Find of the week!

[shaansloan]

Well....I have been wondering what kind of a nice vintage amp I need to run my all original Altec Carmels.....I've been looking around and reading but not really understanding which way to go....too much to learn and these puppies are real expensive....

So God gave me a little help

.....look what I bought today for $5....yes, you read that right....
$5.00 dollars for the set of (3) components.....

McIntosh MC240
McIntosh C22 Stereo Preamp
McIntosh MR71 Stereo FM Tuner

I have yet to find a single scratch or blemish on each peice....!

I need a little help....I know very little about this gear ....its not going anywhere but into my living room to run my Carmels....but I havent powered them up yet and want to make sure I dont damage them....is there anything I need to do or watch out for on these? Please help me...

Shaan

[shaansloan]

Here is what they look like....

[brutal]

I'm not a Mac guy, but considering what you have in them, I would bring them straight to the best Mac tech you can find before powering them up at all.

[Doc Mark]

Hey, Shaan,

Outstanding find, Sir!!! Well done! And, yes, God is good!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

[toddalin]

Power them up though a cheap set of speakers and find out if they work right. You'll know when you hear them.

[Chas]

Maybe there is a God, after all. If I were you, assuming you haven't a clue as to the history of these gems, bring them up slowly, one at a time, with a variac. Get a copy of the schematics and voltage charts and make sure things are kosher as you slowly increase the line supply voltage.

A very nice assortment of history, you have there. Congratulations.

[bigyank]

Wow, truly stunning gear, let alone the price!

http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/

Terry DeWick, from what I have read on other forums, is the man for you to contact for things McIntosh. I have no personal experience as I own no Mcintosh gear but check on him before you go elsewhere.

Yank

[mike]

Great find. Those would be an excellent match for 60's Altecs. More than likely they still work. The tuner probably will need aligned but the amp and preamp will probably come to life and play music. That said a lot of guys like to have them gone over and have the filter capacitors replaced at the very least to insure safe operation. On the other hand a lot of guys like to keep them original and use them carefully with the original parts.
Mike

[Mr. Widget]

.....look what I bought today for $5....yes, you read that right....
$5.00 dollars for the set of (3) components.....

McIntosh MC240
McIntosh C22 Stereo Preamp
McIntosh MR71 Stereo FM Tuner

Wow! Anyway you look at it you made out like a bandit!

Sonically they aren't my thing, but they are very pretty and really nice for a vintage system. Many people do like the way they sound and they are extremely popular with collectors. I have had the C22 and MC240. I recently sold a 240 that was not as nice looking as yours, but I had put all new and NOS tubes in it. I got $2100 for it. Based on what I've seen the nicer examples of Mac tube gear have gone up a fair amount in the last year or two. It might be due to the dollar. My last MC240 went abroad.

I'd keep them awhile and enjoy them... they will very likely only go up in value. Congratulations on quite the find.


Widget

[doodlebug]

Power them up though a cheap set of speakers and find out if they work right. You'll know when you hear them.

I do not recommend this approach. Depending on how long these units have been sitting, they're up for some refreshing _before_ applying high voltage to the tubes.

I consider this a safety/fire risk not just a sonic quality issue.

There are plenty of discussions on how to bring up old units like this. Here's a pretty good one to start with.

I admit to being quite fond of Mac gear. I've rebuild most all of the 60s vintage Mac tube power amps plus some of the tube preamps like the MX-110. They will all sing for many more years if they're treated well and rebuilt with new same-value caps in the power supply and interstage coupling positions.

What a great find, too. Congratulations!

Cheers,

David

[grumpy]

Very nice pieces. Someone was very fortunate... someone else was very
unfortunate.