Planning to buy new MC275 for Dynaudio Audience 72


I currently own a predominantly Naim system.

Naim 150x, Naim 122x, Flatcap 2x, CDX2.2, Naim Phono Stage, Naim DAC. My speaker is Dynaudio Audience 72. I have Rega P5 with TT PSU. Also own Sonos ZP90 as streamer to DAC.

So far very satisfied with the sound. However lately thinking of upgrading the amp/pre-amp section. And wondering why not to try Vacuum Tube Amps

In vacuum tubes got audition of McIntosh MC 275 with 2300 preamp. Also heard Conrad Johnson PL70 and Cary Audio 120MkII. I liked MC275 a lot. It has warmth of Tube as well as good mid range bass. Also thinking of buying 2 to run in parallel monoblock mode

But thinking whether going for MC275+ 2300 (around USD 10K) would be worth. Instead should I spend the similar amount in upgrading my Naim to NAP250-2 + NAC282. The problem is my Naim dealer does not have this combo for demo.

I typically listen to vocals, jazz, indian classical (predominantly vocal and string oriented), rock (not much of heavy metal) - Pink Floyd, Scorpion and kind of stuffs. My room size is 12x12x12. Listening position to speaker distance around 10 ft.

Any experience/opinion around following points would be highly appreciated
1. How Dynaudio Audience matches MC275. Lowest impedance of Audience 72 is 4.3, sensitivity 86DB. Also I understand MC275 even in stereo mode can go till around 0.33 ohm impedance
2. Does use of 2 MC275 in parallel Monoblock will give necessary high current to drive the impedance drop of the speakers

Regards,
Sourav
128x128souravhifi
Sourav the MC275 should do fine with Audience 72. My current speakers- Helicon 300s -are rated 4 ohm and a single MC275 delivered great bass and midrange with lush sound. For me it was a good match with the right cables in a small listening room. And cables do make a huge difference as I learned during my evaluation of power amps. One cable may do nothing with another will provide better midrange or refined bass.

My music tends to be instrumental like jazz fusion or more recently electronic with percussion layered. I do listen to vocals but not as frequently as the spouse unit does.

As a bridged mono the MC275 delivers 150 watts into 2 or 4 ohm loads. If you want a bit more power research new production Genalex Gold LIon KT88s. I'm very satisfied with two MC275s run in mono. With two MC275s bridged you get increased bass and midrange with dynamic punch. The midrange and details really come alive. Notes are crisp and tend to decay a bit longer.
Hi Lapierre,

Thanks for the response. Your inputs very helpful. I was always wondering whether buying 2 275 for my room size would be overkill or not.

Regards,
Sourav
IMO ,I would sell your speakers,keep the backline and forget the Mac 275(especially 2 of them,lol).Moving up the Dynaudio line would be a far superior move.
Hi Missioncoonery,

I wud like to know why do u think moving to Dynaudio line up will benefit the situation. R they easier to drive speakers at higher ups ? I wud appreciate recommendation on certain models.

Regards,
Sourav
On the used market (1) MC275 will cost you 3-$3500.I think you can find a pair of Dynaudio C1 MKI for a tad under 4 grand,maybe 3500 from private party as the new models are out.The speakers you have are more entry level,now matter what you throw at them they will only do what they can do.Adding the C1s with your present gear will out perform the 72s with a 275 amp,IMO.
Thanks for the inputs Missioncoonery.

Unfortunately I don't have many dealers here with Dynaudio C1 MK2. I get Dynaudio Focus series or Dynaudio Contour S3.4. Since I'm not very used to used market I dud like to stay with first hand ones.

However, my understanding is other Dynaudio speakers (higher ups in the line) are even more difficult to drive. Especially people stated that even for my Naim 150px. Instead other people recommended me to upgrade Naim 150px and 122x to Naim 250.2 and Naim 282 respectively. So I'm further confused.

By the way do you have any experience/opinion of Sonus Fabre with Naim. I get here all Sonos Fabre speakers - Liuto is around 5K