McIntosh MAC1700 Vintage Tube/Transistor Receiver

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This is a hybrid model receiver from McIntosh comprised of a solid state amplifier and tube tuner section.

It was produced from 1967-1973 with an original retail price of $599.00. That works out to $5,100+ in today's dollars!

The MAC1700 is a full featured receiver that's perfect for a starter McIntosh System or your office.

We rarely receive MAC1700's into our shop and our best guess as to why is because their owners don't want to part with them.

This example is one of the few and definitely one of the best looking 1700's we've ever seen. The Faceplate is excellent and all of the knobs are shiny and pristine. There are no sigs of rust or corrosion anywhere. The front faceplate glass is super clean too!

It's finished in a gorgeous champagne colored front panel with aluminum knobs and glass. 

Functions include: dual phono inputs, individual left and right tone controls for bass and treble, and convenience outlets for powering other devices. 

Built like a tank and likely to outlive us all... Best of all it has the signature sweet McIntosh sound we've all come to love.

Service Notes:
• All electrolytic capacitors tested and verified within spec. The majority of the power supply capacitors were failing and were replaced.
• All output transistors and select driver transistors were replaced with new and authentic parts sourced directly from McIntosh.
• Bias reviewed and set to service manual specification.
• Both amplifier channels tested to full rated power.
• Tuner dial tracking verified along with proper FM stereo reception.

These older McIntosh units experience some minor channel imbalance in the volume controls.

This is caused by a couple of age related factors, the most significant being a small amount of physical play in the shaft that turns the controls themselves. This causes slight channel imbalance on the way up as the volume is increased.

The difference is minimized when the control is turned in the counterclockwise direction. Audibly, this translates to one channel seeming to come in before the other when first rotating the control and a slight shift in the stereo image depending on the position of the control.

This of course can be corrected with some minor manual tweaking of the balance control (up and down). The issue is most prevalent at low listening levels. We checked with McIntosh and a replacement volume control is long discontinued.

These older McIntosh units experience some minor channel imbalance in the volume controls.

This is caused by a couple of age related factors, the most significant being a small amount of physical play in the shaft that turns the controls themselves. This causes slight channel imbalance on the way up as the volume is increased.

The difference is minimized when the control is turned in the counterclockwise direction. Audibly, this translates to one channel seeming to come in before the other when first rotating the control and a slight shift in the stereo image depending on the position of the control.

This of course can be corrected with some minor manual tweaking of the balance control (up and down). The issue is most prevalent at low listening levels. We checked with McIntosh and a replacement volume control is long discontinued.

Click below to add our recommended matching cables from Kimber Kable, all brand new as SkyFi is an official Kimber dealer.

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects

Kimber Kable - Phono Interconnects

The SkyFi Testing Process for Receivers:
We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure there are no signs of stress or aging. Capacitors are checked for telltale sings of bulging or leaking, resistors are checked for signs of overheating or cracking, and transistors are checked for signs of stress or damage.

We then power up the unit carefully and run a simple 1k sine wave while monitoring the output on an oscilloscope for signs of distortion or noise. Finally, we run the receiver to its full rated power into the appropriate resistive load provided by our Sencore amplifier tester. If there is an issue, it will usually be noticeable at this point. If everything reads clean, we will often test for THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) measured by our Keithley distortion meter, and compare it against the original manufacturers specifications. The receiver then remains powered on to "burn in" on our test bench for a few hours to make sure there are no heat related issues. If there are balanced inputs available they will be also be tested.

Then the tuner is thoroughly tested in our lab utilizing our professional Sencore SG80 FM Generator, which allows us to generate a reference FM signal of any frequency and amplitude, and then measure the resulting tuner output on our Sencore PR81 or oscilloscope.

Final testing involves pushing actual music thorough the receiver. We've learned over time that some issues are only noticeable to a trained ear while listening to familiar source material. Our test bench has reference vintage KEF speakers that we're very familiar with which quickly reveal any discrepancies. Some receivers will then move into our listening room where they are tested with our in-house reference speakers of choice.

Specifications:

ELECTRICAL: Stereo. Hybrid (Solid state preamp and power amp, tube tuner). 40w/ch into 4 or 8 ohms. Response 20-20kHz (+0.5 -0.5dB). Distortion .25%. Noise and hum: power amp -90dB, aux -75dB, phono -76dB below 10 mV. Damping factor 100. Input impedance: aux 250k, phono 47k, tape head 500k. Input sensitivity: aux 0.3V, phono 2.4mV, tape head 2.4mV. Tone controls: bass and treble. +18 to -18dB. Filter: 60Hz at 12dB/octave and 5kHz at 12dB/octave.

FM SECTION: Sensitivity 2.5uV, S/N 65dB, Distortion 0.8% in stereo, Response 20-20kHz, Capture ratio 2.0dB. Image rejection 60dB, Stereo separation 30dB.

FRONT PANEL: Black and silver. Input selector: aux, tape, fm auto, phono 1, phono 2, tape hd. Balance. Slide switches: mode: stereo or mono, filter: out or in, tape mon: out or in, muting: out or in, loud: out or in, speaker: on or off. Headphone jack. Dual concentric bass and treble controls. Volume with power switch. Tuning knob. Tuning meter. Illuminated tuning dial. Indicator lights: fm mpx, aux, tape, fm, ph 1, ph 2, th, tape mon.

BACK PANEL: Barrier strip speaker terminals, Screw terminals: 300 ohm and 75 ohm antenna. Ground terminal. Inputs: tape mon, aux, ph 1, ph 2, tape hd. Tape out 1. Muting control. AC outlets: 2 switched, 1 unswitched. fuse.

TUBES: 2-6DS4, 2-6HS6, 6AU6A, 6CS6, 6EA8, 12AU7.

Size: 5-1/2"H, 16"W and 14-1/2"D. Weight 34 lb.

McIntosh MAC1700 Owner's Manual

The SkyFi Testing Process for Receivers:
We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure there are no signs of stress or aging. Capacitors are checked for telltale sings of bulging or leaking, resistors are checked for signs of overheating or cracking, and transistors are checked for signs of stress or damage.

We then power up the unit carefully and run a simple 1k sine wave while monitoring the output on an oscilloscope for signs of distortion or noise. We run the receiver to its full rated power into the appropriate resistive load provided by our Sencore amplifier tester. If there is an issue, it will usually be noticeable at this point. If everything reads clean, we will often test for THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) measured by our Keithley distortion meter, and compare it against the original manufacturers specifications. The receiver then remains powered on to "burn in" on our test bench for a few hours to make sure there are no heat related issues. If there are balanced inputs available they will be also be tested.

Then the tuner is thoroughly tested in our lab utilizing our professional Sencore SG80 FM Generator, which allows us to generate a reference FM signal of any frequency and amplitude, and then measure the resulting tuner output on our Sencore PR81 or oscilloscope.

We also test all tubes for output gain and leakage on our calibrated modern and professional tube tester against the original manufacturers specifications. If needed, the tubes will be replaced from our vast NOS (New Old Stock) vintage or modern inventory.

Final testing involves pushing actual music thorough the receiver. We've learned over time that some issues are only noticeable to a trained ear while listening to familiar source material. Our test bench has reference vintage KEF speakers that we're very familiar with which quickly reveal any discrepancies. Some receivers will then move into our listening room where they are tested with our in-house reference speakers of choice.