Not sure if your still in the market but here's my 2 cents. I bought a used c2200 and used 275x vi both for $6800. They are beautiful pieces of equipment. My dealer had a nice demo room and I brought my speakers in and I felt they were an upgrade from my system at the time. But 2 years later I always felt slightly unsatisfied and I tried rolling the tubes and changing cables. I finally sold them both. They sold instantly and I made $2000 more than what I paid for(yes amazing). So yes the resale is insane good value. I've read alot of comments/suggestions to get the older 275x power amp, as the vi gen just didn't have the same sound, maybe this is why I was never totally happy. What I did end up with is a tube preamp by Supratek in Australia. I see someone refer Don's Sachs amp too and from what I know these two are often closely compared. What I can say is the Supratek (Cortese) several levels above the McIntosh preamp. It's not even close. Its bests it in nearly every category you listen for when critically listening. Most important the music is alive and moves you whereas with my McIntosh i felt as nice as it was at times i never felt moved. One thing is I also use active speakers by ATC so the poweramp is built into the speakers so I didn't have to find a seperate power amp. I swapped the tubes in the Supratek pre to NOS which make a massive difference. If McIntosh is something you are really set on getting I think it's a safe bet bcs of their great resale value, and I would try to find an older gen 3 or 4 275x I think people are starting to catch on about the gen vi. But I can't recommend a Supratek amp enough, look up the write ups online about the amps which are hand built by Mike Maloney and his LCR phono is magic if your into vinyl. The sound in his amps have gotten some of the highest praise in the audio industry internationally. Its a true point to point wired amp, there is some criticism of his older models being a bit of a spaghetti factory on the inside but this can be common with some earlier point to point wiring and since then i think hes made a catious effort to make it a little more organized. The only downside is you won't be able to demo as he does not go thru a dealer but if he did they'd go for many more $. It's absolutely an end system for me and I've lost all interest in searching for anything else. And trust me I'm never satisfied with anything and I'm brutally honest with myself if I'm not 100% happy I have no problems pulling the plug and going another direction even if I take a small loss. But now I just enjoy the music and love the hobby and appreciate reading otherws experience or sharing my experience. My last piece of advice, good audio system with reputable names sell, so you can try many different options if you are a smart shopper without losing your tail off. Best of luck on your journey.
Mcintosh MC275 alternatives?
Hello All, I'm considering this unit, not being too familiar with the current crop of tube amps in market at the moment, can anybody recommend alternatives I should be looking at?
Criteria as follows
-North American / European / Japanese made,
-50 watts minimum
-el34 or kt 88
- ...
- 18 posts total
- 18 posts total