C2600....

[ejr1953]

Originally Posted by Timobi

Hey guys...I am a fairly new owner of a C47. Along with a MC452 and GoldenEar Triton 1's. Got some other stuff as well. Sony HAP 1-ZES HDD Music player; VPI Classic Sig TT with Cadenza Blue MC; an AVR for home theater stuff. All purchased within the past 8 months or so. The c47 and MC452 for about 5 months.

Sounds wonderful. Kind of have an upgrade itch and curious about the c2600. Thoughts? What would this tube preamp do to my setup? Never owned anything tube related. My Dad did way back in the day. Listening habits are well rounded. Less true Rock tho. Love the 70's stuff with James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. Fleetwood Mac. Old stuff brought back to life with hi rez downloads and vinyl releases.

Gosh I have a ton of film scores. Love classical. And yet have discovered some jammin blues and jazz. LOL did I leave anything out? McIntosh has an upgrade-trade up program.

Really would like some thoughts from you seasoned McIntosh owners...Thanks in advance.

-Tim

I upgraded from a McIntosh C50 (solid state) pre amp, to a C2500 (tube) unit, driving my MC452 power amp, after several of my audiophile friends thought I'd enjoy the "tube sound" more.

I immediately found that well-recorded acoustic pianos and violins sounded more "realistic" and more "musical".

Once I had about 200 hours on the C2500, there was no going back to the C50, which is an excellent pre amp.

I use an external DAC, so the DAC built into the pre amps would not be a selling point for me. But the C2600 has a newer generation ESS DAC chipset, so if anything, should be a bit better than the C2500.

In either case, I think that the McIntosh tube pre amp is a great match for the MC452. One of my audiophile buddies said that all the McIntosh employees he knows, who do not have an integrated amp at home, have tube pre amps!