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To monoblock or not to monoblock McIntosh MC275's

Hi everyone,

I'd appreciate your opinions on the matter. I currently own an MC275 MK IV, running McIntosh XRT 28's. It sounds great - even though the XRT's can handle up 1200W and the MC275's output 80-90W.

I got my hands on a NOS (still sealed) MK IV, and I'm debating whether I should keep it and run as them monoblocks. The reason I'm not trying it personally, is because I don't want to open that new one that's still sealed.

So my dilemma is -  would running 2 MC275 as monoblocks make a BIG difference in sound quality?

I'm sure it will be louder, but for the sake of the argument, if my sound is now 100% - in your opinion
(hypothetically speaking) will it improve it to say 103% or 120%? Will I notice a big enough difference?

Thank you!
yyman23

Showing 2 responses by cleeds

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cleeds
6,051 posts
 
^^^^^^^^ Al, thanks so much for this clear explanation. Of course, I expect nothing less from you! But, neither do I take it for granted.

It does sound like the two channels of a stereo amplifier must be very closely matched for parallel operation to work well. Because we’re talking about tube amps, I wonder how practical that really is.

What's really odd about this is that, many moons ago, I had a Dynaco ST-70, but never knew it could do this. It's always nice to learn something new.

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cleeds
6,051 posts
 
almarg
As a point of information, when the MC275 is operated in mono mode it is not bridged. The two channels are paralleled instead, which is different than bridging ...
That's very interesting and new to me, Al. Thanks for sharing!

Do you know if any amplifier be used in parallel fashion? Are there any downsides to this mode of use?

As an aside, I've never been a fan of bridged operation, and think it's best to just get a more powerful amplifier.
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