McIntosh Black 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Amplifier in Black - MC275

McIntosh MC275 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Amplifier in Black

Upon its initial release in 1961, the MC275 Vacuum Tube Amplifier became an instant favorite due to its ability to drive the power-hungry speakers of that time period with great power at low distortion levels. However, as transistors emerged and vacuum tubes became 'old technology,' the MC275 was discontinued in 1971. Thankfully, that is not where the story of the MC275 ends.

It came back into production as a special commemoration edition in 1993 to posthumously honor McIntosh co-founder and longtime president Gordon Gow. The reincarnated MC275 received incredibly high acclaim and earned its spot back in the product lineup. The overall storyline behind the MC275 and its history with McIntosh is exceptionally rich and it has been the driving force behind countless home audio systems for decades. It is hard to imagine McIntosh without the MC275.

Now in its sixth generation, the MC275 has many subtle enhancements from the previous releases that have greatly improved performance. Combined with the widest bandwidth McIntosh output transformer design, the MC275 features tauter bass control and thermally quiet circuit design. The result is pure music. This vacuum tube power amplifier has all the features to meet the needs of today’s music enthusiast, while preserving the qualities that have made the MC275 the most revered McIntosh vacuum tube amplifier.

The MC275 can be used in either stereo or mono mode. When used as a stereo amplifier, it will deliver 75 Watts per channel to 4, 8 or 16 Ohm speakers; in mono mode it will output 150 Watts to a single speaker with an impedance of 2, 4 or 8 Ohms. The MC275's full power can be delivered regardless of the speaker impedance thanks to our patented Unity Coupled Circuit output transformer technology – the same technology McIntosh was founded on in 1949. The two Unity Coupled Circuit output transformers are located next to the power transformer.

Four KT88 vacuum tubes power the output section while four 12AT7 and three 12AX7A smaller vacuum tubes are used for the Input, Voltage, and Driver amps. The MC275 offers both balanced and unbalanced inputs to connect to your preamplifier and home audio system. It comes with our fuse-less Sentry Monitor™ short-circuit protection that disengages the output stage before current exceeds safe operating levels and then resets automatically when operating conditions return to normal. Our patented gold-plated Solid Cinch™ speaker binding posts assure the best connection to all speaker cables.

The seven small tubes are LED illuminated to indicate the amplifiers functional status: upon power up, they sequentially glow amber for a few seconds and then all turn green to signify system readiness. In the rare case of an output tube failure, the small tube(s) in front of it will turn red to notify you of the problem. An input and output for our Power Control technology allows other connected McIntosh components, such as preamplifiers, CD players, turntables, or media steamers, to automatically turn on and off. Contact your local dealer to learn more.

Features

• Circuit Design
  The All Tube Circuit Design allows only the tubes to amplify the input signal, for the best tune amp listening experience.
• Sentry Monitor
  The High-Speed Sentry Monitor protection circuitry shuts down the amplifier in case of a rare tube malfunction before additional damage can occur. The small tubes closest to the defective output tube set will illuminate Red to indicate which pair of output tubes need replacing. If speaker wires are inadvertently shorted, Sentry Monitor will shut the amp off and the power LED on the input side of the amp will flash. Once the speaker wires are corrected, the amplifier will power back up.
• Tube Illumination
  The seven small tubes sequentially warm up with an intense amber hue until the amplifier reaches operational stability, causing the tubes’ illumination to change to green. When the small tubes are green, voltages are stabilized and the amplifier is ready to enjoy.
• Monophonic Operation
  MC275 is designed to use as a single chassis 150 watt mono power amplifier. A Gold Platted mono speaker jumper is included to connect the two channels together for monophonic use when high power is needed for larger speakers or higher playback volumes.