How good is the McIntosh MC-2300 vs modern SS amplifiers?

John Curl gave a most informative talk on the Wall Of Sound used by the Gratefful Dead. He had a lot to do with the speaker end of things but had not much to say about the amplifiers which left me curious about them.

I think JC was being diplomatic in his silence, he knows.
As it was in a way McIntosh sponsored after all.
There were 15 x MC-2300's in this link.
http://www.dozin.com/wallofsound/

However this is a fine amplifier, virtually bullet proof, and used in great numbers by a band known for its incredible sound.

That maybe Roger back in the day, and yes any amp with an output transformer is far more immune to a degree against fools doing the wrong or stupid things like shorting out (than a direct transistor output), but have a listen to one today compared to what's around, then give your opinion on how it sounds.
  
I heard one not 2 months ago compared to a Gryphon on Wilson's, let me say there was no comparison. One sounded like a thick blanket was thrown over the Wilson's compared to the other, you'll know which when you've had a listen to one.

Roadies tend to blow amps more than anyone I know, so yes the SS Mac's with output transformers would be up for more abuse, if the band could get tubes to do the job because of the watts needed, and the reliability factor. Can you imagine the amount of tubes needed to give the watts that 15 of those Mac's could give.
      

Cheers George

HI George,

I have not listened to one but I like the circuit, especially for its day when Phase Linear and Crown were the alternatives. I just appreciate a good design for the parts that were available at the time. Transistors have come a long way since then. This amp used a MJ15001 series part. Although they could have used the compliment they went with same sex devices. Its a really clever design,

As far as I know The Dead bought all those amps. There is even a story where they took a helicopter and $6000 to pick up some amps at the factory on a Sunday.

Did it really sound that bad? Anyone else heard one?

This article is off topic. But, it’s a fun read about Owsley and the Dead’s introduction to good sound - and parallel universes. Below is a short excerpt.

"At the time, live sound at rock concerts was extremely primitive. Musicians plugged their instruments into amplifiers connected to single-channel speakers. There were no onstage monitors, so musicians couldn’t hear one another. Owsley wanted the Dead not only to be clearly heard but also in stereo, a concept so far ahead of its time that it would be ten years before such systems were installed in movie theaters. Thanks to Owsley, the Dead were soon playing through four immense Altec Voice of the Theatre A7 speakers powered by four McIntosh 240 stereo tube amplifiers as delicate as they were huge."

Did it really sound that bad?

Yeah, to give a visual comparison, it was like looking through frosted glass.

I remember sound from that era well, SS either tore your head off with sibilance usually from the US, or so truncated the opposite, usually from the UK, it sounded like a thick Blancmange. No wonder tube were the preferred choice by all.

Owsley wanted the Dead not only to be clearly heard but also in stereo

But this counters that if you look at the writing above each unit stack, as the same muso/instrument was in both left and right, giving basically a mono wall of sound.
https://marketingtowin.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dead-soundii.jpg

Cheers George

I think the Grateful Dead liked HDCD as nearly every album they did was HDCD.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Grateful+Dead+HDCD&_sacat=0&_ipg=200

Cheers George