2. amps-preamps
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mcintosh 452 amp

hi audiogoners. i just purchased a mcintosh 452 power amp locally (traded in a b.a.t. vk250 power amp). my question is this: i'm pairing the mac with a b.a.t vk3i tube preamp. does this combination work well? would it be worth, down the line, to invest in a mac pre amp? my system so far is as follows: kef 205/2 speakers, marantz reference cd/sacd player, vpi turntable, purist audio spkr cables, jps labs interconnects and powerchords, and a running springs power conditioner. that being said, i think i've pretty much completed my system. hopefully the mac amp is the last piece of the puzzle. any feedback would be appreciated. thanks.
gilman6125
5 responses Add your response
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Are you afraid to hook your new amp up for some reason? You shouldn't have any problems. Both pieces should work OK with each other.

If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you take care of this before you bought a new amp? It seems like a risky thing to do.
smatsui
167 posts
 
The BAT preamp should work fine. I like my MC452 with a Ray Samuels A-10 vacuum tube preamp/electrostatic headphone amp. This combo is very dynamic, with a large soundstage and very good imagining. My source is a Bricasti M1 DAC and Bryston BDP-2 digital music player. My analog system is a Linn LP12 and Zesto Andros PS1. The MC452 is a great amp for my Harbeth M40.1 speakers.
gilman6125 OP
5 posts
 
thanks for the response zd. i don't have the amp yet. i heard it at a local audio store, traded my b.a.t. amp in for it, but it's gonna be a coupla more weeks before it gets here. talked to the people at b.a.t. and they said it would be an excellent match. my local guys are pretty good. needed more power, was pushing my b.a.t. to hard. i was thinking of maybe going with a mac pre sometime in the future. the mac c50 looks like a nice pre, any feeling one way or another on it? are you familiar with mcintosh?
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
no need to switch to mac pre.
mac amps work well with tube preamps.
the rest you will hear and share if you like or not.
whitecap
121 posts
 
The MC452 is a very good amp, but its input impedence is 22K Ohms, and it does not mate well with ever tube pre. Our CJ Act 2.2 (output impedence 500 Ohms) sounded flat and lacked bass with the 452. We fixed it by inserting a with Pass XVR-1 external cross-over (which I was looking to add anyway to split the signal in a monitor/sub speaker configuration). That combo now sounds really nice.
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