Good speaker match for Mcintosh MC275 IV

Well, I'm using VonSchweikert VR4JRs with my MC275 and it is an outstanding match. In fact, I just attended RMAF and honestly, there were very few systems I heard there that I found more satisfying than that combination. Those that did were many times their cost. The speakers I heard there that I would prefer to my 4s were 12K and above whereas you can find a used pair of VR4JRs for under your budget limit.

There are many speakers that would complement the Mc 275, but one obvious match- Klipschorn!
I have a pair from the mid 60's. Even though I have moved on to Dunlavy VI's, and added another Mc275 to my system, the Khorns matched with the tube amp, was beautiful.
I've had many amps over the years. The Khorns sound fantastic with almost any amp, but after hooking them up to the Mc 275, nothing else compares!
It is my understanding that Paul Klipsch had the same setup...

I purchased my MC275-IV to drive my 18 y.o. MartinLogan CLSIIz's. Tubes are the ticket for electrostats, and among tube amps, the McIntosh MC275 has a unique power output circuit which makes it even better suited to driving electrostats. Frank McIntosh's famous Unity Coupled Circuit draws power from both sides of the power tube(s), not just from the plate. As a result, the output is current-controlled rather than voltage-controlled as with most tube amps; and electrostats need current.

If you want to drive a conventional speaker with a MC275, it would be good if it had med. to hi. efficiency and ported woofers -- as with all tube amps, the MC275 doesn't have the damping necessary to tightly control sealed acoustic suspension woofers.

The current two models (the IV and the V) put out 90 - 95 watts/channel. McIntosh kept the 275 designation as a gesture to tradition ;-)

pick a speaker you like..the mac will take care of the rest. only the most esoteric powermongers should be excluded.

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I'll look into all of these. I am still learning about this amp but, it has been a blast already. Still gotta find an affordable preamp,better speakers and cables. I'd love to hear what has worked for others with this amp. All input is welcome!

I am having excellent results driving a pair of Nola Viper 1A's with an MC275 IV. However, it took replacing all the stock 275 tubes with Genalex/Mullard and upgrading to the optional AlNiCo magnet midrange drivers on the Vipers to really lock in a musical powerhouse presentation this combo provides. May I suggest that if you are using the SE inputs on the 275, to use Cardas XLR caps on the unused XLR inputs. The increase in resolution is NOT subtle! I'm using MIT2 Bi-wire speaker cables and AQ Cheetah's from preamp to amp with excellent results. Was using AQ Volcano's before the MIT's and while the Volcano's are VERY good, the MIT's nail the spatial coherence, firm up the bass and expand the soundstage in all directions.
It also pays to experiment with powercords as well.

Nmmusicman-Sorry for the hi-jack but I am wondering if you have tried the Nola Black Orpheus speaker cables with your Viper's? When I switched to them on my Alon's it was not a subtle difference.

Zenblaster-Yes I have both the bi-wire and tri-wire Black Orpheus speaker cables as I also own Alon 1's, and Alon Lotus SE mk ll speakers as well and the MIT2 Bi-wire cables are superior in all 3 cases. Yes the Black Orpheus are a superb match with the Alon/Nola's but there is an undeniable synergy when the MIT's are mated with Alon/Nola speakers that I have not heard bettered in all the systems I have put together starting with the Alon 1's.