• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Amp broke

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Ok, am I asking too much for a $9000 amp to have something better than a 88 cent IEC connector? The darn thing cracked (amp is less than 2 months old) after I bumped the cable while moving a few cables around...

Suffice it to say, it's a piece of cake to replace, and I went ahead and ordered 3 different IEC connectors from Amazon to try and see which one is best ..

The original one was made of what felt like a very hard (almost like Bakelite) plastic.. my dCS and Accuphase both have much nicer feeling IEC's..

Rumor is that the supply chain has been super tight and they're not able to source a lot of their usual parts.. makes me wonder if they got this from AliExpress ..
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0005.jpg
    IMG_0005.jpg
    301.8 KB · Views: 822
  • IMG_0008.jpg
    IMG_0008.jpg
    440.4 KB · Views: 842
  • IMG_0010a.jpg
    IMG_0010a.jpg
    396.7 KB · Views: 800
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Alternative title suggestion: My Problem With Expensive Electronics. ;)

To counter that other thread haha...

but seriously ... I have the C1100 pre-amp and the IEC on that is very nice... I swear they must have run out of parts in that bin and went with whatever they could find..
 

wje

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
425
Likes
560
Location
Virginia
I read of your issues on the Facebook McIntosh group. I provided the link to the McIntosh lookup page for authorized repair centers.

It really stinks about this issue with your McIntosh amp. I'll agree, that when one spends thousands of dollars on an item, this kind of failure would, or should be least expected. Yes, it's under warranty. However, getting it into a shop and most likely waiting a week until they can look at it, then identify what needs to be replaced - and, then another week to order the correct replacement from McIntosh, then, 2-3 days to get around to fixing it, could mean up to a 3 week wait for this simple repair. On the other hand, you could certainly buy a much better quality IEC connector and install it, but then there could be issues with the warranty being honored when such a repair is applied. Sadly, a Catch-22 situation. Or, you could order the correct IEC connector from McIntosh parts - then, handle the installation yourself and cut down on the turn-around time. In the meantime, you could go to Home Depot, buy a 12 or 14 gauge power replacement cable for about $12.00. Then, using solder and shrink tube, direct wire the cable, so you can use your amplifier until the new IEC arrives and can be installed.

Seriously, though, it's a bit of a headache. The part should have been designed to last 20+ years without an issue. But, as a caution, I always remove all the cables before moving a piece of gear in my system. One never knows what might be encountered when performing such a move when the connections are still in place.
 

RayDunzl

Grand Contributor
Central Scrutinizer
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Messages
13,200
Likes
16,982
Location
Riverview FL
You didn't show a picture of the power cord.
 

restorer-john

Grand Contributor
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
12,579
Likes
38,280
Location
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
On the other hand, you could certainly buy a much better quality IEC connector and install it, but then there could be issues with the warranty being honored when such a repair is applied.

A replacement IEC connector would in no way invalidate a warranty claim unrelated to the IEC connector itself. Companies cannot weasel out of valid waranty claims for something like that. McIntosh is/has been a very upstanding company for many decades.

I'd send them their broken IEC connector with the suggestion they don't cheapen out on the most important set of contacts in the entire product. We do not know however, how significant the impact was, but it does look like a major brittle fracture to me.
 
Last edited:

MakeMineVinyl

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Messages
3,558
Likes
5,871
Location
Santa Fe, NM
Personally I haven't seen quality slipping on raw parts lately. Common parts like IEC connectors are usually not spec'd for 'high end' gear; many if most parts you will find in any consumer electronics of any grade are usually sourced from a limited number of vendors who make such parts. Manufacturers like to brag about things like 'audiophile capacitors' and such, but the reality is that you will see mostly the same parts in any gear, high end or not. The IEC connectors you get on Amazon will undoubtedly be just as good (or better!) than the ones that the manufacturer uses. Digikey.com is a good source of parts if you need to replace anything - many of the parts you see at any manufacturer will have Digikey on the shipping box. ;)
 

trl

Major Contributor
King of Mods
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Messages
1,967
Likes
2,523
Location
Iasi, RO
Why don't you contact them and let them know that such good Stereophile measurement results are not on pair with the build quality, not with the price paid. However, maybe it was a bad luck for you and not all of them are the same.
 

trl

Major Contributor
King of Mods
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Messages
1,967
Likes
2,523
Location
Iasi, RO
BTW, just realised now that you're using XR50 that are having a sensitivity of only 81 dB @ 1 W (or 2.83 V). These speakers need power peaks to about 1000 Watts @ 8 Ohms to get SPL peaks to 110 dB. This is extremely low sensitivity that will limit the listening SPL to moderate/moderate-to-high levels, which might do for not big rooms.
 
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
I read of your issues on the Facebook McIntosh group. .

Wait, what Facebook McIntosh group? I never posted anything on FB about this.... you sure it was me?
Can you share the link to the post?


I was able to fix it with a $3.00 part... it was literally a plug and play repair.
 
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
BTW, just realised now that you're using XR50 that are having a sensitivity of only 81 dB @ 1 W (or 2.83 V). These speakers need power peaks to about 1000 Watts @ 8 Ohms to get SPL peaks to 110 dB. This is extremely low sensitivity that will limit the listening SPL to moderate/moderate-to-high levels, which might do for not big rooms.

I deliberately wanted these for their low sensitivity ... they put out massive bass for their size. They're also one of the only true 3-way speakers that is a also a "Book shelf" ... And yes, my room is small where I listen, so larger speakers would not work right.. These sound great, and are about to sound even better after I get my DSP installed next week.
 

BDWoody

Chief Cat Herder
Moderator
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
6,948
Likes
22,625
Location
Mid-Atlantic, USA. (Maryland)
Ok, am I asking too much for a $9000 amp to have something better than a 88 cent IEC connector? The darn thing cracked (amp is less than 2 months old) after I bumped the cable while moving a few cables around...

I know @direstraitsfan98 had a less than overwhelming experience with some new McIntosh gear a while back. Makes me wonder if I wouldn't rather pick up an older one were I inclined in the first place... Probably be a more luxurious item.

I like those kinds of nice things too... But only when they actually are *nice.*
 

wje

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
425
Likes
560
Location
Virginia
Wait, what Facebook McIntosh group? I never posted anything on FB about this.... you sure it was me?
Can you share the link to the post?


I was able to fix it with a $3.00 part... it was literally a plug and play repair.

Maybe, it wasn't the McIntosh group on Facebook, but one of the Audiophile groups? Anyhow, I'm glad you were able to get it fully resolved with a $3.00 part and you're back in business.
 
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
I know @direstraitsfan98 had a less than overwhelming experience with some new McIntosh gear a while back. Makes me wonder if I wouldn't rather pick up an older one were I inclined in the first place... Probably be a more luxurious item.

I like those kinds of nice things too... But only when they actually are *nice.*

apart from this, I can't complain yet... I think the biggest reason the IEC failed is their design where they install it inside the chassis, rather than outside... I noticed on my other two brands (Accuphase and dCS) they screwed the IEC in from the outside not the inside.. The material also seemed very hard and maybe therefore brittle... the IEC I got was a bit more like the one on the Accuphase to the touch/texture.

@restorer-john yeah, not too worried about the warranty issue.. The MagnusonMoss Warranty Act pretty much makes it impossible for someone to just arbitrarily void your warranty unless they can demonstrate the failure was related to something you did.
 
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Maybe, it wasn't the McIntosh group on Facebook, but one of the Audiophile groups? Anyhow, I'm glad you were able to get it fully resolved with a $3.00 part and you're back in business.

Yep, maybe on another forum .... I did share this with my other audiophile group.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wje
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area

Attachments

  • 18796.Jpg
    18796.Jpg
    47.8 KB · Views: 108
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: wje

wje

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
425
Likes
560
Location
Virginia
it's a power chord... what's to show?

I don't have much belief in mega-buck power cables, but I do like a somewhat substantial power cable as opposed to the OEM cables. I did find some cables on Amazon during the Cyber Monday sales - a 5 foot, 10 gauge cable for about $35.00. I've found that the connection to my McIntosh MC402 is much tighter with the replacement cable over the factory cable.
 
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
I don't have much belief in mega-buck power cables, but I do like a somewhat substantial power cable as opposed to the OEM cables. I did find some cables on Amazon during the Cyber Monday sales - a 5 foot, 10 gauge cable for about $35.00. I've found that the connection to my McIntosh MC402 is much tighter with the replacement cable over the factory cable.

I have a few of the Gutwire B10 power cables, made in Canada with quality Furtech parts, and they're not monstrous or heavy or too rigid on my other components ... but the Amp sits very close to it's own dedicated power outlet and it made no sense to use a B10 in this case... I might re-visit this now that I have a much better IEC connector installed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wje
OP
MDAguy

MDAguy

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
404
Likes
405
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Top Bottom