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Adieu / Farewell
#11
Interesting...

Just found this thread, as I have a MAC6700 home for demo as well. I was fully expecting to not like it as pretty much everything else I've tried has pailed in comparison to the D200. Color me impressed with the Mcintosh.

I was expecting it to be not as dynamic. At first it wasn't on the 4 ohm taps to match my Sabrinas. Switch to the 8 ohm taps and bam all kinds of punch and life. Reasearch tells me this is a general consensus. Amp is running cool still so all is good.

I was expecting it to be a mess in the bottom end like a couple others amps I tried. No it's fine, no out of control room modes. It might not quite have the grip but it seams to have better texture and definition. Example: I heard bass cab cone/driver movement noise on a couple tracks that I hadn't heard before.

Phono stage is dead silent and sounds good. I have to admit vinyl is an after thought for me though.

My crappy 80s hair metal still sounds like crap but the bass and treble controls are accessible from the remote.

The devialet has that hyper black blacks that make instruments pop, the MAC7600 isn't as defined in that regard but has more texture and is just richer.

The Mac7600 has a slightly fuller mid presentation and thus is fuller sounding overall. Lower volumes are more enjoyable.


Note: All my comparisons are using the internal DAC which isn't held in best regards. So the sky is the limit in this regard.

I can only imagine how the beast MA8000 would sound.
Roon->HQPlayer->McIntosh C47->McIntosh MC301s>Transparent Super->Wilson Audio Sabrinas w/ Shunyata Denali, Rega RP8, Rega Apheta 2


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#12
you will at least be similarly impressed by a 220pro...
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#13
(08-Jan-2017, 08:43)Vivialet Wrote: you will at least be similarly impressed by a 220pro...

Trying hard to get that demo but it isn't working out.  The crazy part about the MAC6700 is that being canadian I could almost buy one new for the price of the upgrade.  It's a little over half the price of a D220 Pro new.
Roon->HQPlayer->McIntosh C47->McIntosh MC301s>Transparent Super->Wilson Audio Sabrinas w/ Shunyata Denali, Rega RP8, Rega Apheta 2


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#14
(08-Jan-2017, 15:09)Dr Tone Wrote:
(08-Jan-2017, 08:43)Vivialet Wrote: you will at least be similarly impressed by a 220pro...

Trying hard to get that demo but it isn't working out.  The crazy part about the MAC6700 is that being canadian I could almost buy one new for the price of the upgrade.  It's a little over half the price of a D220 Pro new.

Living in America You can buy McIntosh 8000 for the the same price as 220 Pro. And 8000 is a lifetime product. 220 is just too expensive comparing to amp like 8000. 

I am a very Happy user of 200 and I am not interested in any upgrades or changing gear to other amps. 200 with firmware 7.1.3 offers me nice timbres, musicality and fatigue free listening. But with this new firmwares 10 it is just a digital sound for lovers of ,,I can hear everything". Reading this forum   I see that this new ultra transparent sound is very popular. So before changing to nice Mac try 7.1.3 and nice Coaxial cable - van Den Hul the First ultimate.
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#15
(08-Jan-2017, 16:38)moreno1973 Wrote: I am a very Happy user of 200 and I am not interested in any upgrades or changing gear to other amps. 200 with firmware 7.1.3 offers me nice timbres, musicality and fatigue free listening. But with this new firmwares 10 it is just a digital sound for lovers of ,,I can hear everything". Reading this forum   I see that this new ultra transparent sound is very popular. So before changing to nice Mac try 7.1.3 and nice Coaxial cable - van Den Hul the First ultimate.

I had to review what was new in 8.0, to see what changed.

DPM
ICM
DSD Decoding
SAM for my Sabrinas requires v8.

No DSD Decoding will force me to go back to USB as Air doesn't seem to like 176.4. I tried telling Roon to decode DSDs last night and all I got was clicks. Not really a biggy, I have a good USB setup, battery powered SOTM USB and top end Transparent USB cable.  I use ICM on my optical input from my TV but I can live without it.  Always had DPM off.  I have SAM off as well. 

When 8 came out originally I was running my Focals and everything was bright and fatiguing so I didn't really notice a problem.   Big Grin

I'll give it a try tonight.  I assume as long as I disable the 8 specific features a current config file will still be fine with 7.1.3?
Roon->HQPlayer->McIntosh C47->McIntosh MC301s>Transparent Super->Wilson Audio Sabrinas w/ Shunyata Denali, Rega RP8, Rega Apheta 2


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#16
@Dr Tone, sorry for the off topic but I read (http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread...post425694) that you have your "TV, Xbox One, phono preamp, turntable, router and cable modem" all plugged in the same AC outlets/circuit as your Devialet.

I would seriously consider removing all the non-stereo equipment especially the cable modem (noise and ground loop paradise!!), router, TV and Xbox and move these to a different AC circuit if possible or behind some kind of isolation transformer.

Edit: I now see they're connected to a Denali, that should provide some improvement in noise isolation but other issues like ground loops may still exist. It's of course hard to be sure for me since I/we don't have the details.
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#17
(09-Jan-2017, 15:28)Antoine Wrote: @Dr Tone, sorry for the off topic but I read (http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread...post425694) that you have your "TV, Xbox One, phono preamp, turntable, router and cable modem" all plugged in the same AC outlets/circuit as your Devialet.

I would seriously consider removing all the non-stereo equipment especially the cable modem (noise and ground loop paradise!!), router, TV and Xbox and move these to a different AC circuit if possible or behind some kind of isolation transformer.

Edit: I now see they're connected to a Denali, that should provide some improvement in noise isolation but other issues like ground loops may still exist. It's of course hard to be sure for me since I/we don't have the details.

I don't have any ground loops, everything is dead quiet. I've had them in the past mostly when a computer was involved and an HDMI connected to a my receiver which was then preamped out to the devialet. Now I the have HDMI to my TV and optical from the TV to the Devialet which gives me the isolation needed there. The SOTM USB card and battery power supply gives me the isolation I need with that physical connection.

Only the Devialet & Phono preamp are plugged into the Denali.  Everything else is on a PS8 with a Defender in the first port.

It's all on one circuit. I live in a condo so changes to the electrical system aren't allowed. I have it setup for power as best I can.
Roon->HQPlayer->McIntosh C47->McIntosh MC301s>Transparent Super->Wilson Audio Sabrinas w/ Shunyata Denali, Rega RP8, Rega Apheta 2


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#18
OK great, it's a lot "less bad" than I thought then! Smile

If it's not there yet I'd research and install a ground loop isolator between your cable outlet and modem anyway to provide some additional isolation. They're very cheap and easy to install of course.
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#19
(09-Jan-2017, 15:52)Antoine Wrote: OK great, it's a lot "less bad" than I thought then! Smile

If it's not there yet I'd research and install a ground loop isolator between your cable outlet and modem anyway to provide some additional isolation. They're very cheap and easy to install of course.

I think there's a point of extreme diminishing returns...

You are saying the noise coming in the cable coax somehow gets back into my power and through the Denali and into the Devialet?  I spent allot of money on the Denali to stop this exact problem.

The only other connection that isn't optical after removing my ethernet connection is USB.  The SOTM card is suppose to have galvanic isolation and the battery power supply should isolate and clean any power related noise.
Roon->HQPlayer->McIntosh C47->McIntosh MC301s>Transparent Super->Wilson Audio Sabrinas w/ Shunyata Denali, Rega RP8, Rega Apheta 2


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#20
You could be right about the diminishing returns but I just know that the ground of the cable connection at least here in NL is extremely dirty and noisy and the amount of 'junk' varies over the day. I've been zapped by it a number of times too which indicates high voltage potentials present! Smile Not galvanically isolating the cable outlet would indeed make it possible to have ground loops/leakage currents due to AC or DC voltage potentials and possibly noise contamination.

It's easy to measure any AC and DC voltage potential between your cable outlet and regular earth or neutral. Measuring noise, residual ground loops of course is a lot more difficult so I don't know if/how much is real or present in your situation and if/how much is blocked by the Denali. I'm not sure if the Denali is able to block DC or ground loops.

I'm also kind of a prevention is better than curing kind of guy (no filter is perfect) but if you determine it's not necessary then that's fine of course!
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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