[rollei_list] Re: Wanted to Buy Macintosh SE/30
- From: "Richard Knoppow" <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2006 13:55:45 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: "Javier Perez" <summarex@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 8:28 PM
Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Wanted to Buy Macintosh SE/30
Did you know that Apple had to license the Mac's name from
McIntosh labs?
Some of the computers even say so on the back. I love
audio macs!
Javier
Frank McIntosh's secret was a patented method of winding
the transformers to achieve close coupling (necessary for
Class B amplifiers) without high interwinding reactances
(cause distortion). He came up with the idea of bifilar
winding, that is, both windings were made at the same time
with the wires next to each other. I don't have the patent
number. The split load idea was not new, you will find it in
some older engineering books. It was used in the British
made Quad amplifier before the McIntosh. His other secret
was very high quality construction using the best components
available.
When I was in college I sold Hi-Fi part time. I was able
to compare McIntosh directly to other amplifiers and it blew
them away; I was astonished at how much cleaner they sounded
than some other, very highly reputed, amplifiers. I also had
a chance to compare one to a Marantz 8-B on the bench. The
8-B has inadequate power supply capacity and goes banannas
when overloaded, all sorts of junk shows up. The Mac just
produced clean square waves.
Transformer coupling is a practical necessity for vacuum
tube audio amplifiers, however its not for solid state
circuits. Macintosh continued to use transformer coupling in
their solid state amplifers because the transformers were
their claim to fame. There was probably an advantage to
being able to use matched components for the output but
transformerless amplifers have many advantages and better
quality unless the transformer is of unusual quality.
My hearing is no longer good enough to allow me to
pronounce on audio components but when it was I was not a
vacuum tube advocate: I lived with vacuum tube stuff for too
long to be enamored of its aging problems.
BTW, I am in the last stages of restoring two vacuum tube
short wave receivers of the sort known as boat anchors.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
---
Rollei List
- Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe'
in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Online, searchable archives are available at
//www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list
Other related posts:
