It's Decision Time

[jpgr4blu]

I had the McIntosh 2102 tube amp @ 100wpc which drove the Wilson Sophias (89db) I owned at the time with ease. Mac tubes @150 WPC would be more than enough for the Cantons. I prefer Mac tube sound to Mac SS sound by quite a bit and I would easily choose the Mc1502.

[PeterMusic]

Hi Freddie--I agree boutique dealers are best. But I am surprised by your implication that Magnolia will not let you return an unsatisfactory product inside of 7 days. If I'm correct on the return policy, I would buy the 1502 in a heartbeat. The 462 is great, but there's no beating tubes

[FreddieFerric]

Well, after a lot of internal debate with myself I put down a deposit on the MC462 this afternoon. Just felt that overall, where I am with my system right now and with the expectations I have for it, the MC462 was the better match.

The 1502 is a gorgeous amp and I'm sure I would have been happy with it, but the 462 just felt more like a sure thing. For a stereo amp the power output is just beastly and it's good power.

Thanks for all the input guys. I really appreciate it very much.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by PeterMusic

Hi Freddie--I agree boutique dealers are best. But I am surprised by your implication that Magnolia will not let you return an unsatisfactory product inside of 7 days. If I'm correct on the return policy, I would buy the 1502 in a heartbeat. The 462 is great, but there's no beating tubes

Magnolia offers a 15 day return/refund policy, so no worries there.

[Charles]

Freddie, whichever you choose you will be happy. Based on your wattage needs the 1502 is more than enough. The general rule (Dan D'Agostino's) for SS is 10%. So with a 462 you have about 50 "good" watts. With a 1502 you have 150 "good" watts. The 1502 is the more powerful amp, IMO. With my XVX, I never exceed 120 watts no matter how loud. I stay well within the 10% rule.

Best,

Charles

[miner]

Send him a PM. He is always happy to discuss his experiences with equipment.

[Stahle]

Originally Posted by FreddieFerric

Well, after a lot of internal debate with myself I put down a deposit on the MC462 this afternoon. Just felt that overall, where I am with my system right now and with the expectations I have for it, the MC462 was the better match.

The 1502 is a gorgeous amp and I'm sure I would have been happy with it, but the 462 just felt more like a sure thing. For a stereo amp the power output is just beastly and it's good power.

Thanks for all the input guys. I really appreciate it very much.

Before I purchased my MC462, I had the same internal debate you had, MC1502 or MC462. For me, it came down to my prior experience with my MC275VI. While the MC275VI was a wonderful sounding amp, I had a KT88 tube failure that caused significant damage to the amp and I couldn’t get that out of my mind when considering the MC1502. For that reason, I decided that I wanted a tube free amp that would last me for many years. After all, these amps are very large and heavy and the last thing I want to do is take an MC1502 in for repair due to a power tube failure like I had in the MC275VI. In the end, I have no regrets because the MC462 is incredible and exceeded all of my expectations.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Charles

Freddie, whichever you choose you will be happy. Based on your wattage needs the 1502 is more than enough. The general rule (Dan D'Agostino's) for SS is 10%. So with a 462 you have about 50 "good" watts. With a 1502 you have 150 "good" watts. The 1502 is the more powerful amp, IMO. With my XVX, I never exceed 120 watts no matter how loud. I stay well within the 10% rule.

Best,

Charles

That is an intriguing statement Charles. Can you expound on his theory with a bit more detail? I'm a bit baffled how 450 watts boils down to 50.

[Fbgbill]

The 462 is a superb amp. I cannot speak as to how it will work with your speakers but I am sure it will. I only got rid of my 462 because I got the wild idea I wanted mono blocks and went with a pair of 611's. Hope you back is in good shape as the 462 is a heavy beast..!

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Stahle

Before I purchased my MC462, I had the same internal debate you had, MC1502 or MC462. For me, it came down to my prior experience with my MC275VI. While the MC275VI was a wonderful sounding amp, I had a KT88 tube failure that caused significant damage to the amp and I couldn’t get that out of my mind when considering the MC1502. For that reason, I decided that I wanted a tube free amp that would last me for many years. After all, these amps are very large and heavy and the last thing I want to do is take an MC1502 in for repair due to a power tube failure like I had in the MC275VI. In the end, I have no regrets because the MC462 is incredible and exceeded all of my expectations.

I certainly understand where you're coming from. I had a 6550 tube fail on my Jolida integrated a few years ago, but all it did was shut down the amp (protect mode). Since I was told by a "tube guru" that a common Hickok red case tube tester couldn't put enough voltage on the plate to tell which one was bad I had to replace all of them. Fortunately Svetlana 6550's can be had pretty cheap. Not sure what the Mc KT88's cost but I'd hate to be replacing 8 of them because 1 failed.

Your failure must have been significant if it damaged the amp itself. The MC275 is supposed to have protection circuitry to prevent that type of thing.