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PC recommendation for McIntosh 501's

Putting the "final" touches on my current system which resides in a listening room that has dedicated circuits and extensive acoustic treatment.

Apart from adding a power conditioner to the front-end, the obvious next step would be to consider upgrading the pc's feeding my 501's.

I'm not looking to alter overall tonal balance, just want to let the 501's shine. In other words I'm looking for something as transparent (neutral) as possible. Any suggestions?

Here's my set-up:

CDP - Mark Levinson 390s (VH Audio Airsine / Gold Oyaide)
Preamp - Mark Levinson 326s (Shunyata Python CX)
Amps - McIntosh 501's (stock pc)
Speakers - Focal Micro Utopia Be (Audience AU24 speaker cable)
Sub - Revel Ultima Sub30 (VH Audio Airsine / Rhodium Furutech)
IC's - Nordost Valkyrja throughout
aldog
pops
1,847 posts
 
Aldog, I have tried and own synergistic research master coupler and MIT Z cord II - so I haven't exactly run the gambit on PC's. I like both PC's on source, the SR's work well with digital and the the MIT has always worked well with my Classe amp which is currently on the sidelines.

F1fanatic makes a great point, I can't recommend dedicated lines enough - it made a huge difference in my system. I found the PC's I have emphasized the top and bottom end but stripped out the middle on my 501's, quiet, blacker backgrounds, but just lost some of the organic midrange for me. I just took that as a litmus test for PC's since both had the same result on my amps. Just my experience...
aldog OP
17 posts
 
Thanks to everyone for the input thus far...

Yeah, I'm running two dedicated circuits, one to front end components and the other amplification. Perhaps adding a power conditioner to feed the front-end will make a bigger positive impact at this point.

I'd still like to see what improvements others have experienced by upgrading the power cords on their 501's. Keep 'em coming.
istanbulu
291 posts
 
Pops makes a good point about "organic feel" so, imho, take a close listen to the vintage Synergistic Research Master Coupler... those can be sold for what you bought them for and it's well-worth the try. Depends upon what you want. If you want clean clarity within your budget then I'd recommend the Morrow MAP3s... hard to beat...

again, jmo & jme,

:) listening,

Ed
tjnif's avatar
tjnif
77 posts
 
You owe it to yourself to try out a Kubala Emotion cables. I borrowed a set from audioclassics.com and was AMAZED and immediately ordered some. I have 2 Mcintosh MC2000's and 1 MC352..... Really opened up the sound (and my wallet) but i really think it was worth the price of admission. Don't tell my wife!!
phillyb's avatar
phillyb
233 posts
 
LessLoss work wonders on my McIntosh MC 402, and C2300, detail, imaging, dynamics, bottom end all improve over the stock cord, and complete absence of noise.
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