I have a pair of yamaha ns-1000 speakers and am thinking about getting an ma-6100 mcintosh from a friend who lives out of state. Any views on how they would be for a match up. thanks, Don
I've never heard a pair of Yamaha speakers that I liked. Unless they are some rare vintage high end speakers that I haven't heard of, they will be totally outclassed by the McIntosh. You will never hear the potential of the Mac. It would be like putting a Ferrari engine in a Ford Escort.
The Mac is a great integrated. If you can get it for the right price, don't hestiate to get it. Buy better speakers down the road. Better sooner than later though.
The Mac integrated is exceptionally good by most standards. It will offer sound that holds up against some of the better equipment available today and not be embarrassed; and it will run circles around most HT receivers trying to do two channel sound. It has more than enough power for almost any speaker you choose and will continue to offer good service for years to come if the new owners of McIntosh keep to the traditions of Mac over the last 55 years.
The Yamaha NS-1000's were occasionally put together with the Mac amplifiers using the concept the warmth of the amplfier would mitigate some of the brightness of the Yamaha sound. If that is your basic concept of how you want to put together a system, the two pieces will work together and each will benefit from the other's cleanliness. The two pieces of equipment do not, however, have the same personalities, if you listen further into the sound. The Mac is laid back in its presentation with a sound stage that is placed well behind the speaker's front plane. The Yamaha speakers, on the other hand, are quite up front and place vocalists and midrange oriented instruments out beyond the plane of the speakers.
You don't mention what amplifier you are presently using with the Yamaha speakers, so I have no idea what you are hearing now to use as a comparison. I also have no idea what your goals are with the acquisition of the Mac other than, I would assume, to improve upon what you already own.
Buying the Mac amplifier shouldn't be a mistake. Whether using it as a BandAid to the brightness and presentational style of the Yamaha NS-1000 is the best choice is something only you can decide when you hear them together. Of course, one of the advantages to both pieces of equipment at this point is you can re-sell either for what you put into them. That makes for a less chancey audition.
I appreciate the feedback. Stu Pitt, I felt the same way as you towards Yamaha speakers until I saw and listened to these. The Ebony cabinets are also stunning. If you ever get a chance to audition a pair try it. If interested you can check their excellent reviews. Their one slight flaw is that they don't go as low as some would like. I'm in the process of putting together a pair of cabinets with 15" woofers just to see what happens. Jan Vigne, I have been using them with a Pioneer SA 9800 Integrated, a Pioneer TX 9500 tuner, an older Luxman turntable and a Rotel CD player. I would hate to lose anything from the mids and tweeters since that is their high point. I got the Yamahas for $300 and I can get the Mcintosh for $130.I have both seen and listened to the Mac.It is from the original owner and in really nice condition, as were the speakers. I sold a much more expensive pair of Brentworth Sound Labs speakers on ebay a while back. Although I prefer the sound of the Yamaha to the BSLs I wonder if they would have been a better match for the McIntosh. Either way I will go ahaid and get it for the price he offered me.
You can get the Mac for $130? It's probably worth at least twice that in inoperable condition. I've seen them go for at least $700 in good condition, and over $1000 in mint condition.
For $130, I'd grab it before the guy knew what hit him. If you don't want it, let me know. I recently started seriously looking for a used Mac integrated, 6100 and newer.
Daina Wilburn
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Posted on
Hi Don,
I owned these speakers for a number of years and sold both these and Mac equipment. I think I recall matching these two once or twice. To this day, and I've heard many, many fine speakers, there are certain things that this speaker does better than any other. I would agree that of any criticisms leveled against these beautiful speakers, the only one that might hold true for me deals with their bass; however, a very good amp can make their base just sound amazing. Of course, Yamaha made the B2 amp, also from that era, and these were very well suited to it- it was a smooth 'tube-like' sounding VFET design.
I would essentially agree with Jan that their presentations are different from each other and, on the surface, one might cancel the other, but I'd be more concerned with the Mac not being fast enough for these mids and tweeters. It might be more laid back, but you may lose some of the pristine clariy that these speakers are capable of. Or maybe another way of saying it is that I'm not sure that the best in one covers the worst in the other, but could be the opposite;that both show off the flaws in the other. Having said that, he's also right that it's hard to go wrong with the Mac at that price. It could be that you trade off highs for bass, although I don't think I heard these through a SA 9800 (I did hear them through an older SA 9100 and the bass was not satisfying), but I'm also just not sure how the Mac's highs would sound through these speakers either- but conventional wisdom would say that the Mac's bass would be better. I ran my pair through a similar era Yamaha integrated- CA 2010, circa 76-77, a top of the line integrated, a traditional transister amp, but more affordable than the B2. About 110 watts per channel. I had a roomate that owned a pair with a Yamaha CA 1000, one generation older; about 70 watts per side, the previous top of the line. (Most of us in the business back then rate the first two generations of Yamaha amplification as the best they made- another story). I believe the Mac is about 70 per side, right? And the SA 9800 was about 100/side, right? I would not go below 70 per channel.
I guess, in the end I'd give you the same advice as Jan- you can't go wrong for the price, you can try them together and if it doesn't work, you can always sell. But I would sell the Mac or Pioneer, NOT the NS 1000's. These are speakers that can make use of the latest advancements in amplifier design- with the right amplification, the highs and mids are just some of the best I've ever heard. In some ways, these speakers were simply ahead of their time. On my amp, cymbals had just a very slight sheen, but through the B2 and other very high end amps of the time, they were flat out wonderful. Nowadays, there are amps that sound even better- a giant tube amp from Audio Research or someone who makes high powered tube amps would be a good match, I'd guess, but who has THAT kind of money? Not me. There are a few new solid state designs that I'd bet would sound great through these speakers, but I've not auditioned and so can't recommend. Jan may be right, but I still say that any time these speakers sound bright and definitely every time they sound harsh, it's the amp, NOT the NS 1000's. Good luck. I hope the Mac/Yamaha's sound great!