McIntosh C47?

[kfr01]

Has anyone tried the new C47?

I am thinking about C47+MA302 to run the stereo front of my home theater.

The C47 has HT bypass and now includes a DSD dac and fairly configurable phono preamp section.

There is frustratingly little written about it ----- and perhaps this tells me something. Is this thing an egg in terms of performance?

[Yamaki]

Quite a bit of discussion ensued here at AA when it was introduced. Here's the thread for your reading enjoyment:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/mcint...47-preamp.html

[kfr01]

Right --- but that thread is primarily about the feature set and people complaining about McIntosh's digital strategy....

I guess I'm interested whether anyone has been living with it for more than a few days. Any bugs? Sounds quality?

[Yamaki]

ahhh...a slightly different line of inquiry then.

Good luck with your research, Karl.

[rjryan]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Right --- but that thread is primarily about the feature set and people complaining about McIntosh's digital strategy.... I guess I'm interested whether anyone has been living with it for more than a few days. Any bugs? Sounds quality?

I've had mine for a few weeks now, and am very happy with it. It was a HUGE leap forward from my Marantz 8802 in pure direct mode for 2 channel. It has great detail and soundstage, coupled with a fantastic phono stage. The DAC is also pretty nice. Easily as good or better than my former D-100. As of this morning, I've had zero clocking issues between the C47 and my Mac Mini. It locks and plays every time, even when switching through multiple bit and sample rates. The HT pass through also works flawlessly.

If I was to categorize the sound overall, I would have to say that I'm impressed with the detail and soundstage. In my experience, if you really wanted to get that lush, vibrant sound from a McIntosh pre, you needed to spend up the line a bit. This particular unit is superb in the qualities that make a McIntosh a McIntosh, without sacrificing a deep soundstage and detail for warmth. In other words, it is surprisingly neutral, but still sounds like a McIntosh, if that makes any sense.

The only things that I have find a little annoying:

1. Since there are no "buttons" to select the source, the unit sometimes comes up with the wrong input when switching through activities with my Harmony Remote. This only happens in 2 channel mode, so it's not a deal breaker to walk over and select. More of a remote issue, anyway.

2. When listening through the USB input, it has a "Silent" function. Basically, with nothing playing, the preamp is muted. When something starts playing, the unit fades in quickly, sometimes cutting off the beginning transient slam on some tracks. To be fair, I haven't looked into defeating this in the menu, yet. It's not a huge deal, but worth disclosing.

Sure, it would be nice to have meters, but at this price, I can easily embrace the simplicity. It is also a "2 box" design, which keeps the analog section and digital section separated. This is a big deal to some, including me to an extent. I've not found the analog section to suffer at all from the design. Its eerily quiet in my system.

Overall, I'm really happy with the C47. In particular, the phono stage is impressive to me. It replaced a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II with great aplomb. No going back, there.

I hope this helps.

Ryan

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by rjryan

I've had mine for a few weeks now, and am very happy with it. It was a HUGE leap forward from my Marantz 8802 in pure direct mode for 2 channel. It has great detail and soundstage, coupled with a fantastic phono stage. The DAC is also pretty nice. Easily as good or better than my former D-100. As of this morning, I've had zero clocking issues between the C47 and my Mac Mini. It locks and plays every time, even when switching through multiple bit and sample rates. The HT pass through also works flawlessly.

If I was to categorize the sound overall, I would have to say that I'm impressed with the detail and soundstage. In my experience, if you really wanted to get that lush, vibrant sound from a McIntosh pre, you needed to spend up the line a bit. This particular unit is superb in the qualities that make a McIntosh a McIntosh, without sacrificing a deep soundstage and detail for warmth. In other words, it is surprisingly neutral, but still sounds like a McIntosh, if that makes any sense.

The only things that I have find a little annoying:

1. Since there are no "buttons" to select the source, the unit sometimes comes up with the wrong input when switching through activities with my Harmony Remote. This only happens in 2 channel mode, so it's not a deal breaker to walk over and select. More of a remote issue, anyway.

2. When listening through the USB input, it has a "Silent" function. Basically, with nothing playing, the preamp is muted. When something starts playing, the unit fades in quickly, sometimes cutting off the beginning transient slam on some tracks. To be fair, I haven't looked into defeating this in the menu, yet. It's not a huge deal, but worth disclosing.

Sure, it would be nice to have meters, but at this price, I can easily embrace the simplicity. It is also a "2 box" design, which keeps the analog section and digital section separated. This is a big deal to some, including me to an extent. I've not found the analog section to suffer at all from the design. Its eerily quiet in my system.

Overall, I'm really happy with the C47. In particular, the phono stage is impressive to me. It replaced a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II with great aplomb. No going back, there.

I hope this helps.

Ryan

Ryan -- This is extremely helpful and it sounds like you are using it exactly as I would be. HT Bypass for theater, but in as the main 'source' for the Mac Mini.

My MA6600 has seen nearly constant use in the middle of our house. It never skips a beat. Never needs messing with. Shit, it barely ever gets hot despite nearly constant use. Anyway, for the two channel side of my new room, I'm thinking of going back to McIntosh. C47 + MC302 (or something like that).

I expect it would be 'pretty darn good' on the audio quality side, and nearly bomb-proof in terms of just working (which is becoming more important to me these days).

Cheers

[rjryan]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Ryan -- This is extremely helpful and it sounds like you are using it exactly as I would be. HT Bypass for theater, but in as the main 'source' for the Mac Mini. My MA6600 has seen nearly constant use in the middle of our house. It never skips a beat. Never needs messing with. Shit, it barely ever gets hot despite nearly constant use. Anyway, for the two channel side of my new room, I'm thinking of going back to McIntosh. C47 + MC302 (or something like that). I expect it would be 'pretty darn good' on the audio quality side, and nearly bomb-proof in terms of just working (which is becoming more important to me these days). Cheers

I couldn't agree more. I think that you will find that combo to pretty incredible. There is really something special about the new preamp designs and manufacturing process.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you get things up and running. I've also been eyeing the MC 302.

Happy Hollidays!

Ryan