MCINTOSH MAC 1900 WITH WOOD CABINET - ONE OWNER - READY FOR UPGRADES

Greetings From Nashville,

For sale a McIntosh MAC-1900 Solid State Stereo Receiver (1973-1978, Last retail price $949.00)

I am the original owner of a MAC-1900 and a McIntosh Wood Case (the wood case was used for a few months in 1973 then returned to its shipping Carton (I liked the high tech look of no case better). I have the original shipping cartons (two cartons) for both. Also I believe I have the original owner’s manual (copies of the owner’s manual and the service manual are available for free from HIFIENGINEdotCOM).

I did not know what price to put on this MAC-1900, so I am starting at $650.00 obo for the receiver and $200.00 obo for the wood case. Or $850.00 obo for both. PLEASE MAKE ANY OFFER.

The Mac 1900 was taken out of service in 1980 put into heated storage (no rust, cosmetically in great shape given is age).

The MAC 1900 is in great condition except for:

The red AM/FM tuning light is out.

The Red FM Multiplex (stereo radio station indicator) light is out.

The green tint behind the FM signal strength meter is a little wavy (this happen in the 70's) and the lights are out behind the signal strength and the centering meter for FM

The black Binding Post on the First Set of Speaker outputs is a little loose (from too heavy wires), Speaker Two and Speaker Three are like new.

One of the Red Biding Posts for the 300 OHM FM Antenna is loose.

Two marks on the front, one nick in the metal just below the PH1 indictor on the glass (see photo) and a light round mark about one-quarter of a circle (from inserting a headphone plug) around the head phone jack (hard to see in the photo and may even be able to be rubbed out)-(see photo).

There is also a minor scratch on the far right Knob (in the middle of the knob and may be touch up with a black magic marker, etc).- (see photo).

In addition on the top front black plate there are some minor areas where the black paint a worn off, this may also be touch up with a black magic marker, etc).- (see photo). This area does not show if you are using the wood cabinet.


About two years ago I powered up the MAC-1900 and I used as a phono preamp (by utilizing the “Tape Out”), and it sounded better than some of the separate phono preamps I was auditioning.

However the MAC-1900 has the following issues that will be needed to be immediately addressed:

The following may be repaired and upgraded by Terry DeWick (specializes in McIntosh equipment) for between an estimate of $195.00 to $240.00, including parts. Further the MAC-1900 may be upgraded further by DeWick to out perform the original specifications by using higher quality parts and/or an upgrade to the power supply (power supply upgrade for $50.00 extra)-(your choices).

Google search Terry DeWick or Mcintoshaudio or try MCINTOSHAUDIOdotCOM.

Issues:

Scratchy volume control (not too bad).

Amp side works but does not sound too good (needs repair to replace old parts).

The preamp section works but just sounds ok.

With DeWick upgrades performance should easily improve on the following Factory specs:

55w/ch into 4 or 8 ohms. Response 20-20kHz (+0.5 -0.5dB). Distortion .2%. Noise and hum pwr amp -95dB, aux -90dB, phono -76dB. Damping factor 50. Input impedance: pwr amp 100k, aux 250k, phono 47k. Input sensitivity: pwr amp 2.5V, aux 0.25V, phono 2.0mV. Tone controls: bass and treble. +16 to -16dB. LF filter 50Hz at 12dB/octave. HF filter 7kHz at 12dB/octave.

At a total cost of about $$935.00 to $980.00 (without the wood cabinet) you can have a custom upgraded MAC-1900 in above average (or outstanding given its age) physical condition with sound quality that is much better than the original (the MAC-1900 cost $949.00 back in the 70’s (before the impact of inflation that would be well over $2,000.00 today ).

Check my feedback on both eBay and Audigon, Alfa_lover screen name on both.

Bid with confidence as I have outstanding feedback on AudiogoN and eBay.

Shipping in Continental United States Only by FEDEX (estimated at $70.00 for two boxes $50.00 for the MAC-1900 and $20.00 for the Wood Case). Shipping Costs to be paid by Buyer, plus if you use PayPal a 3.0% charge will be added.

COMMENT ABOUT THE MAC 1900 FOUND ON THE WEB:

I used to have a whole stack of McIntosh equipment back in the early 70's.

Got married in '76 and moved it all from a full finished basement to a small apartment's living room. Needless to say, that didn't work.

Sold it all and bought a new MAC1900 and a pair of JBL L100s. This was just about the time that the MAC4100 reared its lovely head. . . but at the time I never saw the 4100 - and I never regretted buying the 1900.

I've used it - on and off - for over 30 years and never had a problem.

Sure, I was curious, so later on I did buy a 4100. The 4100 is a great sounding receiver, but. . . there's just something about the sound of the 1900. I can listen to it for days on end without tiring of it.