Dear gOD! Best amplifier I've ever heard bar none. . .

Hantra · « **on:** 11 Mar 2009, 03:44 am »

"Just when I thought I was out . . . . They pull me back in. . . " aa

So I've been away from the forum scene ever since diving into my current setup with McIntosh gear. Never thought I'd be "done", but I was. Then things changed. I moved into a new house with a room that SUCKS. So I struggled for over a year mentally, and thought many many times about selling everything.

I sold the 501's yesterday. I listed my preamp today. I plan to ship my monoblocks tomorrow. I was going to step down hard b/c my room sucks, and I'm just not into it anymore.

Then. . . tonight. . . I helped a friend setup his new McIntosh 2301 monoblocks.

Very few products have completely thunderstruck me without even giving them a chance to warm up or break-in. I've listened to several hundred pieces of gear in at least 100 systems, and it just doesn't happen but every few years.

These amplifiers are literally the best I have ever heard. An audio geek I know up north used to have a pair of Halcro monoblocks, and a month or so ago, he told me the 2301's were the best amplifier he has ever had in his system. I would have bet money against that, even though we have similar tastes. I would have lost that bet. The Halcro amps WERE the best I had ever heard.

I simply cannot believe how these 2301's sound. The sheer delicacy, silence, and brute force control of these 300 watt monster monos is something I have not experienced in my long audio journey. It has probably been 5 years since I have had such an intensely emotional listening experience that literally took my breath away. Tonight was one of those, and it was amazing.

The last product I heard that made me re-think my approach to my own system was the Revel Ultima Studio2 loudspeaker. But it didn't seriously make me think about replacing my speakers. It was just a damned fine speaker that was sheer listening enjoyment. It wasn't like these amps. Although the Revels blew me away when I listened to them, they didn't deliver an uppercut to my emotional chin like these amplifiers did tonight.

I really want to be mad at this point b/c I thought I was done. I thought I was going to finish the room as a theater and just be done, with money to spare for the recession. Now, I've been literally knocked backward on my rump, and am forced to re-evaluate everything over an amplifier that retails for double the price of my former 501's.

I don't have a real point here, and this isn't a formal review or anything. I just had to tell someone. My wife wouldn't understand. Honestly I don't fully understand it. The speakers I listened to these amps on are Klipsch Corner Horns. They aren't supposed to sound good. They're not even supposed to be "hi-fi" anymore. I'm very afraid to lug those beastly monoblocks up the stairs to my crappy sounding room to listen on my own speakers.

Sure hope I can sleep tonight.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 04:01 am »

Hello Brandon....

Nice to see you posting again...

Found a few links about the new MAC...

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/1112.asp

http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2008/011208mcintosh/

Too bad your not done...I thought you were...

Chris

Zero · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 04:12 am »

Congrats Brandon. Kiss some of those paychecks goodbye.

whubbard · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 04:32 am »

Big Time!

And then start tube rolling the 16 KT88s....

-West

carusoracer · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 04:49 pm »

Hantra,

Good to see you posting again. I felt the same way about the Revel Ultima's as well great speaker. I think I'm getting a good percentage of that with the HT3's albeit much lower price.

I have heard the 501's and they are very nice as well I think they would have been a great match for either pair of speakers. I read about the Big Boy Mac's and wondered myself what they could sound like. Great to hear that they are worth the money. Post some pics and impressions once you capture them

BTW, my buddy has the same color M3. I have only seen it now twice.

richidoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:09 pm »

Excellent!!! I didn't know what it would take to tempt you back into the fold, but I'm glad you have finally succombed. A golden ear like yours can never escape.

After a night to sleep on it, are you still as excited? Or resisting stronger than ever?

Hantra · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:41 pm »

Quote from: richidoo on 11 Mar 2009, 05:09 pm

After a night to sleep on it, are you still as excited? Or resisting stronger than ever?

Well after shipping the 501's today, and closing a deal on my preamp, I am sort of thinking that I am going to hold off on anything expensive until I get my room right. I'll grab an integrated or something to use for a while. If I can get the room right, I'll take the plunge. There's no sense in having that much high end gear in a room that makes it sound like an iPod.

Jon L · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:46 pm »

Not surprising to me that a well-engineered tube amp (Mac 2301) brings out much more emotional connection than SS amps (Mac 501 and Halcro-with switch mode PS no less) aa

Rob S. · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:48 pm »

This tube amp is way out of my marriage spending limits, but good to hear some drool worthy gear.

You've got me curious.... How bad is a bad room? 10 x 10 x 10'? or some strange shape?

Rob S.

Watson · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:58 pm »

Do the Klipsch Corner Horns really need 300 watts? Wouldn't they be even more emotionally evocative with a well-engineered, lower power single-ended tube amp?

Hantra · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 05:59 pm »

Quote from: Rob S. on 11 Mar 2009, 05:48 pm

You've got me curious.... How bad is a bad room? 10 x 10 x 10'? or some strange shape?

It's 14 x 24, which wouldn't be bad. But it's got knee walls that are only 3.5 feet tall. Then you have a slope that's about 60 inches into a flat ceiling that's about 60 inches. I've spent a ton of money treating it with 8th Nerve on every seam. That makes a MASSIVE difference. But right now, instead of all the nasty echo, I have the sound collapsing down on top of me. I can hear those diagonal walls, and it sucks. I'm going to try some absorption up there, but I've never been a huge fan of absorption b/c of the damage it can do to the music. The end result will likely be a compromise between absorption, and a bit of soundstage collapse from the room. We'll see.

Hantra · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 06:02 pm »

Quote from: Watson on 11 Mar 2009, 05:58 pm

Do the Klipsch Corner Horns really need 300 watts? Wouldn't they be even more emotionally evocative with a well-engineered, lower power single-ended tube amp?

I thought that too. We pulled a nice 2A3 Yamamoto out of the system to put these in. I said up front that I would not be shocked if the Mc's didn't sound as good as the single ended amp. But wow!

We've also had MC275's on these, and they're nowhere near as good as these monoblocks. It's hard to reconcile that in my brain b/c these monos are essentially a balanced pair of 275's each. But I think McIntosh is onto something with their differential quad balancing. I think that's why the 501 sounds so much better than the 402 to my ears.

JoshK · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 06:02 pm »

Quote from: whubbard on 11 Mar 2009, 04:32 am

Big Time!

And then start tube rolling the 16 KT88s....

-West

Well if you are going to plunk down $24K+ on monoblocks, might as well get these http://thetubestore.com/eatkt88.html. Only $5,600 for 16.

Hantra · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 06:07 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 11 Mar 2009, 06:02 pm

Well if you are going to plunk down $24K+ on monoblocks, might as well get these http://thetubestore.com/eatkt88.html. Only $5,600 for 16.

Hmm. . My wife is Czech. Wonder if I can grey market these.

richidoo · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 06:31 pm »

Quote from: Hantra on 11 Mar 2009, 05:59 pm

I can hear those diagonal walls, and it sucks. I'm going to try some absorption up there, but I've never been a huge fan of absorption b/c of the damage it can do to the music. The end result will likely be a compromise between absorption, and a bit of soundstage collapse from the room.

Diffusion is what you need. It cures the "empty room" feeling of specular reflections without the stuffy dead feeling of absorbtion. It makes the space feel bigger than it really is. The trick is covering a large enough area economically. I'll get you a couple 2x2 RPG BAD Panels to check out. Phase type diffusors are even more efficient than BAD Panels, but are thicker and usually cost more. GIK diffusor is priced well for its performance.

I'm determined to get you totally strung out again.

Les Lammers · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 02:02 am »

Just curious. How much power was going to the Klipsch? I don't doubt that they are fine amps but 300 watts seems like overkill for K-horns.

DSK · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 02:04 am »

Quote from: richidoo on 11 Mar 2009, 06:31 pm

Quote from: Hantra on 11 Mar 2009, 05:59 pm
I can hear those diagonal walls, and it sucks. I'm going to try some absorption up there, but I've never been a huge fan of absorption b/c of the damage it can do to the music. The end result will likely be a compromise between absorption, and a bit of soundstage collapse from the room.

Diffusion is what you need. It cures the "empty room" feeling of specular reflections without the stuffy dead feeling of absorbtion. It makes the space feel bigger than it really is. The trick is covering a large enough area economically. I'll get you a couple 2x2 RPG BAD Panels to check out. Phase type diffusors are even more efficient than BAD Panels, but are thicker and usually cost more. GIK diffusor is priced well for its performance.

I'm determined to get you totally strung out again.

I used a combination of the RPG B.A.D. panels (absorbers/diffusors) and RPG Skylines (diffusors) in a former house and they made a larger improvement than any component or speaker upgrade I've done. Well worth the money even though I had to import them to Oz from Singapore (Shipping costs were horrendous as these products are lightweight but bulky). You may need to watch out for WAF though.

JoshK · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 02:10 am »

Quote from: Les Lammers on 12 Mar 2009, 02:02 am

Just curious. How much power was going to the Klipsch? I don't doubt that they are fine amps but 300 watts seems like overkill for K-horns.

Likely less than a watt except for big crescendos. I speculate that the huge powersupplies of large amps is what makes them sound superior, not the power available or any other distortion explanation.

Also, the amp is probably/likely operating in strict Class A with K-horns. That wouldn't necessarily be true with less sensitive speakers.

Hantra · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 04:38 am »

Quote from: Les Lammers on 12 Mar 2009, 02:02 am

Just curious. How much power was going to the Klipsch? I don't doubt that they are fine amps but 300 watts seems like overkill for K-horns.

I saw it go a slight bit over 3 watts probably twice last night for a split second. That was pretty loud. Most of the time it was between .03 and .3 watts.

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 11:22 am »

Brandon,

Good to hear from you again.

While I haven't heard this particular MAC amp, another "possible" choice that could move you in a similar fashion is the Atma-Sphere MA-1's. These amps when paired with the proper speakers (you can't just put them with any speaker due to their OTL design) can sound absolutely magical. While they aren't cheap, you can certainly pick them up for way less than $24k!! aa

What you described in your post is exactly how I feel about the MA-1's when paired with the Vandy 5A's. I was all ready to sell my 5A's until I heard this combo...now I am listening to my system more than ever.

Good luck with the room and whatever course of action you take.

George