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using two Mcintosh MC2102 in mono parallel mode

Hello,

I'm considering getting another MC2102 amp and running them in the parallel mono mode; my speakers have quite a low impedance (0.7 ohms above 6KHz). Does anyone have experience with this setup, or with another Mcintosh tube amp set up that way?

Here are some of the things I'm concerned about:

Will it work well if one amp is 4ys old and one is new?
Do the tubes on the two units need to be matched?
Does the amp input impedance change?
Does the amp sensitivity change?

Thanks for any advice on this,
-steverw
steverw
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe
693 posts
 
now you've peaked my interest in this,what did mac say about running 2 of them in paralell & will it help any issues with the low impendance?
steverw OP
30 posts
 
Hello Bigjoe,

When I talked to Mcintosh Labs Tech Support, they said that using mono parallel would be the right way to go. The MC2102 has two mono modes: parallel and bridged. As I understand it (might not be technically correct), in parallel mode the left and right amplifier circuits are used in parallel and can supply more current, while in bridged mode the L&R circuits are stacked somehow and can supply more voltage. Parallel mode is recommended for driving low impedances, bridged for low-sensitivity speakers.

At least, this is how I understood it.

Regards,
-steverw
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe
693 posts
 
thank's steve,i ran my mc2102 in bridged mono but i never had a reason to run it in paralell,good info to know though.

mike
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