McIntosh preamplifiers poll !

[delp]

c220

[1KW]

I am a big fan of tone controls when listening to LP's as some of my records just do not sound that great otherwise. I tried using the MCD500 built in pre amp and for digital music it sounded fine but with the C220 is does sound better. The music feels like it has more weight, fuller sounding with a little bit less harshness at the expense of a little bit of the high freq. brightness which usually made me turn the volume lower on the MCD500 pre amp. The C220 is really a very good pre amp and suffers with a identity crisis because it is priced as a entry level piece in the Mcintosh line up. It is the first Mcintosh component that I ever purchased. I have purchased 7 other Mcintosh pieces since the C220, some were sources and amps. that have come and gone in my 2 systems. I am considering the the C2300; I may be wrong but sound wise it may be a lateral move once you discount the phono section and meters. By the way the 2 channel pre amp on the MX120 is also very good.

[jwc]

Bummer. Can't vote on this. I shotgun my beer....

[f1 fan]

David...thanks for your thoughts on these two preamps as I have them in my sites if I keep my current sysytem. I've used the C2200 and really liked it however the C220 might be what I really need especially if it has a good phono stage the meters don't matter since the 402 has them. The MX120 caught my interest last year and was going to purchase one when something beyond my control interferred. The 120 would be a great replacement for the C39. With the 2 zones, a good phono stage, balanced inputs/outputs it's the cats meow for my current system. If you or anyone else would like to add comments about these two preamps please do so or pm me.

Dave

[NMyTree]

C220

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I am considering the the C2300; I may be wrong but sound wise it may be a lateral move once you discount the phono section and meters.

David.......The C2300 is not a lateral move from the C220 in my opinion. It is a move up in a number of key areas. The build quality of the C2300 is superior to the C220 in many areas. From the extruded aluminum side panels to the glass windowed top cover over the tube compliment, to all the connectors (balanced and unbalanced) being the same premium type used on the C1000, the C2300 is a big step up. This includes remote control of many preamp functions that C220 owners can only dream of, which include a superior moving magnet phono stage, and the inclusion of a very fine moving coil phono stage, both of which have cartridge loading and capacitance adjustments available from the remote control. The only other preamplifier in the McIntosh lineup with that feature is the C1000. It is extremely useful to be seated in the sweet spot while making cartridge loading adjustments. Also available via remote control on the C2300 are balance, bass, and treble adjustments. Of course, there are the famous blue left and right channel output meters, which I can tell you from experience are very useful when using the C2300 with the MC275 amplifiers.

Your comment, "once you discount the phono section and meters", doesn't get near the true differences between the C2300 and the C220. That's like saying, "once you discount the additional power and the double balanced circuitry, the MC501 is just a bigger MC252." I can remember that point of view coming from you until you installed 501's in your system, and then suddenly you developed a whole new tune. The C2300 preamplifier is one of the most neutral and transparent preamps I have ever had the pleasure of using, short of the C1000P, and C1000T I now own.

If you are happy with your C220 that's wonderful. Keep it and enjoy the performance. It certainly does not suffer with an identity crisis, as you put it. It is a fine preamplifier used by many satisfied and pleased audio enthusiasts. Your discounting what the C2300 actually is, and imagining a C220 is nearly the same doesn't make it so, not by a long shot. The C2300 offers a great deal more than just two added meters and an extra phono stage above the C220. If you ever manage to make the decision to purchase a C2300 you will fully understand what I am saying, and it won't take you very long to discover it, either.

[Masterlu]

[1KW]

Dan the extruded case of the C2300 as well as remote control function of the bass, treble, balance or blue meters does not do anything to improve performance ie make the pre amp sound better. My point was that the C220 and C2300 sound more similar then different for non- phono sources . I have listened to both side be side when I visited audioclassics in the past. All the points you made are valid and do add up to make the C2300 a more expensive and higher end pre amp. then the C220 however to me only the phono stage of this pre amp. makes for notable increase in performance .

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Dan the extruded case of the C2300 as well as remote control function of the bass, treble, balance or blue meters does not do anything to improve performance ie make the pre amp sound better. My point was that the C220 and C2300 sound more similar then different for non- phono sources . I have listened to both side be side when I visited audioclassics in the past. All the points you made are valid and do add up to make the C2300 a more expensive and higher end pre amp. then the C220 however to me only the phono stage of this pre amp. makes for notable increase in performance .

David.......Yes, the remote control functions DO improve the C2300 preamplifier's performance by making it more enjoyable to use, and easier to accurately setup, particularly the phono stages. As for the audible differences, I auditioned the C220 against the C2300, both driving MC501 amplifiers, and XRT1K speakers. If you did not hear any difference between the two preamps that's fine, although I don't agree with you. I spent the better part of three hours alone with the two preamps. I was able to switch the C220 and the C2300 back and forth on the MC501 amps, listening to familiar music I brought with me. I heard a large enough difference in the two preamps to purchase the C2300 from the McIntosh dealer that day. I won't attempt to run through the differences I noted between the C220 and the C2300, there has been plenty written already. For me it was simple. The C2300 went home with me, and the C220 stayed at the dealer.

As is true with everyone here, we are both entitled to our own opinions. I don't have a dog in your hunt anyway, so it matters not to me whether you keep your C220 or buy something different from McIntosh or any another manufacturer. The only reason I chimed in was due to your off hand comments about the C2300, which I know from personal experience don't even scratch the surface of the differences in the two preamps under discussion.

[1KW]

Good points Dan now back to our regularly scheduled program