Tubes Recommendation for McIntosh Preamp

Hi @glennewdick, may I ask you which NOS brand did you get?

Most comments I read from the internet is that NOS tubes are better than new production. I don’t mind buying NOS. In fact, I got some NOS for my other preamp (Cary SLP-05) and quite like them. But I'm also curious about how much longer can the inventory of NOS tubes last. I would think they eventually run out,

Thanks!

Hey @immatthewj, I still have the Cary SLP-05. I guess I’m keeping it as a spare for now.

The purchase of this McIntosh is kind of a coincidence. I ran into the C1100 for sale ad while I was browsing around in Audiogon one day. From the pictures, it looked very clean and the price was reasonable. So I contacted the seller, who happens to be an audio store. They got the C1100 as a trade in from a customer, and I was told it was only a little over a year old. Of course I can’t verify that. I just have to take his words.

So I decided to take a chance and purchased it. Given the pretty good resale value of McIntosh, I figure I can probably sell it for around the same price if I’m not happy with it.

When I got the delivery, I was very happy to see how clean it looked. It was in mint condition, almost like new. When I plugged it in and started listening to it, I wasn’t happy with the sound. It sounded thin and bright. So I contacted the dealer to see if he would take it back, and I even offered to pay him a restocking fee. He told me to give it some time. He said the unit hasn’t been played for a while, and it will require some break in time again. I’ve never heard of that before, have you? but I decided to take his words for it. As it turned out, he was right. After I gave it a couple of weeks of playing, it started to open up. The brightness was gone, and sounded more smooth, rich, and warm. I was quite happy with the sound.

Since then, I haven’t switched back to my Cary to compare the sound. It’s been about 6 months now. From my memory, the sound of the Cary is on par with the McIntosh. So I won’t say the Mac is better or vice vera. If I ever get around to plug in my Cary again, I’ll let you know how it compares to the McIntosh.

Cheers!

Good suggestion @immatthewj on contacting McIntosh.  I thought about that too.  In fact, the dealer that sold me the Mac told me that the previous owner had sent in his warranty registration card, so therefore, the warranty is transferrable.   Again, I took his words for it.   I was going to contact McIntosh to verify that.  Maybe one day when I have some spare time.

Sorry for side tracking,  😀.   Will still welcome any tubes recommendation for the McIntosh!

Cheers!

Thanks @cfa88 for your suggestion.  I'll look into that!

Great.  Thanks @bondmanp!  

Thanks @whitecap!   

Thanks very much @wescoman for sharing your experience, Very helpful.

I actually think the current sound is not bad with the stock tubes. I was told the unit was about 1 year old, but I don’t know how many hours did the previous owner put in on the unit,

I have no experience of what a bad tube sounds like. So I thought for my own peace of mind, I would try some new tubes. But it is so good to know that you are running the stock tubes for 5 yeas without any problem. That’s wonderful!

I might just leave it for a while and see how it goes!

Thanks!

Yes, most comments I read here in this forum mentioned that McIntosh uses JJ tubes in their tube components.  I actually have never heard of New Sensor mentioned by @wescoman.  

Nevertheless,  I guess McIntosh does a good job picking the right tubes for their product.  At least I hope so anyway.  😀.  Unlike Cary Audio SLP-05, I think most comments I read are negative with their stock tube made by EH.

Great.  Thanks @glennewdick.  

Yeah. I did see your message, but when I went to click on it. It removed all the emails information. I don’t think they allow exchanging emails because they don’t want people doing business behind their back,

Actually I just clicked on your system, and I see the positing of the 12AU7 tubes.  Very nice thanks!

I also like your system, especially that cool Sansui tuner.  👍

cool!  Thanks @stanleylocke