McIntosh MC275 1960’s Vintage Tube Amp – A Beautiful Gem - Completely Restored

A Special Amplifier for a Special Discriminating Owner

McIntosh MC275 1960's Vintage Tube Amp -- A Beautiful Gem -- Completely Restored
This McIntosh MC275 is from the 1960's and has been played and treated with the utmost care during its lifetime so far. One would be hard pressed to find another example in as lovely a condition as this amp. It has just now undergone a complete restoration from the country's premier McIntosh Factory Restoration Center, Absolute Sound Labs in Minnesota (http://www.absoundlabs.com/index.html). Their work is not only electrically perfect but, as the last three photos in the series show, executed with exceptional craftsmanship and beauty. From their website: "Absolute Sound Labs has been an authorized McIntosh Service facility since 1969. We service both in-warranty and out-of-warranty McIntosh products. Recently McIntosh has limited their own in-house factory servicing of older tube and early solid-state equipment. Absolute Sound Labs was selected as one of a very limited number of McIntosh Service Clinics to handle these issues. Absolute Sound Labs is proud to be so highly regarded by the McIntosh company. We have the necessary technical information, parts, and test equipment to restore your McIntosh equipment to like-new condition." A detailed description of their restoration process is presented on their website and includes:

"1. Removal of any non-factory modifications to restore the equipment to the condition it was initially designed so that a restoration can be started.
2. Replacement of all electrolytic capacitors with Panasonic FC Gold or Nichicon UUV or UUW, 105 degree devices.
3. Replacement of all coupling capacitors with Panasonic or Secor metal, poly type capacitors.
4. Replacement of all compensating capacitors with Panasonic, Nichicon or Secor Polyfilm devices.
5. Replacement of active semiconductors, where applicable, with new, updated OEM style devices. These devices are specified by several design engineers, such as James Bongiorno, who have experience in the design of audio equipment.
6. Replacement of any other devices deemed to be out of specification.
7. All circuit boards are cleaned of excess rosin and contaminates using industrial
grade printed circuit board chemicals to insure the best possible operation of
the circuitry. The complete interior is cleaned to remove dust and other
collected matter.
8. All mounting screws, where electrical conduction is used, are replaced with
new screws to eliminate any possible or intermittent circuit problems caused by
oxidation or other contaminates.
9. All applicable adjustments, i.e., balance, offset and bias are set to
applicable factory specifications where applicable. In addition, wherein a
tuner is either the only device or an integrated part of the equipment, a complete alignment of AM/FM/Multiplex is done.
10. All cosmetic parts are removed and cleaned, using an ultrasonic cleaning
process and/or various, special, industrial cleaning products. Where
applicable, panel assemblies and cabinets are sealed in a commercial
ultra-thin, clear, unique Hydrophobic Polymer compound to insure that
additional deterioration of lettering and detail is minimized.
11. The unit is then re-assembled and all functions are verified to ascertain
full functionality. The unit is then placed into a burn-in period which varies
from 24 to 48 hours, depending on the type of equipment. Certain equipment is
also operated on our Cycler for more intensive burn-in. After burn-in the
equipment is then re-assessed to insure that all adjustments and alignments are
correct and have not changed.

Equipment that undergoes a Full Restoration carries a one-year, 360- day,
limited warranty to both the parts and labor covering our work performed. The
warranty does not apply to parts and labor for those parts, which were not
installed by us."

The technician who restored this amp commented that this the nicest, cleanest MC275 he'd seen in years and the he'd rate it a 9/10. There is the normal deterioration of the chrome along the creases in the metal chassis that plagues all Mac amplifiers of this vintage, some lettering on the rear panel has been rubbed off, and a very minor scratch exists on top of one of the transformers. These minor imperfections are the only thing standing in the way of rating the cosmetics of the amplifier a 10/10. Electrically and mechanically it is definitely a 10/10 having had the restoration work done, and is good to go for another twenty or thirty years of flawless performance. Included is a lovely selection of audiophile tubes that have plenty of life remaining. All paperwork from the restoration service will be sent with the amp, and the warranty from Absolute Sound Labs will be transferred to the new owner.

The amp will be shipped in factory boxing and with the original manual.

Thank you for looking and considering this exemplary McIntosh MC275!