Too Bright Big Blue Meters : Re: McIntosh MA6900

I always thought they were a deeper blue too but they seem to be more of a greenish color now. My Mcintosh amp and preamp have switches to turn off the meters. i don't remember if the MA6900 has that feature. You could always unscrew the bulbs, but then you can't have them on when you want to.

I cover my bright LED's on ADC with a washcloth when I am listening, doesn't look pretty but mute's the intense light.

All Mcintosh meters are clear and white, its the cellophane gelatin paper behind the glass that is taped over the meters that give it its blue color. Over the years smoking or age sometimes fade or discolor the meters shade. Mcintosh will sell a sheet of this cellaphane, get enough for all your units to get a matching shade should you decide to install a new strip.

I have my Mcintosh equiqments inside the shelf with tinted glass. They look just right to me.

Rodney,

Your meters may have a problem. If you have a dealer near you, you should see if his McIntosh amps in stock are as bright as yours. The 6900s I have seen did not seem all that bright to me. You could stick a resistor in the circuit to dim them but you need to know what you are doing. I would make sure there isn't something wrong with yours first though. Let us know what you find out.

The lights can be switched off on the amps and not the integrateds unfortunately. Arthur

Hi All,

Thx very much for your responses & suggestions.

Actually, I'm sure there is nothing wrong with them as I bought it from a local dealer & I know the salesman very well, and it was powered up when I was there, just didn't notice it then.

I tend to agree with Budrew, they look to have a light bright greenish blue tint to them, and I think you're correct they can't be turned off short of unplugging the bulbs(not a good solution, same as a dish cloth :( ... )

Also tinted glass isn't an option either as it is on an amp stand, eqip. rack problematic ...

Also I don't want to screw around with putting a resistor in there,as I don't know what I'm doing ( my friend & salesman does, but not as it is new now,maybe later)

But I will call McI and ask them about the gel replacment (and if it is a problem to change)

I'm not saying it looks bad or is too bright( it's not, it's beautiful ), just that in it's current postion and during late night DVD movie watching , it is very distracting & annoying.

But THX Again for your info...

1 MORE Thing.

I am currently using a Shunyata Powersnake Diamondback power cord on the 6900, and am thinking/planning to get the Audience power cord for the 6900 and putting the Diamondback on my CDP. I've heard this would be an inexpensive and very good upgrade for the MA6900 ...

What are your thoughts on this ( This is all in CDN $, so the costs here are much higher for even inexpensive US$ cables.

Thx again in advance for your help on this.

Regards , TK

I played around with power cables a lot during the last year, for my McIntosh's: Shunyata's Black Mamba, the Australian Eichmann Xpress-power cable, an LAT-International cable, and PS Audio's Statement power cable. The PS Audio beat all others; you may get it used on the Gon. If value for price is included, the clear vistor was the LAT International. I made another interesting discovery, however, after including an Exact Power EP15 unit: The differencesbetween the power cables now became next to negligible. So just my two cents: Maybe go for a power-regulating or regenarating unit first, then compare power cables.

Talk directly to McIntosh. I recently called them about a question on my MA-6900 and they got right back to me. Very helpful. At 7 cents/minute it won't cost you much and you'll get someone who really knows the gear. Ask for tech support. Really like the sound of my MA-6900. Always was disappointed after I sold my MA-6850 a fews back. So decided to try this and it is even better. I don't know about other owners, but the thing I really like is how it controls my speakers. It is definitely in control, if you know what I mean.