|
New member Username: Jazzman71Post Number: 6 Registered: Dec-07 | I am thinking of putting together a new audio setup and need some sage advice. Was looking at possibly building something, then concluded that I could probably buy quality vintage gear for less money than a kit. Anyway, I went through a lot of the posts here on tube talk and quite a few dealing with low power OTL, Class A and SET amps, but concluded they were probably not going to be for me. I am a little concerned about the very hi eff speaker end and the impact on the cost of the source gear. My budget does not include multi thou TTs and CD players. [However, thanks to this group's informative posts, it probably does include a Rega Apollo CD player.] I also concluded I wanted something a little more versatile from the standpoint of speaker selection than being limited to horns or full range drivers. I listen mainly to my guitar gurus (Metheny, DiMeola, Earl Klugh, Robert Cray, Peter White, etc), a little classic rock and some classical. Volumes not terribly loud unless you ask my wife. Sooo... I know Jan has some vintage Mac gear and I suspect others have as well. What about pairing a Mac tube pre with its SS brethren, for example a MX-110 with a MC-2105? I have heard that speaker selection can be somewhat of an issue with the early SS gear due to low damping factors on these amps, but let's say it has my interest enough to ask if this is something I can anchor a good system around. Any issues with digital sources through these earlier SS amps to be aware of? I'm trying to digest specs and such, but you guys are way beyond what I can figure out. Thanks and Happy New Year everyone! BTW, whoever recommended the Diana Krall music on the speaker channel was spot on. Dynamite, even on my crappy computer speakers. Neil. |
|
Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11938 Registered: May-04 | . Staying with the two McIntosh pieces would work well though I think you might be brainwashed into thinking lower power and full range speakers won't handle your requirements. Over the last few decades Americans have been told watts are cheap and the more the merrier. While I'm not ready to swap my Mac tubes for a two watt SET, it's not the amount of wattage from the triode based amplifier that is stopping me. But if you want lots o'watts, the 2105 will do nicely. It does have "vintage McIntosh sound" which means it is from a period where Mac didn't use fancy connectors or polypropolene caps. New Mac sounds slightly better (at much higher cost), but as I've said here before, for the most part Mac is Mac. The MX-110 was designed long before CD's were the norm and the inputs on the pre amp might not care for a CD player with more than 1.0-1.5 peak voltage output. You might want to check this before investing in a pre amp intended for a good moving magnet phono cartridge rather than today's digital sources. Damping factor is not that much to concern yourself with either. Speaker pairing is the key to any system and pairing the right speaker with the 2105 will resolve any issues that you have been warned about. Do not pair the amplifier with a difficult to drive speaker and you should be fine. So, a consistent impedance load as high as posible and no reactive phase angles in either capacitive or inductive loading. Do not pair this amplifier with speakers that suck current. Here again full range drivers and horns suit the amplifier as do LS3/5a's. http://www.symphonysound.com/articles/tubefriendly.html . |