McIntosh and Autoformers. . .?


What is an Autoformer, and what kind of difference will it make to the sound? I heard some B&W 803's the other day with the McIntosh 402, and it sounded absolutely unreal! I was so impressed, I am thinking of dumping my current SET gear, and going with McIntosh and B&W's.

A freidn tells me that I only want the new McIntosh stuff with the Autoformers. I don't know why. Will the 202 have similar sonic characteristics to the 402? What about the 6900?

Thanks!

B
hantrax

Showing 3 responses by germanboxers

Following Zaikes question, I'm using an Atma-Sphere MA1 MkII.2 with Kharma Ceramique 1.0 speakers. These speakers are nominally rated at 8 ohms, not sure what the impedance curve looks like though. The amps seem to drive the speakers well, but I'm wondering if an autoformer might significantly improve the sound? Ralph Karsten suggested it might or might not depending on the shape of the impedance curve. Does anyone have any experience with this combo or sage advice? Thanks!
Nealhood, very good advice... thank you. Hopefully, Paul will allow me to audition it and I definitely will report back should I be able to arrange this.

How important is it to use good cable from amp to autoformer? I've pushed the finances almost as far as I can (wife has that serious look on her face if even a small box is delivered to the house) and the thought of matching speaker cable quality for the short run to the autoformer is giving me the shakes.
Nealhood, ordered a pair of ZERO's from Paul yesterday and should get a chance to see what they do in my system by the end of the week. Very good experience dealing with Paul... very knowledgable and accomodating. I'll try to write a review on the effects of an autoformer with an 8ohm speaker next week. Thanks for the advice!