McIntosh ss preamp vs. ARC tube preamp

I agree Mac SS preamps are underrated...they sound quite good.

Superhonestben, Tumbler, Pwsdaddy, Dsremer, Aball;

Thank you all for your input. Based on your statements, I will attempt to purchase a used ss McIntosh preamp to replace my tube ARC preamp. I didn't play my ARC much because I would have to disconnect everything from it to be able to get at it to get the cover off to change tubes. Because of my shallow equipment cabinet, this process would actually take a lot of hours.

So instead I mostly used my Quad 34 preamp, which is not quite as good as the Mc. Another reason for the Quad is that it has tone controls. I listen a lot at lower levels, where the human ear cannot really hear all the bass without a boost. The Mc should, I hope, be good enough in this regard so that I can get it all without compromise.

Thanks again, Looie

In that case, get a Mc pre with a loudness control (knob or switch). Many of them have it and it will compensate for the Fletcher Munson curves at low volumes. I REALLY miss that feature on my current preamp. No preamp can adequately compensate without an extra control for it. One day I will upgrade to another Mc pre with this feature (right now, I can't afford the model I want). Arthur