New Macintosh MC250 owner

[DenverEd]

just picked one up. Anything I should be on the lookout for?
Don't know squat about anything.

[TI4-1009]

Don't know squat about anything.

Steep learning curves are the most fun!

[tcsned]

Plug 'er in and let 'er rip!

What's the rest of your set up?

[NSP]

I'm fairly new to the Mc250 world as well. My only suggestion is to bring it in to a qualified tech to give it the once over. These suckers are old and may need some attention to get them back to factory specs. There's another thread down the page a bit (mc250 DIY Rebuild) where I talk a bit about my recent experience. I'm lovin' my rig now-

PRS w/dallen pups, OBEL, Waldo buffer--> sms Jer pre --> Mc250 --> 2x12 K120.

Enjoy your amp...let us know how it goes.

[zambiland]

I'm fairly new to the Mc250 world as well. My only suggestion is to bring it in to a qualified tech to give it the once over. These suckers are old and may need some attention to get them back to factory specs. There's another thread down the page a bit (mc250 DIY Rebuild) where I talk a bit about my recent experience. I'm lovin' my rig now-

PRS w/dallen pups, OBEL, Waldo buffer--> sms Jer pre --> Mc250 --> 2x12 K120.

Enjoy your amp...let us know how it goes.

What he said. I have a very road worn 2105 that was my bass amp in high school in the 70s. It was trashed then but sounded great. However, over the years, the sound slowly degraded until I brought it to a gig and realized that it sounded really pretty bad. I brought it to a local tech who has worked on these things forever and $250 later, it sounds amazing once again. Now it powers a pair of ProAc Studio 100s for my home studio. It's a match made in heaven! These early Mac solid state amps really do sound amazing when they are completely in spec. I've put it up against a few modern power amps using Tannoy studio monitors, Crown, QSC, etc., and for pure fidelity, there's no comparison.

The tech also went over my MC30s. I never believed the hype about hifi tube amps before, even with owning these things for almost 20 years. Now I am a full on convert. These things are positively 3 dimensional. He also had a quad of original McIntosh branded 6L6s that he sold me for $100. They sound good, but I have to say that the Philips 7581s I got from Fat Willie, aka Lord Valve, sound much better. I'm going to try the Mac tubes in my Showman.

But I digress. Long story short, get it all recapped and checked out, plug it in and enjoy. You should get 20 years out of it before it will need another service.

[mgbills]

+1 on the old Mc's. Exactly what Zambiland said. Another reason to have it serviced ...if you ever pick up a noisy gizmo in you're rig...you'll know it's not the power amp ...for a really long time.

I was jamming with my son last week. We played acoustic for a couple of hours & my hands started to protest. Picked up my Tiger Strat, and turned it down to a whisper at the Mc250. Man it sounded freakin' awesome at bedroom volume. Strat > GCX > SMS(JGM) > Mc250 > 2x12 JBL. Just a touch of Earth Drive. Normal talking volume playing against a Martin D-18.

Now ...if I could just find an Mc2300 at a garage sale for $30.00.
Peace
M

[DenverEd]

Great advice.

Any leads on a repair shop in the Denver metro?

I have my 2x12 Hard Truckers cab with E120's.

Next object of my desire is the Axe-fx.

[JonnyBoy]

Once you go MAC you never go back.

[cmc64]

Check this - not the Denver area, but Terry DeWick is the man.

http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/dewick_repairs.htm

[NSP]

Check this - not the Denver area, but Terry DeWick is the man.

http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/dewick_repairs.htm

Yep, if I didn't have a really good authorized local tech, mine would have gone to DeWick. There's a reason the wait time is 60 days to get it on his bench.

[mgbills]

I would also highly recommend Classic Tube Audio in Vancouver, WA. The gentlemen there worked on my 2100, and it seems flawless. $205 for the works + 1/4" outputs.

He's OCD like the rest of us. http://www.classictubeaudio.com

[DenverEd]

Saw DSO last night in Boulder. As best I can tell Mattson's setup was:

Travis Bean>SMS Preamp>MC 2300.

Wickedly awesome tone. Seriously.

[Chinarider1A]

I've got a MC250 that even running just one side is VERY loud. Would changing the ohm setting to 8 enable me to turn up the mac without adding additional volume? Just worried about damaging the amp..

[mgbills]

Wow. Jeff Mattson's got a Travis Bean. How cool is that!

When I saw them in the Spring he was still on the Bryston amp. Can't wait to see the new rig. I hope he plays the TB for a while.
Peace
M

Chinarider...I know Mc's are tolerant of impedance mis-matches, but I'm not sure it'll get quieter

[strummingturtle]

advertised in san francisco craig's list, the title reads : Mcintosh MC2300 mint wall of sound grateful dead-$1850. They say it is a documented wall of sound amp.
Looking at the photos this thing looks like it could pass for brand new. What a beautiful beast.
cheers