the time @ 5-20 watts. heck, even with these 20.7s this is plenty loud..at least for my tastes.
 
Congrats Ray! The 452/601's are Mc's best SS amps IMO. They offer dynamics without fatigue and have a wonderful tube like sound. Real smooth operators. I sure do love mine.....and need I remind you who the winner of our blind amp shootout was? :).

A friend of mine who thinks SS amps are the root of audio evil, even said to me, "you know what, those Mcintosh 601's of yours would be in the top three amps I would buy regardless of tube or solid state." He picked them first in the blind shoutout.

So plenty of power for the big Maggie's huh? :).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Mike said:
Congrats Ray! The 452/601's are Mc's best SS amps IMO. They offer dynamics without fatigue and have a wonderful tube like sound. Real smooth operators. I sure do love mine.....and need I remind you who the winner of our blind amp shootout was? :).

A friend of mine who thinks SS amps are the root of audio evil, even said to me, "you know what, those Mcintosh 601's of yours would be in the top three amps I would buy regardless of tube or solid state." He picked them first in the blind shoutout.

So plenty of power for the big Maggie's huh? :).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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for sure with my own listening habits, the 452 is absolutely plenty powerful enough... and the longer I listen, I really am getting the sense that the 452 does in fact have the tube-like character...along with punch and detail that I enjoy in the ARTs. I'm for sure no Golden Ear...It's going to be far harder than I would have thought to pick a winner, or at the very least, the MC452 already does a lot of what I like about the ARTs ...at a fraction of the cost. hmmmmmmmm :)

In a couple weeks when I hook the ARTs back up...it'll be very interesting. :disbelief::bonkers:
 
Ray - the best part is that you get to rotate between the Mc and CJ. You won't get bored! I love switching between my SS and tube amps.

The GAT Pre I bet sound great with both too!
 
Hi Ray,

I only moved my 601's out of the way yesterday to set up the Cornwalls. I see them (601's/452) as long term keepers that satisfy on all levels. I am so happy you are enjoying your new amp.


Rayooo said:
for sure with my own listening habits, the 452 is absolutely plenty powerful enough... and the longer I listen, I really am getting the sense that the 452 does in fact have the tube-like character...along with punch and detail that I enjoy in the ARTs. I'm for sure no Golden Ear...It's going to be far harder than I would have thought to pick a winner, or at the very least, the MC452 already does a lot of what I like about the ARTs ...at a fraction of the cost. hmmmmmmmm :)

In a couple weeks when I hook the ARTs back up...it'll be very interesting. :disbelief::bonkers:
Click to expand...
 
dlb2 said:
Happy Birthday Ray and congrats on the MC452. That will come in handy on those hot summer nights when firing up the ART's would be brutal.
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Are we talking about people with no air conditioning?
 
mep said:
Are we talking about people with no air conditioning?
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haha, well, yea, I do have air conditioning...but having said that, in the hottest of hot summer days I'd need to do a serious upgrade to keep the listening room livable.
as utterly silly as it sounds (to me!) to have a Summer amplifier, it's cheaper than the air conditioning upgrade. :|

I'm literally embarrassed to have admitted to spending $$ on a summer amp, but Joe made me do it. :snicker: hahahaha. :roflmao:

The 452 is utterly fine, I could live with it forever..and it's not even broken in yet. depending on how close it gets to the ARTs, I'll have a decision to make.
My suspicion is that I'll still prefer the ARTs, but by a lesser than expected margin, and a difference that could go either way depending on individual tastes.

Having said all that, the 452 is superb by any measure, very high quality, beautiful, ..and I'd recommend it to anyone anywhere anytime.

The big question is ...can my back hold up swapping these amps around now and then. :bonkers:
 
Ray,

I'm thinking the same thing. I never thought it would cross my mind. Yes. I am responsible for all of Ray's recent purchases.
 
Can you place the 452 somewhere near by your audio stands ? This way all you have to change the cables :) Look at my signature
 
BlueMcIntosh said:
Can you place the 452 somewhere near by your audio stands ? This way all you have to change the cables :) Look at my signature
Click to expand...

Hmmm might actually be a way to do this... Maybe need slightly longer IC cables, speaker cables would do. Might have a go at it. Thanks for the suggestion,
 
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