bajs1988
New Head-Fier
Went ahead and preordered. Distributor said it will be here in six weeks. It's going to be a long and agonizing wait lol
Went ahead and preordered. Distributor said it will be here in six weeks. It's going to be a long and agonizing wait lol
@TSAVJason do you have any info on whether the MHA200 will be able to drive planars like the 1266TC?
Normally at 500mW I’d say flat out no, but the MHA150 puts out only 1W at high gain and is excellent with the 1266
TSAVJason
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Fully agree about the IECInteresting tube compliments. i usually see 12AT7 as a line stage or phono stage tube, and the 12BH7 is like a super 12AU7 - again more common in line stage tubes rather than output tubes.
The only thing I see I don’t like is the power cord connector, should’ve used a standard IEC for those of us that like our big power cords.
TSAVJason
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Sure, I get that but what I wonder is how does McIntosh do that while no other amps use this technique. Or do they actually do anything or just measure differently.
Forgive me but I’m not well known with the brand, only started reading up a bit about them a few months ago since my dealer now started with McIntosh/Sonus Faber next to brands like B&W, Marantz, Luxman, Classe ...
From what I read on fora McIntosh are indeed powerful amps but are often outclassed by other top brands when it comes to SQ.
Those are only opinions on fora though.
Thanks for sharing this infoThe secret here isn't a secret nor is it snake oil. McIntosh amps - well, the "true McIntosh" ones (there are some cheaper modes which do not, but disregard those for now) - use a technology nobody else anywhere uses: Unity-Coupled Output Transformers. These are very difficult to wind and the circuits are dramatically different because of how they operate compared to just about everything else in existence. They had a patent for these way back when, but it's long since run out. The circuits are now well known, but winding these transformers is so difficult nobody has bothered to compete on their "turf."
These transformers have a single input tap from the tubes and multiple distinct output taps which allow them to couple the tube voltage swing to specific impedance ranges. In essence, they seamlessly match the amp to your speakers (or, in this case, headphones). This matching lets them excel at some things normal amps cannot do well. There's a reason people love McIntosh amps for planar speakers. My fully restored MC60s (60W/ch) drive my Martin Logan Aerius i panels FAR better than a 200W monster of a solid state amp.
This is also why people shouldn't get hung up on the power rating. McIntosh unity-coupled amps always overdeliver on specs, but most of the time your comparison solid state "2W" amp is delivering a measly fraction of its power into a higher impedance load, and this would beat it handily. I'm really keen to hear how this sounds/performs.
Good but brief discussion on the design goals and other McIntosh history: http://roger-russell.com/mcintosh1.htm#unitycoupled
Somewhat longer take on audiokarma https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...mcintoshs-unity-coupled-circuit-works.569405/
The secret here isn't a secret nor is it snake oil. McIntosh amps - well, the "true McIntosh" ones (there are some cheaper modes which do not, but disregard those for now) - use a technology nobody else anywhere uses: Unity-Coupled Output Transformers. These are very difficult to wind and the circuits are dramatically different because of how they operate compared to just about everything else in existence. They had a patent for these way back when, but it's long since run out. The circuits are now well known, but winding these transformers is so difficult nobody has bothered to compete on their "turf."
These transformers have a single input tap from the tubes and multiple distinct output taps which allow them to couple the tube voltage swing to specific impedance ranges. In essence, they seamlessly match the amp to your speakers (or, in this case, headphones). This matching lets them excel at some things normal amps cannot do well. There's a reason people love McIntosh amps for planar speakers. My fully restored MC60s (60W/ch) drive my Martin Logan Aerius i panels FAR better than a 200W monster of a solid state amp.
This is also why people shouldn't get hung up on the power rating. McIntosh unity-coupled amps always overdeliver on specs, but most of the time your comparison solid state "2W" amp is delivering a measly fraction of its power into a higher impedance load, and this would beat it handily. I'm really keen to hear how this sounds/performs.
Good but brief discussion on the design goals and other McIntosh history: http://roger-russell.com/mcintosh1.htm#unitycoupled
Somewhat longer take on audiokarma https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...mcintoshs-unity-coupled-circuit-works.569405/
This is what I was looking for, thank you for sharing!The secret here isn't a secret nor is it snake oil. McIntosh amps - well, the "true McIntosh" ones (there are some cheaper modes which do not, but disregard those for now) - use a technology nobody else anywhere uses: Unity-Coupled Output Transformers. These are very difficult to wind and the circuits are dramatically different because of how they operate compared to just about everything else in existence. They had a patent for these way back when, but it's long since run out. The circuits are now well known, but winding these transformers is so difficult nobody has bothered to compete on their "turf."
These transformers have a single input tap from the tubes and multiple distinct output taps which allow them to couple the tube voltage swing to specific impedance ranges. In essence, they seamlessly match the amp to your speakers (or, in this case, headphones). This matching lets them excel at some things normal amps cannot do well. There's a reason people love McIntosh amps for planar speakers. My fully restored MC60s (60W/ch) drive my Martin Logan Aerius i panels FAR better than a 200W monster of a solid state amp.
This is also why people shouldn't get hung up on the power rating. McIntosh unity-coupled amps always overdeliver on specs, but most of the time your comparison solid state "2W" amp is delivering a measly fraction of its power into a higher impedance load, and this would beat it handily. I'm really keen to hear how this sounds/performs.
Good but brief discussion on the design goals and other McIntosh history: http://roger-russell.com/mcintosh1.htm#unitycoupled
Somewhat longer take on audiokarma https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...mcintoshs-unity-coupled-circuit-works.569405/
The secret here isn't a secret nor is it snake oil. McIntosh amps - well, the "true McIntosh" ones (there are some cheaper modes which do not, but disregard those for now) - use a technology nobody else anywhere uses: Unity-Coupled Output Transformers. These are very difficult to wind and the circuits are dramatically different because of how they operate compared to just about everything else in existence. They had a patent for these way back when, but it's long since run out. The circuits are now well known, but winding these transformers is so difficult nobody has bothered to compete on their "turf."
These transformers have a single input tap from the tubes and multiple distinct output taps which allow them to couple the tube voltage swing to specific impedance ranges. In essence, they seamlessly match the amp to your speakers (or, in this case, headphones). This matching lets them excel at some things normal amps cannot do well. There's a reason people love McIntosh amps for planar speakers. My fully restored MC60s (60W/ch) drive my Martin Logan Aerius i panels FAR better than a 200W monster of a solid state amp.
This is also why people shouldn't get hung up on the power rating. McIntosh unity-coupled amps always overdeliver on specs, but most of the time your comparison solid state "2W" amp is delivering a measly fraction of its power into a higher impedance load, and this would beat it handily. I'm really keen to hear how this sounds/performs.
Good but brief discussion on the design goals and other McIntosh history: http://roger-russell.com/mcintosh1.htm#unitycoupled
Somewhat longer take on audiokarma https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...mcintoshs-unity-coupled-circuit-works.569405/
Not to mention MC60s are bass monsters for tube amps. I had MC60 mono, now rocking a pair of MC30 with Yamazaki mods.
MA352 is tube preamp but direct driven. It doesn't have autoformers for the headphone output, nor the speaker output. I am really not that familiar with McIntosh designs without autoformers. I have no idea how the MA352's headphone output operates.
The MHA200's more appropriate speaker amp comparison is the MC275, but of course it has no headphone output.
MA352 is tube preamp but direct driven. It doesn't have autoformers for the headphone output, nor the speaker output. I am really not that familiar with McIntosh designs without autoformers. I have no idea how the MA352's headphone output operates.
The MHA200's more appropriate speaker amp comparison is the MC275, but of course it has no headphone output.