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McIntosh MC275

Hi all. I recently purchased a used MC275 in very good condition. The original owner said he had it service not too long ago. The amp appears to work fine but the tubes are very dim. I had them tested and they are fine with about 1/2 life still on them. Not sure what to do. Do I need new tubes or is there an adjustment I need to make? If I need new tubes then could someone give me an idea what to get and where to place them on the amp (which slots)? I want quality tubes so please, ANY guidance would be appreciated. Thank you
128x128ceborg999
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
ceborg999
I recently purchased a used MC275 but the tubes are very dim.

Just measure the heater voltage, should be 6.3v. If it’s close don’t worry, some tube (brands) have different intensity heater glow.

Cheers George
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jbeckley42
5 posts
 
I own the mc275 vi version and love it.  Mine has the LED tube indicators, but I don’t believe yours does.  Ron Cornelius at Mcintosh told me that on average the 275 tubes last between 5,000-10,000 hours...so if you like the sounds of the tubes you have, they should still have lots of life.  

As as far as tubes, I’ve swapped out a few tubes.  I really like the golden lion kt-88, they seem to have more body and bass.  I tried the newer tung-sols in the 12ax7 spots, but didn’t care for them.  They sound thin.  My current setup (that I like the best so far), 1 Golden lion 12ax7 inverter spot, with 2 RCA 12ax7 followed by rca blackplates 12at7.  However, everyone’s ears and stereo is different. Good luck!
genez
220 posts
 
Tubes are not light bulbs!   I had a MC275 years ago with new tubes.  I could listen in a dark room and all I saw was a glow.  A nice warm glow. 
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