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MC2205 - Looking for a Preamp

mozcho

mozcho

Well-Known Member
When I first bought my MC2205 I connect my source directly into it without a preamp, using the volume knob on the MC2205 for control. Later I acquired a vintage Marantz 1060 so that I can hook up my turntable, PC (playing digital high-res material) and CD player into it and use it as a preamp to feed my MC2205. This combo works fine. I am just curious if getting a dedicated preamp would improve sound significantly or not?

In my place (Malaysia) Macs are expensive and not as abundantly available as in the US. I am trying to keep my system as budget-friendly as possible. Currently these are on sale (prices have been converted to USD):

C34V & MC7200 - $2340
C39 - $1030
C40 - $1550
MX118 - $765
MC7106 (THX) - $1340
MX110Z (Tube Preamp with Tuner) - $1980

I will play more and more vinyl records and high-res tracks (DSD etc.) in future, CDs will be less and less. Any advice?
 
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I'd check out the MX118 if it includes the remote since you want to keep it budget friendly, but it doesn't have a phono input, so you'd need an external phono stage (can buy one that'll do the job for less than $200). While you're carrying along some extra circuitry you'll never use, it should give you a taste of the Mac sound without investing a lot more into pricier models.

Plus, it has a tuner if you're into that, variable loudness, etc.
 
captouch said:
I'd check out the MX118 if it includes the remote since you want to keep it budget friendly, but it doesn't have a phono input, so you'd need an external phono stage (can buy one that'll do the job for less than $200). While you're carrying along some extra circuitry you'll never use, it should give you a taste of the Mac sound without investing a lot more into pricier models.

Plus, it has a tuner if you're into that, variable loudness, etc.
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Yeah quite tempting...
 
Depending on your speakers you might find that 7200 to be a totally different experience. Especially if the impedance dips below 4 ohms. The 7200 becomes a real plower house in that case capable of twice the peak power with lower distortion and more signal to noise than a 2205. Plus some say the 7200 Power Guard is more advanced and less noticeable. Without autoformers the 7200 has a much higher damping factor and with big speaker wire if you feel your woofers are a little fuzzy or two warm a 7200 will clean them up instantly. Not as much as a Crown amp, but then I found Crown and other direct coupled amps to be to dry. That I can't say I have heard, but I suppose depending on the speaker that might be true. I have a C-34 that Audio classics recently fixed for me and it performs very well. If you are into recording the flexibility of the C-34 is fantastic. C-40 is the next step up in performance, but neither have a MC input. Bummer. I bought a MP 100 to solve that issue. I like the digital out put to feed the HT system too.
 
Nothing at all unless it's a phono.

The biggest downside IMO is that you have no unified volume control, if your source doesn't have volume control you will be constantly re-balancing your volume every time you turn it up or down.

What is your source?
 
Thanks! A homemade phono tube preamp is the source. It worked fine when I gave it a try, but I should stop, you are saying?
 
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No, you're fine. Your source to the amplifier is a phono preamp. If the phono was fed directly into the amp it wouldn't work, that's all I was saying.
 
Thanks. New to the MC2205 and McIntosh in general, thoughI've been admiring for years.

My current siutation totally works for me, and I LOVE the sound straight from my tubes. Still trying to figure out which Csomething to try out. I love the dual phono inputs of the C32. I'm a MM guy, but will get to MC someday, probably. I like the idea of using 2 Fluance RT85s (i.e. two turntables).
 
WATChad said:
Is there anything wrong with connecting the source directly into the 2205?
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I have a 2205 and tried plugging the MB50 directly to it. It sound worse than with the C34v between them. With this preamp, I get a “warmer”/“full body” sound.
 
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