Recent content by jbmcb

How McIntosh can/could have made a great turntable: 1. Use a badass direct-drive mechanism. McIntosh seems to pride itself in it's measured specs, and DD tables seem to rule the roost in this area, especially if you use a very high quality synchronized motor bolted straight to a dense...

FLAC format Sorta. FLAC uses an enocder that replicates parts of the signal using a mathematical formula that, when reversed, gives you back the exact audio data that has been encoded. Think of it as the difference between designating a curve using points (41,2;42,3.1;43,4.2) and a function...

My system I've been piecing together a mostly-Mac system, here's what I've got so far: McIntosh C39 A/V preamp (balanced+THX version) McIntosh MCD7008 CD changer McIntosh MR7084 AM/FM tuner McIntosh MLD7020 laserdisc player Magnepan MGMC1 speakers Krell KSA-100S 100W stereo amp...

I'm starting to wire up my new McIntosh stack, and was looking for wiring diagrams for building the control cables for a few pieces. In particular, I need the 1/8" phono data cables, the DIN->DB connector for an MR7084 to C39 control, and the DIN-DIN connector for a MCD7008 CD player to the C39...

Deoxit is good stuff, but I'd hit the pot with compressed air first, to get all the dust out. If you spray Deoxit on a dusty pot, you end up with wet dust that doesn't go anywhere.

Mars, bringer of beer So is that a kegger from Kuhnhenn or Dragonmead? :)

I think someone was playing Holst. It was *loud* Sorry I only checked in once, it may have been overloading the room and sounded better on quieter material :)

Tough repair Actually it's on the right hand side of the smaller picture above, the black shield/heatsink surrounds the capacitors that are loose. It isn't under any other circuit board, but it's affixed to the front panel somehow, and I got to the point where I was going to have to remove...

Problem solved! It fixed itself for a while, then happened again. I pulled the top off and started poking around, the tall black caps in the power supply (upwards and right of the transformer on the left hand side of the picture above) are loose to the touch. They must have vibrated loose in...

Fixed itself :) Huh, it seems to have fixed itself. I left it on over dinner and it works fine now. I'll see what happens tomorrow, I'm gonna call up my local Mac repair shop just in case. Is there some kind of recertification program for used Mac gear? Nice pic! Actually I work for an...

My brand old C39 just came today, it's in really good condition except for no remote, which isn't a big deal. I bring it home, plug it in, set all controls to 0/default, hook up my CD player, plug in a pair of headphones and get BLASTED BY HUM. Super loud. I plug in my amp through the...

I'm currently constructing an all-McIntosh system for a two room system (one a home theater, one a stereo system.) I've got on it's way: C39 preamp w/ THX card MR7084 tuner I'm looking for: MCD7009 CD changer Some sort of multichannel amp I haven't had any experience with McIntosh...

I forgot Grumpy! I forgot! That system was pretty darn good as well. I wish I could have stayed and listened to the Impact amp, I'm thinking about getting one to play around with. I've seem 'em online for $20. Re: Ohms > Both Omnidirectional having the same type of radiation patterns...

Here's my quick review of a few of the systems at AK2005, standard disclaimers apply (Poor listening conditions, opinions are like certain body parts, everyone has them, etc...) Best overall sound: Audio Dimensions Maggies/ARC/Clearaudio/Arcam/ASC. OK, so I'm biased towards maggies, but this...

It took me a long time to build up the system I have, I'm basically trading in most of my stuff for McIntosh stuff. I've found some great deals on line as well :)