peacefulcargo
Well-known member
Hi Per the Thread anyone heard these and thoughts? Thanks
Mc275 X2 with CLX anyone?
- Thread starter peacefulcargo
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Every one has there preference so take this with a grain of salt.
The first time I heard CLX's, I was think of purchasing them and was at a dealer in Raleigh NC.
I just happened to be when ML was doing the original USA tour. They were in a well treated room and coupled with top Mac Pre and Mono amps. Sorry it has been to many years to remember. They were not using subs although there were 2 Desents in the corners. Everything was setup and adjusted by the tour reps though they were not there at that time.
I was alone with the store employee for 2 hours. It was a Friday night and no one was interested at that time. Anyway, my impression was that the Mac's sounded very muffled on the panels. Vocals were the as though they were singing through a piece of fabric like a sock.
They were just not for me. My CLXiiz sounded better then that demo.
The employees asked me what I thought after my time and I told them. They both agreed with me saying Macs sound wonderful on other speakers but not on these.
See if you can demo them with your speakers first.
Brad
The first time I heard CLX's, I was think of purchasing them and was at a dealer in Raleigh NC.
I just happened to be when ML was doing the original USA tour. They were in a well treated room and coupled with top Mac Pre and Mono amps. Sorry it has been to many years to remember. They were not using subs although there were 2 Desents in the corners. Everything was setup and adjusted by the tour reps though they were not there at that time.
I was alone with the store employee for 2 hours. It was a Friday night and no one was interested at that time. Anyway, my impression was that the Mac's sounded very muffled on the panels. Vocals were the as though they were singing through a piece of fabric like a sock.
They were just not for me. My CLXiiz sounded better then that demo.
The employees asked me what I thought after my time and I told them. They both agreed with me saying Macs sound wonderful on other speakers but not on these.
See if you can demo them with your speakers first.
Brad
Yes!!! 110% agree! Mac is definitely a great American icon, without a doubt! However, not all their gear sounds the same or least is on par with the true highend. There are some very good Mac's that match really well with Sonus Faber speakers, such as the C53 partnered with the MC462 or MC601's, these were driving the big SF Stradivari's and Elipsa speakers, which I ended up buying... anyway that's a different story.
For some reason the Mac gear that I auditioned with ML's just didn't have the speed or agility that ML stats require from any amplifier. The amplifiers must have three very critical elements to effectively drive ML's:
1. Well designed power supplies.
2. Plenty of current and highly stable voltage.
3. If the amp for some reason sounds muffled, slow and lethargic, then refer to point 1!
A lot of so called highend gear simply don't have rock solid power supplies but they have plenty of good specs and 100s of watts, means nothing! The amplifier must be able to fully grip the stats and handle the impedence swing of full range stats. One item or more lacking in power supply design, will render the amp useless when driving stats, especially the CLX's!
One MC275 is not going to do. It will play tunes but very mediocre. I used two MC275's on my previous Quads ESL 2905's and 2912's, which were quite adequate at the time. However, for CLX's I now use Conrad johnson monoblocks modded in Class A output.
If you're really keen on McIntosh, there's one particular series of tube monoblocks that can really drive the CLX's well, and I've personally auditioned them; MC2301 and the MC2000. These are the real deal in tube power amplifiers and they are built on completely different standards to the Mac SS gear. Just by looking at these you can tell that they drive anything to full stable power, and they make the mc275 look like toys!
I would advice on the following if you're keen on Mac:
MC2301
MC2000
MC 275 x 2 (used in monoblock config)
If they can handle Quads full range, they're able to handle CLX's and the CLX's are far more efficient than Quads.
Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
Woof! RJ
BTW, what color are your CLX's? Are they the ART series?
For some reason the Mac gear that I auditioned with ML's just didn't have the speed or agility that ML stats require from any amplifier. The amplifiers must have three very critical elements to effectively drive ML's:
1. Well designed power supplies.
2. Plenty of current and highly stable voltage.
3. If the amp for some reason sounds muffled, slow and lethargic, then refer to point 1!
A lot of so called highend gear simply don't have rock solid power supplies but they have plenty of good specs and 100s of watts, means nothing! The amplifier must be able to fully grip the stats and handle the impedence swing of full range stats. One item or more lacking in power supply design, will render the amp useless when driving stats, especially the CLX's!
One MC275 is not going to do. It will play tunes but very mediocre. I used two MC275's on my previous Quads ESL 2905's and 2912's, which were quite adequate at the time. However, for CLX's I now use Conrad johnson monoblocks modded in Class A output.
If you're really keen on McIntosh, there's one particular series of tube monoblocks that can really drive the CLX's well, and I've personally auditioned them; MC2301 and the MC2000. These are the real deal in tube power amplifiers and they are built on completely different standards to the Mac SS gear. Just by looking at these you can tell that they drive anything to full stable power, and they make the mc275 look like toys!
I would advice on the following if you're keen on Mac:
MC2301
MC2000
MC 275 x 2 (used in monoblock config)
If they can handle Quads full range, they're able to handle CLX's and the CLX's are far more efficient than Quads.
Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
Woof! RJ
BTW, what color are your CLX's? Are they the ART series?
Ive heard that combo, and unfortuneately cant recommend. The 275 just not enough to drive all that panel(s). Now the MC901.... 
Leporello
Well-known member
I think with a classic tube design, actually the weak link is not the power supply but the output transformer. Does the CJ have a 2 ohm tap? The CLX may be more forgiving than my CLS II regarding crazy impedance. With the latter you need something whose output doesn't fall drastically at 1 ohm. Not that the power supply is unimportant. My Latino monoblocks were a blast to build, but fall short in both areas.
If you parallel the MC275's, as opposed to bridging as you do with SS amps, it may help. (You wouldn't dare connect direct coupled SS amps in parallel). High damping factor if you can get away with it, but with many tube designs you can't. Again, OTL is a limiting factor.
I've been using Parasound JC-1's for several months, and haven't looked back.
CJ do not use several taps as they used to do so in the past with their vintage gear. What they do now is factory set at 4 Ohms, and can very easily handle low impedences with reactive loads, such as full range stats. The Tranny's are very well designed and rock solid. Their power supplies don't flinch one bit and you can clearly hear the drive factor in these tube amplifiers. Only a handful get this right, such as ARC, VTL, VAC and Lamm to name a few. ARC's circuitry design is all about audio by research... and that's exactly what they stand for "Audio Research." With CJ however, their circuits are based on the Classic tube circuit designed in the 60's. So what they did was adhered to this classic circuit, didn't really alter it as such but rather kept simplifying along the way, to arrive at the shortest possible signal path with only one active gain stage. Using minimal parts layout, with very high quality parts in every design stage yields purer sonics but it's fairly risky as the circuit relies heavily on the tubes. ARC's design has evolved to great lengths and some of their Reference series is outstanding! Ref10 preamps and the Ref 700 series monoblocks are some serious gear. On a similar project, CJ has introduced their new ART300's which use the KT150 tubes, truly supreme! I've heard these driving the CLX's, it was defintely a live event when called for. And then to add to that already high class level, they've now introduced the new ART108A pure Class A 160w monoblocks, mighty fine! With a mighty fine price tag starting at 48 grand a pair. Might as well start saving... no chance the wifey said!
After experiencing what Class A does on stats, is what gave me the confidence to mod my 125w CJ monoblocks to 60w of Class A bias. It really grips the CLX's supremely well, with an effortless drive, and if I wanted to turn things up, it switches into Class AB after around the 80w mark. However, even at the loudest levels of possible human hearing without potential ear damage, it's only around 45-50w the most. We measured it, so in real domestic hi-fi settings, you would never be able to listen to over 100w wihtout hearing damage. That's pretty much concert levels, which I'm not interested in reproducing at home.
The Parasound JC series amplifiers are very good, and well capable of difficult loads, no issues there. It will run circles around the MC275. Like I said, if you're very keen on a big bold Mac, the MC2301 or MC2000 are those sort of tube amps that will deliver the real power with finesse. Not just brute force with no soul...
Cheers, RJ
peacefulcargo
Well-known member
I have had 3 pairs in the past , 2 x Black Ash and then now Piano White
