The McIntosh XR7 .. How good?

Tropical

Active Member
I just bought a pair from a local gentleman after beating many offers from the Northern CA audio gang members :) The cabinets are in great shape but woofers need refoam. Does Gordon (AK member) have the foams? I like the looks that is why I bought them to replace my Ohm's. Wonder about the sound after refoaming. Can you guys shed me some light?
 
Congratulations on the bidding.

Search in the McIntosh lists here at AK and you'll find references to the speaker and the foam suppliers. This is one of the more satisfying hands-on things you can do yourself to update the speakers.

Also hit Roger Russell's site http://www.roger-russell.com/. He was one of the speaker design engineers at Mac. Excellent information. Be prepared to get one of the Mac equalizers you see on Roger's site. They come up on eBay occasionally. The speakers were designed with their use in mind.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

David
 
I don't have enough 12" McIntosh surrounds in stock right now (you'll need FOUR, for the TWO twelve-inch woofers per cabinet), but I just put more of them on the order that's going in at the end of the week.

The 8" are no problem... got plenty of those...

PM me, when you're ready to get 'em... middle of next week, I should have what you need...

As far as sound- I haven't heard the XR7s much, but I have heard the model it replaced, the ML2C, which was similar drivers. OUTSTANDING speaker. Some of the best bass tonality and clarity I've encountered, at any price...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Hi David and Gordon,

Thanks so much for the info. I fall in love with these speakers just by the first sight, not yet sound. I never felt the same with any speakers and I have seen many. So I definitely need to refoam them. The speakers are massive compared to my Ohm Walsh 4. I will pose a picture of them side by side. I also stacked 3 JBL's together (4410,4411,4412) and while they are taller they do not give a good impression when I stand next to these Mc's. They are so heavy (135lbs) , real veneer wood and look just so beautiful. :)

Tropical
 
I am finishing my refoaming of the XR7's. Both mid-range drivers are not original but I found one on Ebay. I have couple questions that I hope someone who are familiar with the XR7 can tell me.

1. Does the mid-range have the extra cup as shown? I think this cup come with the non-original driver. Not?

2. One 12-in woofer, when I use a 1.5V D size battery to raise the cone up for ease of refoaming, has its cone moved down instead of up like the other 3 woofers. I already checked the polarity. Is it normal or the factory marked the + sign wrong?
 
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The cup is factory. if a woofer moves down it probably was rebuilt at one time and is wired backwards. Connect it so it moves out like the other three.

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
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