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angel mercado
05-26-2005, 09:00 PM
Hola friendsI have to pick your brains this is what i have a mcintosh 2105 and a mcintosh c-26 running my a-7. but im thinking about getting some dynaco mk 3 mono blocks and a mcintosh mx 110 let me know pros and cons i listen to jazz classical and older rock thank you

Mr. Widget
05-26-2005, 09:15 PM
I would suppose this should be an Off Topic post, but WTH... I've owned a couple of MX110s... they are nice and warm sounding, perhaps a little less that spectacular in detail, but will most likely tame the A-7s a bit better than the C26. I've owned the MC2100, which I would assume is similar in sound quality to the MC2105... I didn't like it much. The Mk3s might be better???

One thing about these vintage tube jobs. Expect to baby them a bit. They will need some cap replacements, perhaps a few new tubes and most likely need attention periodically as parts age and need to be replaced.

Widget

doodlebug
05-26-2005, 11:18 PM
I've got 2 MX-110s both of which I have swapped out the components that get old with time. These are, in order of preference to swap:

* Power supply filter caps. You'll also need to swap out the 4 selenium recitifiers that make up the full wave rectifier that drives them. While you're in there, check the high-current resistors as some of them may have drifted in value.

* Next, I'd recommend that you change out the interstage coupling caps in the preamp section. That's about 7 or 8 per channel.

Once this has been done, the MX-110 will perform up there with the best tube preamps on the market today.

If you're well-heeled, you can ship it off to Audio Classics in Vestal, NY where one of the Mac engineers will do all of this plus completely align and fix any gremlins in the FM, too.

I did the work myself and did listening tests at each stage of cap swapouts. I can assure you that the authority, bass slam, sound staging and imaging is *excellent* when they've been fully restored to their original condition.

On the Dynas, there are similar rebuild kits for these amps as well. In general, any old tube amp/preamp will need similar attention. Once that is done, they will operate reliably. The only difference is that they will generate more heat.

Cheers,

David

angel mercado
05-27-2005, 05:55 AM
Well i dont to spend alot of money and i already have the macs ill guess il keep those then oh and sorry for posting in the wrong topic anyway you all have a save memorial day

John W
05-27-2005, 07:33 AM
I have a pair of Dynaco MKIII amps that have been rebuilt with a differential front-end from the schematic found here: http://www.vacuumstate.com/schematics/pp-1c_s.gif (http://www.vacuumstate.com/schematics/pp-1c_s.gif) and kt-88 drivers.

They are great amps, the transformers are super with a lot of low end and good twinkling highs. They do have their issues, though. The MKIII has a turn on voltage that exceeds the ratings on the caps in the first section, so if you have one with original cans, they will probably need replaced. It’s a good idea to add 600v caps ahead of the choke.

Also, the kt-88s put off a lot of heat. I am always afraid to let them run too long, After 45 minutes or so it smells like paint is burning off the cages.

Because of this, and the lower noise floor, I find myself listening to my solid state mosfet amps most of the time.