McIntosh MC75 Monoblocks

So..about a month ago I visited a good friend of mine to buy a used iPhone 4S (to hold me over until my contract expires).

While walking through his garage I noticed a pair of McIntosh tube amps just sitting on his bench! I didn't really give to much thought to it at the time, but I asked him this afternoon if he'd be interested in selling them. They're in pretty rough shape and would need to be completely restored. He told me to basically take them for now and make sure they work.

Does anyone have any experience with restoring amps? I see that they are only 75W, but I'm assuming since they are tube amps they should drive my Motion 40s pretty easily.

I'm not really sure which direction to go in, but I did find this guy:
http://vintagevacuumaudio.com/

He quoted me $1400 to completely restore them both electrically and cosmetically. This seems pretty reasonable?

thanks in advance

Hi Mike,

I'd verify first off that this is a "good" investment if you wish to resell at some point in the future.

I'd also determine if you should look elsewhere, within that price range , to see if you can buy something else (used or new) that could out perform the Mac amps.

And, of course, there's always the cost of retubing and long term reliability to consider.

Good luck.

GG

Actual MC75s are a great amp IMO. If I were you I'd take 'em, get 'em restored and be off to the audio races!

From what I've gathered in a short time it'll cost around $2000 with tubes to completely refurb the amps electrically and cosmetically. I've seen them on the internet for sale for anywhere near $3500 to $5000 a pair. I'd still like to get a solid state amp (I believe Parasound is the current favorite without listening), but McIntosh tubes seems pretty classic. I think I'd like to hold on to them.

TDIMike said:

He told me to basically take them for now and make sure they work.

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Does this mean that he may at some point want them back, or want to get paid for them?

Bernard said:

Does this mean that he may at some point want them back, or want to get paid for them?

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He doesn't want them back. He told me to "pay what I thought they were worth" after I had them looked at.

You sir - have just scored big time...
Even if you decided not to use them, you will have no trouble getting more than your money back if you choose to sell them. When it comes to McIntosh, there are a few options when it comes to knowledgable technicians who can restore them. I had my vintage McIntosh SS amps restored at www.audioclassics.com. I was very pleased.
There's also a very popular technician Terry DeWick, who runs www.mcintoshaudio.com. He is well known for very thorough restorations (both cosmetic and electrical. Only problem is that he has a 6-8 week waiting list.

You can't lose with either one. Keep us up to date on what you decide!!

topofroc said:

You sir - have just scored big time...
Even if you decided not to use them, you will have no trouble getting more than your money back if you choose to sell them. When it comes to McIntosh, there are a few options when it comes to knowledgable technicians who can restore them. I had my vintage McIntosh SS amps restored at www.audioclassics.com. I was very pleased.
There's also a very popular technician Terry DeWick, who runs www.mcintoshaudio.com. He is well known for very thorough restorations (both cosmetic and electrical. Only problem is that he has a 6-8 week waiting list.

You can't loose with either one. Keep us up to date on what you decide!!

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Wow, thanks a lot for the information. I'm going to get in touch with both of those guys and get an idea about what direction they'd take. At this point I'm definitely planning to restore and use with my Motion 40s.

Careful!!! This could get very expensive. You get these amps refurbed and enjoy them for a little while, and in no time at all you will be looking to ditch your Motions for some electrostatic MLs. And so it begins . . .

You have been warned! :devil:

Rich said:

Careful!!! This could get very expensive. You get these amps refurbed and enjoy them for a little while, and in no time at all you will be looking to ditch your Motions for some electrostatic MLs. And so it begins . . .

You have been warned! :devil:

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Funny...I told my wife the exact same thing hah. I always planned to get some Stats at some point. I think the Motions will make absolutely great office/bedroom speakers paired with a good solid state amp and my current Marantz. I've been kinda thinking Theos in High Gloss Black in the main room.

I don't think it will be worth it fix them up. It also seems so unfair that you should have this to worry about.

Why don't you just send them to me in Denmark (I'll pay shipping), AND YOU WILL BE RID OF YOUR PROBLEM?

- No, seriously. These are great amps. There is a reason they still make them and sell them in quite large numbers. Hold on to them, get them fixed, and enjoy!

I agree with what Rich said... This will lead to this disease we all have... Joey-itis...

@TDIMike - Any decisions on the fate of the MC75s?
I am definitely living vicariously through you...

BTW - I (mis)spent a good part of my youth in the Houston area. It's a great town!!!
I went to Prairie View A&M for undergrad. Go Panthers!

topofroc said:

@TDIMike - Any decisions on the fate of the MC75s?
I am definitely living vicariously through you...

BTW - I (mis)spent a good part of my youth in the Houston area. It's a great town!!!
I went to Prairie View A&M for undergrad. Go Panthers!

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I'm absolutely going to restore them and initially I'd considered selling them. Now I think they'll look great powering my Motion 40s and then whatever ES I end up with. I'm still gathering some information from the folks that were recommended on this board and then really its all about gathering the cash. I had some bad luck (er I should say my wife had some bad luck) and my wife broke off one of her back teeth that had previously been crowned, so that has been a pretty expensive mishap.

I'm thinking of doing them one at a time to help ease the blow. It looks like it's going to cost around $2,000-$2,500 to get the job done correctly. The cost of the tubes and metal work (one of the amps was actually modified to include another connector) that seem to the be wild cards.

I've been here pretty much my entire life, and graduated in 2010 from Univ. of Houston (Co Coogs!).

I just got off the phone with Mr. DeWick and I'm almost certain he'll be doing my restorations as well. Very knowledgeable and is even kind enough to give me the contact information for his supplies for top covers and tubes so I can do the job in stages, rather than eating the entire cost at once.

I'm very excited to get this going!

Rich said:

Careful!!! This could get very expensive. You get these amps refurbed and enjoy them for a little while, and in no time at all you will be looking to ditch your Motions for some electrostatic MLs. And so it begins . . .

You have been warned! :devil:

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And we'll be here to help him spend his money :devil:

Bernard said:

And we'll be here to help him spend his money :devil:

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Coaxing and Nudging him all the way to the poor house!

Mike - Good to hear Terry is living up to his reputation.

I love my solid state McIntosh components (an MC2200, MC2120, and an MA6100), as they all have a tube-like warmth. I've always been curious about Mac tubes though.

Anyway - keep us up to date and send pics when its done!

topofroc said:

Mike - Good to hear Terry is living up to his reputation.

I love my solid state McIntosh components (an MC2200, MC2120, and an MA6100), as they all have a tube-like warmth. I've always been curious about Mac tubes though.

Anyway - keep us up to date and send pics when its done!

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so, I've hit a bit of a snag. Terry's contact that does new chassis has decided not to do the MC75 chassis right now. So I've got three options.
1) Polish and use as is.
2) Attempt to track down two NOS chrome chassis
3) Send the chassis to a guy named Yves Beauvais at Vintage Vacuum Audio in New Jersey. He tells me he can actually recondition and rechrome my existing chassis, as well as patch the small holes drilled in them to modify connections.

So unfortunately I came into a sticky situation. The friend and I couldn't agree on terms, and he decided (after talking to me about them, causing him to research them) he wants to do the work and sell them himself. I wasn't going to do anything that might compromise this friendsihp, so unfortunately I let them go.

Looks like either the Arcam P38 or the Parasound A23. I think either of those should be fine choices.