re: Audiophile/Vinyl Thread - Post Pics, Advice, Questions, Setups, etc.

501s

I can never get them to even run into clipping or thermal protect--no matter how hard I drive them or how hard a load the speaker is.

They are absolute workhorses.

Interesting. How power hungry are your Focal's? My 802's can't seem to get enough and I tend to push them really hard. I was under the impression that they have a tendency to over heat.

The heat sinks aren't huge, and I have driven the Maggies hard enough to get the amps hot, but the thermal protection never kicked in. They are truly bullet proof amps. The only way I would change them is to go to 1.2 KW--and I really don't need those, I just want them

The Maggies are fantastic for what they are...but it drops off absolutely at 45hz. There is no deep low end. If mating a sub, the Vandersteen sub with 3 8" woofers works well as it is a much faster sub than a larger 12" and will keep up with the speed of the panels.

Just remember--THEY ARE CRAZY POWER HUNGRY. Maggies don't wake up until they see 200 watts, and then eat another 200 watts as you increase the volume. You will notice when you turn the volume knob to your usual setting and barely hear any sound! Then you will have the volume knob of the pre in previously uncharted territories for long periods and the meters on the Mac amps will be dancing around the 500watt range!

I also run them on the 4 ohm tap.

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The particle board casing was a little dry rot--so I ditched it. But it never lived outside the case, so the actual chassis of the receiver is truly mint--not a single nick.

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Oh no, you threw out the wood cabinet? Do you still have it, or is it trashed?

Ever43,

It seems from previous posts and your current posts that you are thinking of changing loudspeakers and amps--or at least toying around with things.

Before changing speakers and amps--all big, bulky , and heavy, may I make a suggestion?

As you are aware, one of my rigs is McIntosh for power/pre/filter. I was initially using a C2300 tube pre amp with the 501's with good results. But the bug came biting and upgradeitis was taking over. I changed the pre from a C2300 to a C500C/C500T. The difference was BIG...HUGE! I wasn't expecting what it delivered. I no longer wanted to change amps or speakers. It is amazing what a reference level pre can do for sound.

You can get a C500C with either the C500t or C500p for around $7000 from Audio Classics-I see them on AGon for $6-$8k. You may consider keeping your power amps and speakers and moving up to the C500 and with trade ins it may cost less than getting a pair of 501s which may be a lateral move.

...just a thought.

You trying to end my marriage?

I just bought a C2500 last fall. My two biggest concerns are losing my awesome DAC that's built in and I need a HT pass through. Does the 500 have a pass through option that can be triggered by the MX121? Until we move into a bigger house next fall, my 2 channel and HT are in the same spot.

Ever43... Yes it has a HT bypass--I use it everyday.

As far as the DAC goes, you can pick up a D100 for around $1500 now that the D150 has been launched (the D150 does DSD/DXD and SACD decoding--the D100 does up to 32 bit/192k). There are a bunch for sale now as people naturally flock to the new gear--most of them will never listen to a DSD file. I will never do DSD--not enough files out there and honestly, my 43 year old ears can't hear the difference.

I figured what you would spend on trading out amps and speakers, you could spend less and get a C500c/C500t and a D100 DAC and still spend less than what you were thinking of doing.

It took me years of trading out speakers and amps and sources to finally see that a reference level pre amp was the ticket.

Also, if you ever want to do vinyl, the phono stage in the C500 is not an afterthought...it is a damn near reference level phono stage. I preferred it over the stand alone Esoteric Audio phono stage ($6000) and the Lehmann Decade phono stage. It is that good.
And it is one of the quietest pre's I have ever heard (or not heard!).

I am just a little irked that I didn't make the move to a reference level pre amp years ago, as it probably would have curtailed all the other moves of other gear that I made.

It made that big a difference.

Rush - Moving Pictures Reissue sounds amazing, as expected.