Have 2 Macintosh 611 Monoblocks, 1 Macintosh 255 5 channel amp. Loveeeeeee them. Got them for my 60th Birthday. Should of got them sooner. Hooked up to my Antham AVM 70 and Tekton Encore mains and SVS Ultra surrounds. Also have 2 SVS Ultra 16 “ Subs. In heaven. My old ears love it. My best. Dan. Albuquerque.
I have the exact same amp set up. I was planning to Connect rear speakers to the MC 255 which now only uses a center channel because my mains are using the 611s. Do you know if the meter on the left and right side of the 255 Will respond if the rears are connected instead of the front means? Or do these meters only respond to front speakers? Great choice of amps.
John . . . world class work to evaluate systems !!! I do similar work for an automaker here in Detroit. Keep up the GREAT WORK ! By the way, can add perhaps another dimension to your studies. I have Yamaha RV 7.2 with Martin Logan speakers. I'm looking for a quality amp that gives 200WPC, but maintains Yamaha's natural sound. Can you share a few pointers of which amp makers I should consider ? Thanks again.
YeeHaww...was eagerly awaiting your discussion on McIntosh products. Pure artwork mated with fantastic hand built quality and sound. Our family loves those meters too. Thanks for the information on these amps Jon. You mentioned that tube amps aren't necessarily used for HT but we beg to differ!..:-))....We actually use a McIntosh 350 Watt MA12000 hybrid tube amp to power our two main Carver AL's (ribbon tweeters and three 12" woofers each) both for Home Theater use and Music listening. ...My world is complete now that you covered these....keep up the great work my friend.
JB - always too kind. I am glad I addressed McIntosh. I felt it necessary to cover the other brands first to better understand which elements set McIntosh apart from other brands. More to be addressed in a summary video coming next that is aimed at conveying the unique attributes and grouping models by features and price point. I agree that any amp can be used for home theater. It is not so common to use tubes for home theater as the power outputs are often lower. However, results can still be good if your speakers are well matched. I remember taking interest in Carver products at a young age - particularly their amplifiers but also the speakers. -Jon
@@ripewave I have a Conrad johnson gat that I use in bypass mode with home theater and the signal path through the preamp does great things to home theater sound for the main speakers
@@iampuzzleman282 I really like your approach to utilize a preamp with a bypass mode. I would like to have that in my system path some day. I bet it sounds nice. -Jon
I think it is possible to produce a great amplifier as class AB, D or H - or a bad amplifier of any class. Class D used to be avoided do to limitations but if you find a good one, you have the advantages of lighter weight and low heat. I would therefore say a well designed class D amplifier is ideal, but it is more common to find a well designed class AB or H amplifier. -Jon
Hey Jon, did you miss the MC257? That’s a similar unit to the 255, I think it’s 250W for three channels and 200W for the rest. I had an MC302 and absolutely loved that amp. I traded up to a Michi S5 and love the too.
It would be cool to see what they actually produce. The only one I can find tested is the MC462, it makes 720 W into 8 ohms via 8 ohm taps. I'd say the MC312 should make 500-550 W into 8 ohm. Anyone have this info?
Bob - I am glad you are enjoying the channel. The series I just completed was focused on amplifiers which are commonly used with home theater applications. In the future I am open to producing videos with other brands and models. The Sanders makes models which are well suited to electrostatic speakers. It is nice they are addressing that need. Right now I am catching up on new releases of AVRs and Processors - Fall is a busy time for that market. Thanks for the suggestion. -Jon
I own a Macintosh, mc205 which is the previous version of the 255. all McIntosh amps are in fact, balanced there are two models that use quad balancing, which use four driver units per channel as opposed to two driver units per channel in the more common fully balanced configuration.😂
If the amp has multi-ohm taps it has the autoformers. Not sure why 462 got handles yet the 312, just 10 pounds lighter, didn't. The 312 is 150 less watts, isn't quad balanced yet costs only 2K less? Quad-Balance is (supposedly) the sole reason the MC611 mono has so much better bass and dynamics over than the MC601 it replaced. Putting aside prestige/appearance/build quality, sound-wise Mac amps today have 2 big things going for them vs the competition: the distinct legendary sound of their tube gear and the SOTA neutrality of their Quad-Balanced circuitry. The 312 seems like an oversight, unless it's intended to be a throwback to their 90s solid-state warmth (which I love). IMHO the MC600/500/300/352 era amps were (almost) like a Pass but with better bass/less heat.
Thanks for sharing such knowledgeable insight to the McIntosh range. Your points are fascinating and are at a level I don’t posses. So much appreciated.-Jon
I have 2018 on the slides for the MC462 release date. Albeit, the release dates on McIntosh were a bit hard to find and I could be off in some cases. Using the best data I could find.-Jon
