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looking at mcintosh pre-amp c2500. Can I do better for the cost of a Mac?

I'm being told I can get a better pre amp for the money I would spend on a Mac. 

macandtosh
ejr1953
542 posts
 
Last year I upgraded to a McIntosh C50 pre-amp and MC452 power amp, yes, I know a lot of audiophiles don't like "the M brand", but for several months, auditioning lots of speakers, that combination (to me) really stood out as being very "musical".

I am not a fan of tubes, but I'd think the C2500 would be an excellent choice for someone into tubes.

I previously had a McIntosh MCD500 and MAC6700 and can tell you, no problem selling McIntosh equipment in good condition and you won't lose much to depreciation.  Other brands might be really difficult to sell.
truemaineiac's avatar
truemaineiac
249 posts
 
Listen to shindo, vac, arc, etc to get good comparison. 
effischer
477 posts
 
+1 to joeinid & mesch.  The C2500 is a superb preamp, especially if you want one of the very best MC phono sections and a top end 32 bit 192 kHz DAC all in one unit.  But do you really need that?  Yes, it's pricey, and there is a lot of stuff out there that is even more so.

Being familiar with both tube and SS preamps in the Mc line, I can assure you that you won't go wrong either way, but you do need to think about what you have to have, want to have and wish to have first.  It will save you a lot of hassle, and it is all supposed to be fun.

Good luck & happy listening!

macandtosh OP
9 posts
 
Thank you all for you're input it is greatly appreciated. I enjoy all sorts of music (Country, Electronic, hip hop, alternative, and some classical.) I even enjoy some Jazz on occasion. Anything with live instruments I love.   

I currently have Rotel latest line of class AB amps the MKII(1582 & 1552) 
Oppo 105D blue-ray player, Pioneer elite receiver and B&W 600 series speakers. 

 I'm leaning more towards starting a whole different system to enjoy just my music and  leave my current setup for my movies, football games, fights ect.....

I was thinking tube pre amp, either tube or ss amp, nice dac, and turntable for my new collection of vinyl.


    
bondmanp
1,465 posts
 

All I can say is that I have owned, and loved, my C220 for the past five years.  It does everything I want it to, sounds excellent, and has been very reliable.

That said, I did replace the supplied tubes with Mullard reissue 12AX7s.  The result was a dramatically lowered noise floor, a wider sound stage, and a bit more warmth and smoothness.

My only complaint with the current line of McIntosh preamps is the included DAC.  Yes, digital technology is more mature than it was a few years ago, but I doubt we've seen the end of new formats, codecs, resolution limits, etc.  So, while having a built in phono section makes perfect sense, it makes less sense, IMO, to build in a DAC section unless it is based on a FPGA so upgrades can be made in the field.  But, hey, you might never want a better digital converter than the one built into the C2500, and you could still add one.  But that would make the built-in one redundant.

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