C1100 and C52/C2600 - which one?

[Thebenz]

Can someone educate me on the C1100 equipment as I am reading this thread and realized I do not know how these units function? You can have the D1100 as a standalone preamp? I did not know this but, if you had the D1100, what does the C1100 do for you?

[JBT]

C1100 is a two box tube analogue pre-amp.

[btn2803]

Originally Posted by Levitator

I also went from a C2500 to C1100 and there was a significant difference. The lack of tone controls on the C1100 is the only downside IMHO however I personally rarely used them anyway and think having a separate DAC to the pre amp is more practical (but more costly) longer term....

Good luck with the listening and decision!

Thanks. I never had a component with tone controls, so probably would not miss them. However, is it a big deal of having tone controls? How would one use these?

[Ravens52]

I'm curious; how would you run any of the aforementioned pre-amps through the Marantz AV8805 for two channel music? I have a MC452, MC205 and Marantz 8805 so I'm watching this thread with interest as I too want to get a pre-amp in the mix for two channel listening. Thanks for your time.

[rottikid]

Besides tone controls the C52 has Passthru. I have Marantz Surround Sound Processor and the C52 Preamp.

[ptrck887]

I was recently confronted with a similar decision, being a VERY happy C2300 owner and had the opportunity to upgrade to the C500t....this forum was pretty much split on whether or not this would be a significant upgrade....I went ahead with the upgrade and in my room with my gear the difference was night and day. The C2300 was very good but the C500t is far better, greater detail, even quieter, far deeper and larger sound stage all around...I would call it a much more immersive listening experience. I think we all get those nights where the power grid is especially kind and the system on that particular night is just wonderful.....with the C500t in the mix I now get that every night...and the C1100 is supposed to be even better! BTW in four years of using the C2300 I never used the tone controls...
Happy listening!

[RaceCarDriver]

As someone who has the Marantz AV8805, C1100 and D1100 I will say the combo works flawlessly.

I run all my video sources into the 8805, digital audio sources into the D1100, turntable into the C1100. The D1100 is the connected to the C1100 along with the front XLR from the Marantz into the C1100.

When i’m listening to 2 ch audio, the C1000, D1100 and Mac amps all power up as expected.

When the Marantz is turned on, there is a 3.5mm stereo cable going from the 8805 to the C1100 that puts it into passthrough mode automatically. All controls of the C1100 are disabled and you use the Marantz as you would without the McIntosh gear in the chain. This was tricky for me to figure out because I was looking to enable passthrough with the remote or controls, and it’s only done automatically with the 12v trigger.

Once you shut off the Marantz the Mcintosh exits passthrough mode and goes back to whatever input/state it was in prior to passthrough.

A note is if you have all the gear off, power up the Marantz first, everything turns on, and if you decide to listen to music, and shut off the Marantz, since the prior state of the C1100 was off, it also turns off. So I just make sure I power up the C1100 first if I think I will be going between music and movies or video games to prevent unnecessary power down of the C1100.

[Ravens52]

Originally Posted by RaceCarDriver

As someone who has the Marantz AV8805, C1100 and D1100 I will say the combo works flawlessly.

I run all my video sources into the 8805, digital audio sources into the D1100, turntable into the C1100. The D1100 is the connected to the C1100 along with the front XLR from the Marantz into the C1100.

When i’m listening to 2 ch audio, the C1000, D1100 and Mac amps all power up as expected.

When the Marantz is turned on, there is a 3.5mm stereo cable going from the 8805 to the C1100 that puts it into passthrough mode automatically. All controls of the C1100 are disabled and you use the Marantz as you would without the McIntosh gear in the chain. This was tricky for me to figure out because I was looking to enable passthrough with the remote or controls, and it’s only done automatically with the 12v trigger.

Once you shut off the Marantz the Mcintosh exits passthrough mode and goes back to whatever input/state it was in prior to passthrough.

A note is if you have all the gear off, power up the Marantz first, everything turns on, and if you decide to listen to music, and shut off the Marantz, since the prior state of the C1100 was off, it also turns off. So I just make sure I power up the C1100 first if I think I will be going between music and movies or video games to prevent unnecessary power down of the C1100.

Excellent, thank you. I never thought about the trigger for passthrough but now it all makes perfect sense.

[btn2803]

Originally Posted by RaceCarDriver

As someone who has the Marantz AV8805, C1100 and D1100 I will say the combo works flawlessly.

I run all my video sources into the 8805, digital audio sources into the D1100, turntable into the C1100. The D1100 is the connected to the C1100 along with the front XLR from the Marantz into the C1100.

When i’m listening to 2 ch audio, the C1000, D1100 and Mac amps all power up as expected.

When the Marantz is turned on, there is a 3.5mm stereo cable going from the 8805 to the C1100 that puts it into passthrough mode automatically. All controls of the C1100 are disabled and you use the Marantz as you would without the McIntosh gear in the chain. This was tricky for me to figure out because I was looking to enable passthrough with the remote or controls, and it’s only done automatically with the 12v trigger.

Once you shut off the Marantz the Mcintosh exits passthrough mode and goes back to whatever input/state it was in prior to passthrough.

A note is if you have all the gear off, power up the Marantz first, everything turns on, and if you decide to listen to music, and shut off the Marantz, since the prior state of the C1100 was off, it also turns off. So I just make sure I power up the C1100 first if I think I will be going between music and movies or video games to prevent unnecessary power down of the C1100.

Thanks for sharing your insights. I am glad to hear that the combo including 8805 work well. Also, very interesting to learn that the passthrough is activated automatically with the trigger.

[n_brio]

What did you end up with?