MAGAZINE
At the historic Woodstock Open Air in 1969, McIntosh MC3500 tube power amplifiers – which formed the basis of the audio system used – provided sound for more than 400,000 visitors. After McIntosh President Charlie Randall first dreamed of bringing the MC3500 back into production in 2019, at an event celebrating Woodstock's 50th anniversary, that dream has now come true. After more than two years of development, McIntosh unveils the new MC3500 Mk II tube mono power amp.
Inspired by the original MC3500 (1968-71), the new McIntosh MC3500 Mk II tube power amp is a 350-watt monoblock that incorporates everything McIntosh has been able to maximize in tube power amp design since the 1960s. Thanks to McIntosh's "unity-coupled-circuit" output transformer, the MC3500 Mk II is said to be capable of delivering a full 350 watts to virtually any loudspeaker with an impedance of 2, 4 or 8 ohms. The respectable output power is generated by eight EL509S high-power tubes, which are said to be very similar in characteristics and sound to the 6LQ6 "sweep tube" of the original MC3500. Like the original MC3500, the MC3500 Mk II features a fully balanced driver section with three 12AX7A and one 12AT7 tube.
The "Power Guard Screen Grid Sensor™" (SGS) is additionally designed to prevent premature tube failure by monitoring the screen grid current in the output tubes. The "Sentry Monitor™" checks the output current and shuts down the amplifier if it ever exceeds safe limits. The MC3500 Mk II further utilizes a "DualView™" VU meter, with the upper scale indicating output power in watts/decibels, and the lower scale indicating its warm-up time. The front panel is machined aluminum with a bead-blasted finish and gold anodizing, reminiscent of the look and finish of the original MC3500. A clear glass insert covers the VU meter, and the black glass front on the bottom houses the knobs and illuminated McIntosh lettering.
In Germany, the new McIntosh MC3500 AC is expected to be available from mid-February 2022 for around 19,000 euros.
