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Original MC275 appreciation
- Thread starter jlovda
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Great first response but let's pretend it is a pristine split rear window Corvette Stingray owned by a local business executive and not the MVP award winner from the Yankees (who is selling his car at Christies'). By the way, does AC have a lock on the market for vintage collectibles like this?
I've often wondered what mine is worth. It's not museum quality but very nice. It has a clinic sticker on it with Dave O'Brien's initials on it which I left on because I met him at a clinic once and he was very gracious.
Okaaaaay...I hadn't realized the question was qualified.
When and if garden variety V1 MC 275s begin averaging $10K or more is anybody's guess. At present, $8K seems to be the limit for top grade examples, owned by nobody particularly famous. And for that kind of coin, all the original glassware should be present and test strong.
A/C's cultivated reputation & presence puts it in a unique position to command top money for McIntosh, regardless of era. Tom Manley is pretty close too.
I would not say either (or both) have a "lock" on the market per se but they certainly have an advantage - as they should - both being McIntosh specialists with longstanding good name.
Manley is in at $7.5K, but honestly he was behind the times a couple years ago. He had probably three C22s two years ago that hadn't moved in years at $3.2K, and people thought that was high. It was a bargain. I think he is on at $7.5K because if he says it's mint, it's probably mint. Where else are you going to find one? No one sells them. You rarely see a quality piece on the 'bay. I would own one, if I could get one for $3.5K with nice chrome. But my 225 will have to fill the need for now.
He has had those Mc240s forever. It goes to show their desirability. You can buy clean ones all day on ebay for $2.5K. Why? The sound stinks.
He has had those Mc240s forever. It goes to show their desirability. You can buy clean ones all day on ebay for $2.5K. Why? The sound stinks.
I've never been to an estate sale but if one was being sold there, are many bidders prepared to spend that kind of money or are they looking to spend ten cents on the dollar? Is that the kind of place to find classic units now?
Also, is modification, ie, recapping, a positive or negative for moving the price up?
Also, is modification, ie, recapping, a positive or negative for moving the price up?
CountD,
I have infinite respect for your views, opinions & expertise regarding McIntosh.
However I respectfully & vehemently disagree that the MC 240's performance is sub-par in any way. I haven't run my 240 in a while, primarily running my 2505 to spare tube life on the 240 but last night I decided to run the 240 which I enjoyed
until the wee hours in the morning - a good part of that time trying to understand how somebody could dislike this amplifier so intensely. :headscrat:headscrat:headscrat It is also a humble submission of mine that the average market price of the MC 240 amplifier is no reflection on its sonics whatsoever, but of simple economics: McIntosh built just over 17,000 MC 240 compared to around 14,000 MC 225 & MC 275 combined making it - by far - McIntosh's single best selling stereo amplifier of the tube era.
If the MC 240's performance was so dreadful, there is no possible way it would have sold in these numbers - certainly not relative to the other two models.
In any case, I feel it is erroneous to draw conclusions as the MC 240's market value without taking production figures into account: If production figures of MC 240 and MC 225 were reversed, I daresay MC 240 would be selling for $4,500 - $5,000 today, with the 225 selling for $1,500 or less.
*If by chance you are ever in the area, I would very much enjoy having you over my house where together, we could do some serious A/Bing between the MC 2505 and MC 240, where your firsthand critiques, comments & observations would be most welcome!
Best, Eric
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CountD,
I have infinite respect for your views, opinions & expertise regarding McIntosh.
*If by chance you are ever in the area, I would very much enjoy having you over my house where together, we could do some serious A/Bing between the MC 2505 and MC 240, where your firsthand critiques, comments & observations would be most welcome!
Best, Eric
Right on. I would like to come over to check them out at your place in the new year now that I'm on the east coast. I have played the 240 and 40 beside the 250/2505 and they were lacking. But it may have been the units. However, I still think the 225 is worth the same or more than a 240, if both were in perfect condition.
but last night I decided to run the 240 which I enjoyed
And to answer your question about why I dislike the Mc240 so intensely is because it really, honestly does not sound like a McIntosh. I have no idea why the Mc275 and Mc240 are at complete ends of the sound spectrum when 1) They are from the same period, and 2) They were engineered and made by the same people.
I guess in some ways I feel ripped off that they went from the legendary, nice sounding Mc30s (notice I said nice, as I have owned a few pair), to the fantastic and stupendous sounding Mc60s (which are absolutely fantastic), to the Mc40/Mc240 and the Mc275. The Mc275 holds up. The Mc240 doesn't when compared to these legendary Mc products. It just doesn't, and anyone who had one and had the others and listened to them, they probably would agree. Just because they sold more means nothing. It was what was available, and the Mc275 was that much more. It looked the same as the 275, and 40 watts at the time was tremendously huge.
So to answer your question again, the Mc240 is probably better than other companies offerings at the time, but compared to Mcs offerings, it doesn't hold.
cduarte
Well-Known Member
so what do you think about the mc225? :scratch2:
damacman
Resident Psycho
Of the tube Mc gear I've owned, I've always felt MC60 > MC225 > MC240 > MC275 but YMMV. That's why this is such a fun hobby as no two people hear the same. I really wish I hadn't sold off all of my MC60s but it's just hard to keep it all. When I did connect amps to my A/B/X switchbox for real time comparisons, I always walked away from that experience humbled so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Back on topic, nice original MC275s were selling for $3k or so by the mid '90s. They've not appreciated much since then. As we've debated in other threads, the MC275 reissues have undoubtedly spiked the price of the originals but they haven't doubled. Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $2k for any MC275 no matter how nice it was but that's just me. I think $2k can just buy you so much more in Mc amplification.
If I was in the market for an MC275, I'd buy one of the many reissues and take advantage of all the new engineering efforts, the stainless steel chassis, etc. I mean, why not?
As for the Count and his disdain of the MC240, I think he's concocted this campaign against them to take one's eye off of the fact that he's buying them up and hoarding them. Ten years from now, MC240s will be trading for $6 to $8k and he'll make out like a bandit. Wish I'd of thought of it . . . very clever indeed!
Back on topic, nice original MC275s were selling for $3k or so by the mid '90s. They've not appreciated much since then. As we've debated in other threads, the MC275 reissues have undoubtedly spiked the price of the originals but they haven't doubled. Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $2k for any MC275 no matter how nice it was but that's just me. I think $2k can just buy you so much more in Mc amplification.
If I was in the market for an MC275, I'd buy one of the many reissues and take advantage of all the new engineering efforts, the stainless steel chassis, etc. I mean, why not?
As for the Count and his disdain of the MC240, I think he's concocted this campaign against them to take one's eye off of the fact that he's buying them up and hoarding them. Ten years from now, MC240s will be trading for $6 to $8k and he'll make out like a bandit. Wish I'd of thought of it . . . very clever indeed!
I own one. The only Mc tube amp that I own besides the MI200 pair and the K107 pair. That should tell you something.
I have never owned tube amps. I have never been able to afford them. I am obsessed with cruising through ebay Mcintosh auctions. After awhile I noticed that MC225's and (especially) MC275's went fast and for high prices. MC240's just sort of came and went for prices that seemed low compared with its two contemporaries. You begin to wonder what the issue is. Not everyone has a golden ear, some just had money to spend on a nice living room stereo. After awhile I think it developed a reputation based on customers going up or down in price or power leaving the 240 as the odd man in the middle.
smartin53
Well-Known Member
Frankly its all the same to me. They are all amps that make sound (preferably from the attached speakers though that varies from time to time). As long as the thing doesn't sound like finger nails in a chalk board then it is all subjective...of course if nails on a chalk board are your thing then EVERYTHING is subjective. Find what you like, spend what you think it is worth to you.
Yup!
MC 30 and MC 60 have the distinction of being the only models with tube rectifier while MC 40, MC 75, MC 225/240/275 are solid state.
Why they did that, and what role it plays in sonics (if any) - I have no idea...
cduarte
Well-Known Member
Yup!
MC 30 and MC 60 have the distinction of being the only models with tube rectifier while MC 40, MC 75, MC 225/240/275 are solid state.
Why they did that, and what role it plays in sonics (if any) - I have no idea...
pretty sure they were tube rectified because solid state diodes weren't readily available or were cost prohibitive
That would be a pleasure indeed. I would love for you hear my 240!
The only issue is that 240 is far more common than either of its siblings. Pure & simple. If they built 17,000 MC 225 and 5,600 MC 240 - you would be seeing completely different market values for those two units today. Trust me.
This is especially true since the 240 much more closely resembles the 275 and as we all know - cosmetic appearance almost always outweighs sonics in the collector field. :yes:
It was hardly the odd man back in the day.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: 17,000 McIntosh buyers can't be wrong!
In regards to sonics - and to be brutally frank - a 225/240/275 is unlikely to do anything that a MC 250/2505 can't do. There, I said it.
In regards to visuals - that's a totally different story. You are paying for the nostalgia, the glowing tubes reflecting off the chrome at night...whatever you want to call it. That's it.
As Terry once said, there's nothing quite like the warm glow of tubes on a cold winter night!
Thanks. Since the 30/60 were the earliest in this series, that makes sense.
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