Haha.... Clint, that was funny.
Excess? meh... It's common in all sorts and aspects of life, why would us fellow audioholics criticize this excess, especially when it possess such a cool factor.
Interestingly, go
here if you want some more information, especially if you are skeptical to the actual abilities and performance of it. From what I've seen and read, Kipnis has done his homework for certain, and not that much was not thought out.
I love those McIntosh's... look like mechanical spiders comming to eat you...
"Can't sleep... clown'll eat me!"
As for them running hot, I'm not so sure myself.
The six (6) distinct divisions: Bass, Baritone, Tenor, Alto, Soprano, and Coloratura of this extra large orchestra are completely and separately amplified. The required fleet of over 50 cutting edge, state-of-the-art, hand-built amplifiers can produce a level of visceral and palpable sound that can only be equaled by reality.
The primary orchestra consists of a specially hand selected and modified array of 13 - Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Loudspeakers, originally designed by Kevin Voecks for George Lucas and Tomlinson Holman for their very first THX Cinema and Music Speaker System (1998). These highly specialized musical instruments feature outboard passive cross-overs and the most exotic of wood cabinetry - African Sapele.
So it would seem that each amp is running a single driver only, so my guess is that it doesn't get too ridiculously hot (though I've never had sucn an amp so I have no experience here). Add to that that each amp is tuned and tweaked specifically... what a massive undertaking.
I'd love to sit in that room for a few years to try some things out
haha. I think I just fell in love.
