Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M80V2 and Tube Amps.........

I agree with 2x6 completely and would add that the biggest difference I hear when switching back and forth is usually in percussion instruments.

John, that McIntosh MC275 tube amp is really nice.

Hey Rick, the McIntosh MC275 is one of the all time great classic amps judging by the length of time its been in production. Its a great amp to use with the M80s especially when listening to strings or female vocals. I prefer it with Classical music or jazz. Its bass reproduction is pretty good for a tube amp because of its high input impedance but still not as good as most SS amps.

The big downside of tube gear is maintenance. Failing or noisey tubes can be a PITA. I've found that Telefunken tubes sound best in the Macs and are more reliable.

John I listened to that amp along with some McIntosh speakers and I have never heard BB King sound so good, the $7,500 price tag for the system was *the* only thing holding me back.

The MC275 is built like a tank that lasts forever. New ones are too pricey. I've seen used MC275s change hands for around $2500 on audiogon. A similar sounding tube amp is the more powerful MC2102 which uses much of the same design as the MC275 and comes with those great blue metres.

The Mac speakers are OK but way overpriced IMO. For price/performance the Axioms are much better performers. I'd bet dollars to donuts BB King plays Lucille better with the MC275 driving the M80s.

Oh I would imagine that would be a nice combination indeedy, I think I saw a used MC275 for $3,600 a while back, what do they run brand new?

Around $4500 new and half that used. There are a few available asking $2350 on audiogon.

"Telefunken" is still one of the greatest words ever.

The M80's are already pre-wired for biamping, right?

Couldn't a person drive the woofers with a SS amp and the rest of the network with a pretty modestly-powered tube amp and get what they're after?

That would be an interesting thing to try.

Tom, if you're thinking that the bass frequencies necessarily use the most power, that isn't the case; frequency isn't a factor in power requirements. It's simply a question of sound level, and although a bass passage may often be the loudest, this isn't necessarily the case and recordings differ in the distribution of maximum sound levels between frequency ranges. For a simple example, consider that a big double bass playing its lowest 41Hz note at a 70dB loudness level requires a tenth of the power to reproduce it that a little violin playing a 410Hz note at 80dB would need.