Mcintosh C49 Review

[JBT]

The McIntosh C49 Stereo Preamplifier is an audio component to aspire to. Though expensive at $5000, it ticks all the audiophile boxes and delivers premium sound.

As you can tell, I really liked what the McIntosh C49 did with my music. Whether I was listening to my CD collection or some hi-res, the music sounded much more lush and full of body than my current setup. It was more organic and more real. Is there a downside to this? Yes. I am no longer satisfied with my current pre/pro when it comes to stereo music listening. Now that I have a taste of pure DSD, I am excited to delve deeper into it. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised that my Mcintosh experience was going to be good, but I underestimated how great the difference would be. It really awoke that passion I had back in my early college days when the hi-fi experience was new and wonderful. But isn’t that the thing that makes our hobby so fascinating? Finding out there are things out there that can change your perspective, even after years of being set in your old comfortable listening habits.

I would have been happy to purchase the McIntosh C49. Even my wife commented that she loved the way it sounded, and we spent many an evening exploring music together on the couch. I had time to contemplate what made my music sound this much better. Was it the DA1 DAC module? How much better was the DA2? Was it just the quality of the parts inside and the incredible attention to design and detail? Likely, it was all of the above. The McIntosh C49 is built to last a lifetime and is now more future-proof with its new modular design. Like Harley-Davidson, there is a mystique to owning McIntosh. They may not be for the beginner audiophile, but they are worth climbing the mountain for. Me? I’m back to my climbing, thanks in no small part to my time with the McIntosh C49 Stereo Preamplifier. Thank you for that, gentlemen.



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