[prepress]

I am considering a system reconfiguration brought about by turntable footfall issues. In this scenario, I would change out the pillars on the middle shelf of my Sanus Euro rack from 8" to 5", shortening the rack in hopes of providing a bit more stability to assist the recently-purchased Gingko platform my VPI HW-19 Mk IV sits on. This would necessitate removing my Aragon phono preamp from the then-shorter shelf (it and my VPI SDS are stacked on the shelf currently) and going into the 2300's phono inputs; though I've said previously the large ground terminals on the 2300 make for an awkward fit for the ground spades of my tonearm cable, I'm willing to do it.

However, a thought has occurred to me: does anyone here use a McIntosh phono preamp with their McIntosh preamp, 2300 or otherwise? Or is that overkill? I am intrigued somewhat by the MP100, which is $1K cheaper than the Parasound JC3+, yet Mac preamps generally have good phono stages, and the 2300 is no exception; just change out the phono tubes and keep going, end of story. Maybe this is just the eye-candy idea of another Mac component, too. And the 100's digital outputs suggest some possibilities.

But then, having an MP100 would create some logistical problems with system configuration—where will my VPI SDS go, since the MP100 would need its own shelf? Did I just talk myself out of the whole idea? Not quite, but it may be a start.

Anyway, back to the question: does anyone here use a Mac phono pre with a Mac preamp? If yes, what's your reason for doing so?