McIntosh MC2102 User Manual download pdf (Page 4)

LAB REPORT

Readers interested in a full

technical appraisal of the

performance of the McIntosh

MC2102 Power Amplifier

should continue on and read

the ‘LABORATORY REPORT’

published on the following

pages. All readers should note

that the results mentioned in

the report, tabulated in per-

formance charts and/or dis-

played using graphs and/or

photographs should be con-

strued as applying only to the

specific sample tested.

AUSTRALIANHI-FI

lar transformer tap you choose to

drive them. I guess the problem for

McIntosh is that it’s been fitting

them for so long that they’ve

become almost a trademark for the

company, so that a McIntosh

wouldn’t be a McIntosh without

those ol’ Blue Eyes!

Having owned a few valve

products in the past (Williamson,

Quad, Audio Research and, most

famously in my youth, two Lenard

valved musical instrument amps

wired as a high-power stereo!) and

had a McIntosh on long-term loan,

I was looking forward with intense

anticipation to hearing this new

McIntosh, so much so that I didn’t

burn it in for my usual length of

time because I literally couldn’t

contain myself, so keen was I to

hear real music. When I did, I

entered seventh heaven, because

not only did this new McIntosh

have the exact same classic

McIntosh sound I remembered

from years ago, it also had that

magical ‘valve’ sound!

What is the magical valve sound?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen it put

into words in a way that made it

understandable, so I’m reduced to

saying that for me (and for whatever

reason), music seems to sound more

relaxed and easy to listen to than the

same music through a solid-state

amp. The bottom line, I guess, is

that it’s more enjoyable. The music

acquires a special warmth and

depth—more so from LP than from

CD, it must be said, but it also gives

CD sound a lustrous ambience that

eludes the solid-state brigade—even

those using supposedly ‘valve-like’

devices, such as MOS-FETs. The jury

is out on why valve amps sound so

good. Some say it’s the inherent dis-

tortion, some say it’s the microphon-

ics, some even claim it’s all an audi-

tory illusion (can’t believe this last!).

All I can say it that if it sounds this

good, who cares?

However, the best is probably

yet to come because I also have to

tell you that the McIntosh MC2102

did not exhibit most of the limita-

tions that most people claim affect

valve amplifiers. For example,

some say valve amplifiers sound

‘soft’ because their frequency

response rolls off early. There was

absolutely no evidence of this with

the MC2102, because the treble

sound was smooth and extended to

well beyond audibility, and that

was even when playing DVD-A

and SACDs using extended-band-

width speakers. As for microphon-

ics, I couldn’t induce any micro-

phonic effects, even when I placed

the amplifier directly in front of the

speakers and turned up the volume

to ear-shatteringly loud levels. And

when I say ‘ear-shatteringly’ loud, I

suspect I’ve telegraphed the fact

that the McIntosh doesn’t have any

power limitations either! The vol-

ume just seems to go up and up …

and up. In the end, I hooked up my

most inefficient speakers, donned

some hearing protection (30dB

attenuation) and deliberately over-

drove the MC2102. The sound did-

n’t become rough; it didn’t even

begin to sound strained—it just got

louder and louder. Eventually I

stopped only because I feared for

my loudspeakers.

I can’t conclude this review

without a short comment on valve

life, because the modern generation

of electrical engineers, many of

whom have probably never seen a

valve in their life, always seem to

overstate their fragility and under-

state their service life. You can get

the best idea of the robustness of

valves when you realise that most

guitar amps still use valves, and if

you’ve seen roadies loading and

unloading band equipment, you’ll

know they get some pretty (very!)

rough handling. Since the valves in

a guitar amp can withstand being

loaded and unloaded three or four

nights a week, every week, for

many years, the valves in a hi-fi

amp are obviously living the life of

Riley, by comparison. As for

longevity, think along the lines of

not hundreds of hours, or even

tens of hundreds of hours, but

upwards of eleven thousand hours.

That’s five hours a night, every

night, for more than five years,

after which you just replace the

valves yourself in a few minutes if

it’s necessary (and it may not be—

valves have been known to last

much, much longer. I once inherit-

ed some valves—still working—

from an amp my father-in-law had

built in the 50s, and used them for

nearly ten years!)

Conclusion

When pondering how to sum up

my feelings about this McIntosh, it

occurred to me that there are some

readers who will imagine that ask-

ing a valve amplifier buff whether

he likes the MC2102 is a bit like

asking a woman whether she’d

fancy a Cartier necklace, or a per-

formance car freak whether he’d

like a Ferrari, at which point I sud-

denly realised that all three pur-

chases have something in com-

mon—and I’m not talking about

the obvious! With all three, you’re

buying a slice of history; something

that will endure. The MC2102 is

valuable, in the true sense of the

word. It will be handed down to

your children, and your children’s

children. More important (at least

for you) is that every time you

switch it off after an evening of

musical pleasure you’ll know you

made the right decision!

Andy Brown

McINTOSH MC2102 TUBE POWER AMPLIFIER

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