This was my very simple, straightforward two-channel audio system, consisting of vintage components such as my McIntosh amplifier and Klipsch Heritage Series loudspeakers, and newer components such as the AMC and Monster Power units. Overall sonic characteristics of this system was extremely smooth, solid, and transparent, with lots of clean bass (not too deep, but tight and accurate with no boom). The attention was in the details, of which the AMC CD player was capable of bringing out of the music. Clean AC power was distributed throughout my system with the Monster Power, the Cardas interconnects transfered the signal in the best possible way, and the Orbeck speaker cables reduced the overall harshness associated with horns. All this quality and performance, along with a rich heritage and total reliability, made up a system that was thoroughly enjoyable and musical, all this without spending a large fortune! I was totally satisfied...until the upgrade bug bit me and I switched to valves...See my latest system!
Vintage 1973 solid-state stereo amplifier with patented McIntosh Audio Autoformers and Sentry Monitor, conservatively rated at 50 watts per channel stereo, 100 watts mono. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz (+0 -0.25dB). Total harmonic distortion: 0.25%. Noise and hum: -90dB. Output impedance: 4, 8, and 16 ohms (2, 4, and 8 ohms mono). Damping factor: 10. Input impedance: 200k. Input sensitivity: 0.5v.
Klipsch Cornwall Loudspeakers
Classic Heritage Series horn loaded 3-way loudspeaker system from 1979. Frequency response: 38Hz-20kHz±5dB. Sensitivity: 98.5dB @ 1watt/1meter. Power handling: 105 watts maximum continuous (1000 watts peak). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Enclosure: Bass reflex via front-mounted port. Driver components: 3-way system using one 1" phenolic diaphragm compression driver tweeter with a 90°x40° Exponential horn, one 2" phenolic diaphragm compression driver midrange with a 90°x40° Exponential horn and one 15" fiber-composite cone woofer. HF crossover: 6000Hz. MF crossover: 600Hz.
AMC CD8b Compact Disc Player
Single disc transport player with Burr Brown 24-bit/96kHz DAC and 8X over-sampling digital filter, with 4 isolation dampening cones from Acoustic Research.
Monster Power HTS 5000 Reference PowerCenter
A 12 outlet line conditioner/surge protector with switchable outlet programming and advanced isolation/digital filters.
Cardas QuadLink 5-C Interconnects
A Cardas patented Golden Ratio, Constant Q design, these cross-field, pure Litz copper audio interconnects are very neutral and detailed, a perfect design for budget-minded audiophiles. 1 meter pair.
Orbeck Stratti Speaker Cables
A standard 8 connector 11 AWG copper cable at 10' a pair, unterminated.
This was my favorite SS system before purchasing my latest 300B SET. And yes, it's a very small room at 12x13.5x8. I've owned my dad's '79 Cornwalls for many years now and simply love their "in-your-face" horn sonics! Unfortunantly, the Klipsch could sound quite harsh at higher levels in this tiny room...the Cornwalls are extremely large loudspeakers; too large for such a small room that they couldn't perform to the best of their abilities!
Since I no longer own the classic MC250 (nor the MC2100 or the MC7200, all fantastic SS Mac amps I've had, nor can I afford an MC225 or MC240), I'm forced due to budget constraints to keep my 8 WPC 300B SE amp (okay by me). I needed an inexpensive full-range tower (no money yet for a sub) that is efficient enough to be driven at higher levels I like with my SET. The Athena AS-F2 floorstanders are less than $599 a pair with a sensitivity rating of 93dB @ 1W/1M; they're not horns, not by a long shot, but they're pretty damn smooth in my room for cones and domes!
This is a nice system - a suppose it is a studio or small room setup. Klipsch are terrific speakers and I am a Mac fan. Have you tried a 240 in this setup?
The MC250 is one of the warmest sounding SS amps I've ever heard, mainly due to their McIntosh patented Autoformers. It's the closest to sounding like a tube amplifier IMO. The detail and dynamics from only 50 WPC is striking! Yes, the two knobs are the gain control knobs for each channel.
