Enviable Audio Dilemma

[giordana93]

Seeking advice from the all-knowing brain trust.
I don't know how to make long stories short, but will try: Always had music in my life, but usually lower end decent stuff (80s Infinity bookshelfs+mini-separates @20 honest watts/vintage Yamaha receiver), but before I left Cleveland in 2009 I had been searching estates for a find and stumbled on one shortly before heading back to New Orleans area where I am now. And what a find it was: all top-end McIntosh of circa 1982--MC2255 amp C33pre-amp, a crazy speaker relay/power cord and the 2 part speakers (fat woofer and midrange in 1 cabinet, 18 tweeter column array) that are too big for smallish house/partner not into hifi that is big and "ugly".

Luckily the preamp had its own 20wpc monitor that sounded better than anything I had ever heard and I got to use it a few times over the years, but the sheer mass of the amp and lack of speakers that remotely needed its 250wpc meant it, and eventually the preamp and speakers, sat unused for a decade. Empty nest now allows deployment but omg just getting the monster up the stairs told me it is time to sell or trade. None of them have seen a soldering iron, so I am counting on "untouched, ready for your restoration choices," along with the synergy of the system to help resale value--and for better or worse requiring that the speakers (whose woofers/mids need surrounds) be part of the sale. I have no intention of putting the amp in a shipping container and just want rid of the stuff in preparation of phase2 of retirement--getting the hell out of Louisiana, where no one in the family really set down roots in the Cleveland-New Orleans move. that's another story.

So the questions in all this:
1. recommended places for sell/trade. I know of Audiogon, I would love to trade a collector for something that fills my needs of amp/pre-amp/DAC/speakers (have never owned a subwoofer) for mostly 2.1 audio in a/b or multizone, etc. Or cash sale. I know it will be tough requiring local pick up and include the speakers, but think it will be worth waiting for someone to take the "system synergy" thing seriously. This particular amp is super collectible and the pre is no slouch.

2. why not start another "please spend my money on audio gear" thread?
seriously, we went Sonos 20 years ago so have been streaming (mp3-quality) for a while. I want my soundstage back. Speaking of which, I did fire the Mac amp/pre and it turned what I considered to be fairly mediocre 90s Acoustic Research (HO 208) into angels with depth. I had never heard anything like it listening to my local NPR station's classical channel (now only on HD channel2, gone from public air). HO-LY crap. 2 weeks earlier I had sampled a pair of Sennheiser 'phones my son had gotten for gaming--AMZ effed up order and sent a nicer pair--anyway, listening to Tidal, even through Bluetooth, I heard sounds that had never existed in previous listening sessions (1000's). I still wasn't quite ready for what that MC2255 poured out at about 20-25% output. I would need hearing protection above that, but for the first time I experienced soundstage and dynamic range. full stop. now I need something I can move in a couple years, and not take the full bed of a 90s hatchback!..... so starting from scratch: where do you start?

[rec head]

Where do you start? You start with posting pics!

[giordana93]

I thought that might be borderline sollicitation but will do. It is drop dead gorgeous to me. Clearly eye of the beholder, though

[giordana93]

IMG-1574.jpgIMG-1575.jpgIMG-1576.jpgIMG-1578.jpgIMG-1577.jpgIMG-1581.jpg

[rec head]

If you were a bit more local to Chicago I'd like to talk. I just made a system for a "I don't want a sound system" type.

[Peter Polack]

So the questions in all this:
1. recommended places for sell/trade....

1. Contact McIntosh direct for suggestions, or look for a McIntosh web forum or Facebook page. I'm a member of another audio group that has a "Garage Sale" sub forum. Word gets spread and items get sold. Aficionados are willing to travel considerable distances for desirable components.

2. why not start another "please spend my money on audio gear" thread?...

2. You live with a simple, movable system until AFTER you've left Louisiana and settled elsewhere. No need to worry about filling the bed of your truck. Once you've reestablished yourself, then buy new.

Or put the McIntosh system into the storage of a kind friend or relative until you find your new home.

[giordana93]

that stuff is gorgeous. I was always a tinkerer with electronics; grandad was an electrician and I definitely have an affinity for that kind of stuff. Enough to be tempted to do some diy stuff, although not going to try my hand on vintage McIntosh as a learning project. Wouldn't quite say I fall into the "don't want a sound system" type; more like, it is time to get this stuff serviced and re-capped, etc, and there is literally not a single authorized service location in the 250 mile search radius from my house, which in itself is kinda crazy. And the amp lists at 82 lbs; if it weren't for the very valuable glass faceplate I might be more inclined to move it around but that, and the big speakers, have me in the mood to explore options.

[darkmother]

Wow, that is really some cool equipment you have there. Who makes the drivers in the studio monitors?

I can understand your desire to downsize though. I used to enjoy building my own speakers, and I ended up with some very large heavy and imposing creations that held my living room hostage. It was a bit of a relief when someone local to me took them off my hands.

[davids]

What sources do you want (streaming, CD, vinyl, radio, etc.)?

How much do you want to spend?

[giordana93]

What sources do you want (streaming, CD, vinyl, radio, etc.)?

How much do you want to spend?

I own a tuner, CD player (old Yamaha DVD), and turntable (very average 80s Technics), all of which have been idle like the McIntosh for the last decade. Instead, I have been relying on the analog output of Sonos (S1/gen 1). Not impossible that I re-kindle using the tuner/cd/vinyl now that they are plugged back in, but I am leaning to streaming at a higher bitrate and possible DAC going forward.

As for budget, it will depend first and mainly on selling/trading the Mac gear, but I guess 2.5-5k would be ballpark to start, mainly devoted to amp/pre-amp, speakers, and DAC/means of digital delivery. I/We live comfortably, but more from living within means than deep pockets (i.e. no fleet of bikes, 10+year old car, etc)

[davids]

I own a tuner, CD player (old Yamaha DVD), and turntable (very average 80s Technics), all of which have been idle like the McIntosh for the last decade. Instead, I have been relying on the analog output of Sonos (S1/gen 1). Not impossible that I re-kindle using the tuner/cd/vinyl now that they are plugged back in, but I am leaning to streaming at a higher bitrate and possible DAC going forward.

As for budget, it will depend first and mainly on selling/trading the Mac gear, but I guess 2.5-5k would be ballpark to start, mainly devoted to amp/pre-amp, speakers, and DAC/means of digital delivery. I/We live comfortably, but more from living within means than deep pockets (i.e. no fleet of bikes, 10+year old car, etc)

$2500 - $5k is a big range, but affords lots of options.

If you want to preserve the option of hooking up the CD player, tuner and turntable you're going to need features and flexibility. There's great integrated amp options. The Musical Fidelty M3si looks good but I'd probably go for the Schiit Ragnarok for $1700, fully loaded. I've got their Aegir power amp and it's shockingly good for $800. If the Ragnarok's sound is in the ballpark it'll be tremendous. Hey, if you decide to ditch the CD player, tuner and turntable you should still consider the Ragnarok, without the 'extras'. But you should buy the Aegir and the $50 SYS volume control, and spend your "savings" on speakers!

On the less-expensive end, the $600 Bluesound Node is the go-to recommendation for streaming, and it's both a streamer and DAC. However... If you want to integrate with your existing Sonos system you'll need their Port streamer. (I've owned their Connect for seven years and it allows me to use the Sonos app to stream to my stereo in addition to my various Sonos Ones.) The Port doesn't have a great DAC so you're going to want a better one. I read that the DAC in the Rangarok is decent, but I'm sure there's even better out there. For, y'know, more money!

I haven't heard any of the best-reviewed $1k-ish speakers. From my reading I'd suggest you seek out the Elac Carina BS243.4, Polk L100, Polk R200, and the Sonus faber Lumina I. What I'd really suggest is that you find a good full-service audio shop where you can audition speakers and all this other equipment. I recently bought speakers for the first time since 1990 and was pleased to find - after some initial frustration - a really great full-service store an hour away (just over the NH border!) They lent me speakers for a home audition which was an essential step for me. I bought 'em.

Oh, one more thing: Subscribe to a lossless streaming service. Tidal, Apple Music. It's CD quality and, with hundreds of thousands of records, all you really need.

Good luck!

[giordana93]

Oh, one more thing: Subscribe to a lossless streaming service. Tidal, Apple Music. It's CD quality and, with hundreds of thousands of records, all you really need.

Good luck!

I got Tidal not long ago, but need a better streaming device; currently relying on Sonos and I am pretty sure the S1 legacy stuff is limited for the bit rate. Does not seem CD quality.

thanks for the other suggestions

[rwsaunders]

Lots of like-minded audio nerds on this site…

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php

[giordana93]

so I am keeping this one going by asking those of you who have local music streamers to describe your setup. stand alone or pc, dac, etc. I'm curious if the digital out available on Sonos players might work (I have gen 1 that had this; no hdmi though)

[9tubes]

I use Apple Music (lossless) through a NAD 758v3 to my Sonus Fabers. The Dirac software used by NAD (and others) was a revelation. I've never heard anything make so much of a difference in audio amp electronics.

[rec head]

so I am keeping this one going by asking those of you who have local music streamers to describe your setup. stand alone or pc, dac, etc. I'm curious if the digital out available on Sonos players might work (I have gen 1 that had this; no hdmi though)

Do you have local music like ripped CDs that you will want to stream too? For that I have only found the PC to be decent for managing my collection. But depending on the setup you can use a PC to manage and many other types of devices to access it. I never use the PC to stream from an app.

I heard that Sonos bricked a lot of their older units but if the digital out on yours works it should be fine. Personally I think that if a streamer isn't a garbage hardware implementation and you are using a different DAC anyway then then biggest thing is the software interface. Using a clunky interface to get to the music really ruins it for me.

My main music setup is also used for (gasp) home theater.
Sources: HTPC, Arylic streaming box (I'm not crazy about), Nvidia Shield for Chromecast.
Processor: Monoprice HTP-1.
Amp: Buckeye Audio (Ncore 502 based)
Speakers: DIY from a kit. Subs DIY. Total speaker count is 15 including the 2 subs but I really like listening to stereo in stereo and this is the best setup I have ever had.
Room treatments: DIY absorbers. Treatments and setup probably make the biggest difference in how anything sounds. My listening area is definitely not DEAD sounding but it just feels nice and quiet.

I either use Jriver Media center to play my ripped CDs and movies or Pandora. Pandora isn't high res but their algorithm is the only one I like to play things I want to hear and discover new things.

In general avoid HDMI if possible. For audio it is overkill unless you are listening to hi res and/or multi channel. The nonsense that often comes with HDMI is not worth the hassle.

I agree with 9tubes and use

[davids]

so I am keeping this one going by asking those of you who have local music streamers to describe your setup. stand alone or pc, dac, etc. I'm curious if the digital out available on Sonos players might work (I have gen 1 that had this; no hdmi though)

I bought my Connect in late 2015 and have always used its digital out (a coax connection, I'm pretty sure!) to my ancient, lovely Enlightened Audio Design DSP-7000. By using this I've got a single Sonos interface for most of my home audio streaming. The other nodes are Sonos Ones. (And the DSP-7000 also converts the bits for my Blu-Ray player and Roku.)

I thought Sonos reversed their bricking decision. Am I wrong?

And I've thought about trying a higher-end streamer but since I'm just moving digits to a DAC it's a low priority. #9Tubes , are you using the NAD 758v3 as both the streamer and DAC?

[giordana93]

I bought my Connect in late 2015 and have always used its digital out (a coax connection, I'm pretty sure!) to my ancient, lovely Enlightened Audio Design DSP-7000. By using this I've got a single Sonos interface for most of my home audio streaming. The other nodes are Sonos Ones. (And the DSP-7000 also converts the bits for my Blu-Ray player and Roku.)

I thought Sonos reversed their bricking decision. Am I wrong?

And I've thought about trying a higher-end streamer but since I'm just moving digits to a DAC it's a low priority. #9Tubes , are you using the NAD 758v3 as both the streamer and DAC?

they definitely reversed bricking decision, thank goodness. I have never used the digital out, but thinking I may try that. Funny thing is how much I am enjoying the Mac gear now that it has been deployed, even with the analog feed from Sonos.

It is too bad that the Mcintosh speakers have not held value like the electronics; I am afraid that will drag the sale of the complete kit down so much that it will not be worth it. The flip side is that it allows me to stop worrying about messing up the repair of the driver surrounds myself or even preserving the rather lovely but oh so dated dark walnut finish. I am keenly interested in diy speakers and even fiddling with electronics side. Built my son's pc and as part of this empty nesting/clean up/prepare for a move away from the 'burbs, am evaluating old computers (Powerbook from the 80s anyone?) with idea of possibly turning one into a media server. Playing with linux on a 2012 HP laptop and possibly the 2008 iMac

[giordana93]

using these pretty pics as excuse to bump this one to the top... I was curious about the amp in this. care to share anything about parts & configuration?
would also be interested in keeping discussion of modern separates or integrated amp/pre-amps going. Anyone have good experience with class D ? I am definitely intrigued by the stuff by Schiit; amps seem to be class A.... anyway

If you were a bit more local to Chicago I'd like to talk. I just made a system for a "I don't want a sound system" type.

[rec head]

This is the amp https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton...434?quantity=1

I'm OK with soldering and mechanically doing electronics things but any further than that and I'm looking for help. I used the recommended power supply. It has adjustable voltage and I turned it to the lowest setting to help limit the overall output from the amp because it gets really loud at 9 o'clock on the dial. Both sets of these speakers/amps combos that I did are for streaming sources and we mostly use bluetooth. Everyone that has heard them has loved them. So while not an "audiophile" amp they are very nice.

I listed my main gear above and I'm using a lot of class D amps. My stereo listening and home theater are the same gear and with a 15 channel setup the size of class D amps was part of the consideration.

My hearing is bad enough that I'm not perfectionist. I'm a fairly good listener in the frequencies I can hear but sadly they don't go very high. I did that listening test that NPR did a few years ago and scored pretty high by noting the detail in the bass. Hah!I just looked it up and it was more than a few years. Damn I'm old. https://www.npr.org/sections/thereco...-audio-quality