McIntosh C2500 info

[bakerman]

The C2500 is a nice looking unit. It seems like McIntosh is going for simplicity in design these days. The C2200 had six of the larger knobs, the C2300 has four, and the C2500 now has two. I like it.

[1KW]

I'm not so sure the dac going obsolete would bother me . If I was starting off putting together a system and had a inexpensive cdp being able to take advantage of the built in pre amp dac would allow more budget for better speakers or a computer to use as a music server. It's also handy for hooking up a sonos. If you are tight on shelf space this is a great option . Even when the next generation dac does come out this does not make the excellent sounding dac in the C2500 diminish . You can still ad a external dac. If I did not already have a C2300 and Mcd500 I would buy the C2500. If I were setting a second 2 channel system up to stream my music this would be perfect !

[Maks]

Originally Posted by bakerman

The C2500 is a nice looking unit. It seems like McIntosh is going for simplicity in design these days. The C2200 had six of the larger knobs, the C2300 has four, and the C2500 now has two. I like it.

I do like the two knobs and the matrix display that is used on the newer gear. Other than initial setup, I don't think I've used the trim knobs on my C2300.

[o0OBillO0o]

Originally Posted by SundayNiagara

That DAC will be obsolete long before the phono stage!

And when do you think your gonna get 32/192 or higher music?

There is not enough high Rez music to validate obsolescence.

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[joeinid]

The dac will never truly be obsolete. It will still be an excellent performer. Will better dac emerge? No doubt. I would have no hesitation.

[miatadan]

My sales rep for McIntosh is sending pdf of brochure as soon as its available and owners manual pdf.

I will be using Naim ND5 XS network player as main dac to play all wav, aiff audio from cds copied using dbpoweramp stored on NetGear NAS Ultra 2 Plus drives and music wav,aiff stored on Intel SSD . Will also compare toslink optical input of McIntosh dac section to Naim dac optical input when using digital out of computer for tv shows audio and 24bit LPCM audio of bluray concerts that I ripped retaining full 24bit audio.

Hoping there is actual improvement of analog section in the new C2500.

Dan

[prepress]

Originally Posted by joeinid

+1

I have not seen a photo of the rear. The preamps are not fully balanced, the XLR inputs are just for convenience anyway. That's not a deal breaker for me.

I would think, given the built-in DAC, the inputs are named differently, perhaps the same as on the C48/50. The C2300 has an input labeled "D/A", a label which is now redundant.

It occurred to me that had it not been for last year's episodes with my former sister-in-law's house and a friend's need, that would be roughly $5200 more in my pocket and we would now be discussing my new VTL TL-6.5 Signature preamp.

I was researching preamps (again) and came across the VTL TL-6.5 Signature. Reading some very positive reviews I sent an e-mail to VTL, figuring I'd get one back at some point. What I got was a call from a sales rep from a local dealer following up; I'd purchased from that store, though not recently, so I was in the database. We had a very good conversation and I was stoked about the 6.5, even considering an audition strongly. The price I had was $9500, a strain but doable if I made the proper financial adjustments.

However, more research showed that $9500 price is a 2007 price, so the unit isn't as new as I thought (VTL's website calls it "new" still). I finally came across a Nov. 2012 price of $11,500. That's well beyond my capabilities, unless I want to go into debt or empty my checking account. I have some of those special offer checks the credit card companies often send, and I ACTUALLY thought about using one, which would give me interest-free payments through the end of the year. But there's a fee of 4% of the purchase/transfer amount for doing so. Add that to the tax and we're at $13,021.15; never mind the other offer of 1.99% interest for two years. On top of that, the Social Security tax rate has gone up and my check is $120 lighter now.

The VTL would be an outstanding performer and killer with my MC501s, but the price of admission is simply too steep. There's a 5.5, but it has more tubes in it than I want to deal with (if I want the phono stage, which is extra), whereas the 6.5 has only two. I cannot, realistically, afford the 6.5, so I'd best move on. But that I did, even though briefly, consider how to swing the thing already knowing it would be unwise at best to buy it, is a bit scary. I do know I'd better not audition it.

So I'm moving back to my humble preamp list and figuring out my equipment rack. And just as the VTL saga winds down, here comes the C2500. Interesting how life works.

[bzr]

Originally Posted by joeinid

The dac will never truly be obsolete. It will still be an excellent performer. Will better dac emerge? No doubt. I would have no hesitation.

I recently gave a good friend of mine a Marantz CD17 KI & guess what... it didn't matter a jacksey what digital was in there, & yes there was back in the 90's.It still stood to the test of time. I just had to know is all... the upgraditus......

[SundayNiagara]

Originally Posted by o0OBillO0o

And when do you think your gonna get 32/192 or higher music?

There is not enough high Rez music to validate obsolescence.

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

Digital technology is re-invented every 5 minutes or so. Analog just keeps getting more refined!

[redm]

I think I'll stick with a separate DAC and pre. More flexibility and having an obsolete component in a year or two (even if I can still use the analog section) would annoy me.