Add Bryston's BP-16 and 26 to the mix.

One you may want to consider is the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC/Pre amp. The world is moving towards digital and the Perfect Wave is among the better ones it there. The best part, they have upgrade paths, so you will not be worried about obsolescence as much as you would with a lot of others out there.

Just my two cents.

Jeff

Interesting you would mention this, as the thought occurred to me this AM as I was getting ready for church that if I got a new preamp it would probably be a good idea for it to have a phono stage in case my current outboard one went down, and with the news that firmware for the C48 is imminent, that a preamp with a DAC might make sense as well. Even though I will not be using such anytime soon the day may come when I'll need to.

There is one thing I wonder. For those who have a C48 or C50, why did you buy the one as opposed to the other? I'm aware that I'm beginning to pay a lot of attention to those two.

C48 because :
Did not need the vu meters and the wider equalizer.
Money saved for something else.

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It seems as if it comes down to whether one wants or needs the additional features the C50 provides, or simply prefers the C50's look (as some may). Circuitry is essentially the same, so should the sound be.

:yes:

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Good choice, one of THE best pre's for the $$ spent !


excellent advise, given the Op's love affair with ARC, you can't go wrong !

The real problem (or saving grace) is that I know of no store that carries Mac, Bryston and Parasound so I could do direct comparisons. Something like that could push me from "what if I needed a new preamp" to "I'm buying a preamp" rather quick.

I know now that as for an equipment rack I'll either keep my Sanus EFAV (still not set up in the system) or go for a basic Salamander Synergy 30, so I've been working system layouts with each. Now, I may need to think about how any new preamp would fit into those layouts. I'm starting to sound like I'm actually going to buy one, despite my initial intent being hypothetical. The C50's phono section got a nice mention in Hifi News by Ken Kessler, describing it as "finely detailed, quiet, easy-to-tailor." Sounds like it would be at least the equal of my Aragon 47k phonostage. That description should go for the C48 as well. A JC 3 phonostage is surely going to be better than either.

Working the system layouts may reveal some things. We'll see.

Ok, maybe the idea will pass, but I've been induced to add the C2300 and ARC LS27 to the mix, despite my normal aversion to tubes. The list now is (in order of price, high-low):

ARC LS27
Mc C50
Mc C2300
Bryston BP26
Mc C48
Parasound JC 2
Parasound P7


The LS27, at almost 7K, is too much; as I think about it the C50 is just about too much also (but looks-wise, my favorite), but for now both stay.