Don Bocadill
Obsessed, who me???!!
So folks, as many of you know I’m a bit of a Mcintosh fiend and have worked my way through pretty much most of the sub $10k gear mac has to offer.
This time last year I had settled into a brand new MC275 mkVI and a C2200 preamp that I got a deal on needing a bit of cosmetic refurb, this was hooked to a Schiit Yggdrasil and my trusty JBL4435’s. I’d always lusted after a 275 and was hoping to recreate the sound of an earlier system of mine comprising mc30’s an MX110z, ar3a’s and a Linn lp12...I was sadly disappointed...there was a lack of three dimensionality, intimacy and involvement, just a bit sterile over all...
Strange feeling but I guess an important part of this hobby is learning to trust your senses and not second guess your self (the grass may or may not be greener). During the purchase of the 275 i noticed that the unit had a silkscreen flaw so the dealer arranged a replacement unit for me and I was actively considering forgoing the 275 for the mighty Mc452 but at the time the numbers on a new 452 didn’t add up so I got the replacement 275 with the seeds of doubt sown in my mind. Over the coming months I proceeded to sell the 275 for a small loss (first time ever on a Mac unit) and made a few bucks on the C2200 which I also never really gelled with....it just lacked a certain romance factor and I don’t mean the dreaded ‘romantic’ sound signature...I feel you have to almost fall in love with a piece of gear....and this despite the C2200 being the closest predecessor to the legendary C22 in terms of the tube audio pathway (gosh I even stacked it with NOS Millard’s and Telefunkens!!)
So I banked my audio fund and scoured the audio universe for the next best thing and low and behold in September just up the road from me I spotted an MC452 and MCD500 which I jumped all over. Ended up selling the MCD for a tidy profit and the hunt was on for a preamp, after evaluating all the mac offerings, nothing in my budget (sub $4k) peaked my interest other than a C200 which seemed unobtanium...then along came a killer deal on a Marantz 7c and 8b combo which I couldn’t refuse. Sadly the 8b was cosmetically damaged in shipping but I’d never intended on keeping it anyways after AB testing with the 452 the synergy with the big JBLs was just awesome at all listening levels. The 7c had bad power supply caps so I embarked on a full restoration with the fancy Arizona cactus capacitors, all done by our very own Marantz tube guru crooner so that piece of the puzzle was complete. Then I lucked into a Thorens TD124 on bartertown up in Toledo that I bought and sent to Thorens pros in Tennessee for the full works as well as buying a second Gen5 usb Yggdrasil as id sold my first on around the time of the first sell off....all of this was completed before Christmas as we had family coming to town and my brother in law is a fellow audiophile and Schiit / focal dac/ headphone lover.
So, day after day I listen to both the dac and the turntable and am astonished by what I hear, I seem to have lucked my way back in to that oh so hard to achieve synergy. I suppose when all’s said and done the goal is to get as close as possible to the actual recording and to achieve that sensation of the band/artist being right there in the room with you...I guess that’s what I mean when using phrases like holographic etc. or rather ’the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ would be an apt way to describe it...
any how it’s been a long and fun journey up to this point and I’ve had a lot of fun sharing it with the ak community and meeting many of you in person over the years...here’s to many more years of happy listening in great health!! And long may we stay out of the clutches of the ghost of diminishing returns!!
This time last year I had settled into a brand new MC275 mkVI and a C2200 preamp that I got a deal on needing a bit of cosmetic refurb, this was hooked to a Schiit Yggdrasil and my trusty JBL4435’s. I’d always lusted after a 275 and was hoping to recreate the sound of an earlier system of mine comprising mc30’s an MX110z, ar3a’s and a Linn lp12...I was sadly disappointed...there was a lack of three dimensionality, intimacy and involvement, just a bit sterile over all...
Strange feeling but I guess an important part of this hobby is learning to trust your senses and not second guess your self (the grass may or may not be greener). During the purchase of the 275 i noticed that the unit had a silkscreen flaw so the dealer arranged a replacement unit for me and I was actively considering forgoing the 275 for the mighty Mc452 but at the time the numbers on a new 452 didn’t add up so I got the replacement 275 with the seeds of doubt sown in my mind. Over the coming months I proceeded to sell the 275 for a small loss (first time ever on a Mac unit) and made a few bucks on the C2200 which I also never really gelled with....it just lacked a certain romance factor and I don’t mean the dreaded ‘romantic’ sound signature...I feel you have to almost fall in love with a piece of gear....and this despite the C2200 being the closest predecessor to the legendary C22 in terms of the tube audio pathway (gosh I even stacked it with NOS Millard’s and Telefunkens!!)
So I banked my audio fund and scoured the audio universe for the next best thing and low and behold in September just up the road from me I spotted an MC452 and MCD500 which I jumped all over. Ended up selling the MCD for a tidy profit and the hunt was on for a preamp, after evaluating all the mac offerings, nothing in my budget (sub $4k) peaked my interest other than a C200 which seemed unobtanium...then along came a killer deal on a Marantz 7c and 8b combo which I couldn’t refuse. Sadly the 8b was cosmetically damaged in shipping but I’d never intended on keeping it anyways after AB testing with the 452 the synergy with the big JBLs was just awesome at all listening levels. The 7c had bad power supply caps so I embarked on a full restoration with the fancy Arizona cactus capacitors, all done by our very own Marantz tube guru crooner so that piece of the puzzle was complete. Then I lucked into a Thorens TD124 on bartertown up in Toledo that I bought and sent to Thorens pros in Tennessee for the full works as well as buying a second Gen5 usb Yggdrasil as id sold my first on around the time of the first sell off....all of this was completed before Christmas as we had family coming to town and my brother in law is a fellow audiophile and Schiit / focal dac/ headphone lover.
So, day after day I listen to both the dac and the turntable and am astonished by what I hear, I seem to have lucked my way back in to that oh so hard to achieve synergy. I suppose when all’s said and done the goal is to get as close as possible to the actual recording and to achieve that sensation of the band/artist being right there in the room with you...I guess that’s what I mean when using phrases like holographic etc. or rather ’the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ would be an apt way to describe it...
any how it’s been a long and fun journey up to this point and I’ve had a lot of fun sharing it with the ak community and meeting many of you in person over the years...here’s to many more years of happy listening in great health!! And long may we stay out of the clutches of the ghost of diminishing returns!!
Last edited:
currently using a 2m Black on the TD...such a great sounding cart, had one on my LP12 way back and loved the sound 
