3500 Lottery Came In
 

After tossing my hat in the ring last January, my number came up last week. Meanwhile, the transformer replacement for one of my MC-75's was who knows how far away.

The folks at Audio Classics however had a single Gold Anniversary 75. Using my other 75 we had an A/B comparison. A really fair deal was worked on the 75's as an as is trade along with the 275. It's done.

Charles, I understand what you meant by the breath of the vocals.

Cheers!

John

Congratulations John. Well done indeed. :thumbsup:

Big congrats!!!! Have a great weekend.

John, absolute congrats!. I believe the 3500 is the most powerful and finest tube power amplifier on the planet. In tube amps watts really do matter since the sonics do not deteriorate as the amp approaches clipping. But you never want any amp to clip as it may it may damage the amp or destroy a tube.

I know that with my XVX I need at least 500 continuous watts to feel comfortable. I think that you will discover a new vitality and resolution in your bass as you listen more. I know that very surprisingly the 3500's bass is superior to my 1.25KW's. The difference is not night and day but easy to hear nevertheless. Strangely, this difference also extends into the very low bass range below 25 Hz. I can't say enough about the operation of my 3500's. In years past I treated my MC275 just like ti was a solid state amp. I turned it on and off when I was through listening. I do the same for my 3500's. So far it has been rock solid. I attribute some of this to my AQ Niagara 5000 power conditioners and 20 amp lines direct to the fuse box, one per amp. Also two Dragon HC power cords per amp. I have zero hum at the XVX with the volume set at 100% with all sources. I have never tried this with my tuner. My system is dead quiet. I think with top quality amps the ancillaries are quite important.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. They are the last amps I will ever buy. Again congratulations!

Best

Charles

Me too! Hoping it will have a little fuller sound than my IPhone playing through a Peachtree Nova via an old usb cable.

Top box is an N-01XD streamer/DAC.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/pict...pictureid=5713

I wouldn't get my hopes up. :lmao:


Seriously though, you certainly hit this one out of the park. Congratulations.

What speakers are you going to pair with the Mc kit?

Thanks! I have an old pair of Paradigm S2 v2. But they are super broken in.��

They are going too. Focal Scala Evos will be taking their place.

You made me go look, thinking the Sopra line had been 'up-graded' to Evo status. Am guessing you are getting Utopia Evo rather than Sopra. Any Evo should be an outstanding match with your new MC3500 amps.

When I auditioned the Sopra 3s pre-covid the system was set up with a pair of Utopia Evo speakers. I listened to them for about 30 minutes before the shop could switch to the Sopra 3s. There was no way I could own the Sopra after having heard the Evo. It was a big difference.

Apologies: Scala Evo. No idea why I typed Sopra. I haven’t ever heard them. Was on a conference call and not paying full attention when I typed. Maestros were too big. Magico M2 also sounded sublime but huge jump in price over the Scalas. Of course some M2s became available at a reasonable price on Audio Mart after my Scalas came in.

I had heard so many good things about Sonus Faber Amati Traditions and Serafinas with Mac gear that inwas sure that that was what i was going to get, but they sounded really closed up compared to the Scalas and the M2s. I wanted to dislike the Scalas the most and like either SF the most based on aesthetics, but it turned out just the opposite. I did not like the way the Focals looked, but their sound was amazing.

Congratulations. :thumbsup:
Am sure the MC3500s will be a wonderful match. The Scala Evo III is equal to the best sound I've heard in any set-up over the years. Truly renders music with both delicacy & force.

https://www.focal.com/sites/www.foca...l-et-fonce.jpg

I'd like to congratulate all the new 3500 owners. It's by far the most powerful tube amplifier available today. It drives my XVX to insane levels with ease. The XVX is a massive speaker with a minimum impedance of 1.6 ohms. Run off the 4-ohm tap I have the best bass I have ever heard. The resolution in the mid and treble is superb. The amp is dead quiet. It sounds like a very fine SS amp but somehow better. It's the old Mac sound of my childhood reborn in a super amp. Again congratulations to everyone who has bought one.

Best

Charles

Is one really enough? ;)

Not even a 3500 can overcome monaural.

C

The 3500 amp is one to behold in person. I had no idea it was so large. Congrats to all of the new owners of this superb tube amp.

You'll be getting your own very large amp any day now I suspect.

Yes, soon I hope. A REL Carbon Special will tag along on the delivery.

That's a serious sub Kevin. :yes:

Just got word the MC1502 is shipping next week. It will arrive while on a 10 day R&R. REL won’t be available until Oct.

Great timing for the 1502 part at least.

Awesome!!! I would love to hear your thoughts on the differences between the MC275. Take a bunch of photos and post them for us. I love Mc Tube amps.

Except I will be away those 10 days 😖

have them deliver it to my house. I'll break it in for you. :D

On its way…..please be gentle

Digging them so far!!https://www.audioaficionado.org/pict...pictureid=5716

Very nice! How warm do they run? I find my 1502 to run a bit warm, but not what I would call hot. That classification is reserved for my old Jolida 502 combined with the Musical Fidelity 550K's. Now that was HOT! :yes:

Very nice system. I see I am not the only with location limitations. It would be so much easier as a single guy but life would not be as interesting then. My wife likes to inject her “feng shui” into my equipment location.

Everything thing is in a feng shui swing. Just wanted to test out the hardware with simple placement and connections first.

Not too hot that it would overpower air conditioning. But enough to warm a 16’ x 28’ room by a few degrees. Everyone says that tubes have a warm sound. LOL

Indeed. They can be a blessing during the winter months. Post some pics when you get your final setup. Your Focals look really nice too.

Hello All-

This has been a bit of a project. For proper ventilation, the amps were relocated to the other side of the living room. Another dedicated line was necessary as one twenty would have been tight. While running one wire, we did two and each amp has its own fifteen amp line. One of the butcher block racks was dissembled and re-purposed, a slab for each amp and the others TBD once I get the CD and BDP's re-positioning figured out

Speaker cables went from long to short and interconnects short to long. The new speaker cables were made ProCo Power Plus bi-wired to the 3500's. Interconnects (one 27', the other 33') use Morgami 2549 and trusty Neutrik XRL's. Been busy around the workbench.

After much number crunching, rather than rent a vehicle, it made more sense to have the 3500's shipped. Arrival was today and my neighbor helped move them from the garage to the living room. Been listening for the past few hours. More to come on that.

Listening to a single 275 for the past three months, I really came to appreciate how good an amp the 275 is. Miner, not having heard the 1502, I look forward to your comments on moving from a 275.

Enjoy the Sounds Folks!

John

Thanks for the update John. After you've had a bit more time with the amps please post your thoughts on them. Kevin's (Miner) 1502 is due to arrive very soon (may have already) but he's supposed to be on vacation when it gets to his dealer. I'll be interested myself to read his observations of the differences between the 1502 and 275.

^ the 1502 is at my dealer awaiting delivery - my schedule is the hold-up. May wait until mid-Oct so the REL can be delivered at the same time. At least I know I am not awaiting manufacturing delays now.

No hold up on speaker cables either. :thumbsup:

Absolutely correct Ivan. Less than one week to get my recent cable order from The Master.

You need to cut the freaking vacation short and get on with the really important stuff,... Like getting the new kit intalled! :yes:

Excellent! Let's hope the well doesn't blow-out in the interim. :no:

We operate in a safe, responsible manner

:thumbsup: