Mcintosh C220 vs CJ ET-2


I am getting ready to buy a tube pre-amp to go with my pair of Monarchy SE-100 MK2 monoblocks. These drive NHT VT 2.4 speakers.

I was researching the McIntosh C220 and I went into a store... The guys there reccommended a Conrad Johnson ET-2 over the McIntosh and said it will go better with my speakers and my turntable (MusicHall MMF 5.1 with Goldring 2200 MM cartrige).

They claimed that the Conrad Johnson pre-amps have more defnintion and are true "audiophile" equipment....

Q1. Why is the Conrad Johnson considered audiophile quality and Mcintosh C220 not?

Q2. The price point is similar - so is one truly "better" than the other... I know I know that "depends" on how it sounds in my system... but I am curious to hear what others think...

Thanks in advance for your responses...

-Anu
anuruddhak

Showing 1 response by audiofreakgeek


Give the dealer a break, there are many audiophiles that feel that Mcintosh products are good but not leading the field in terms of ultimate transparency.

If you look at the ET 2 parts quality and design topology it is an impressive piece of hardware. CJ feels that balanced circuits cost more and complicate the design with very little real improvement for home environments.

Also the CJ is a purist design without any embellishments which are usually found in a Mcintosh design.

Personally I would take a CJ any day of the week over a Mcintosh, I would take a CJ, BAt, or Audio Research tube amp over a Mcintosh tube amp, and I would take a Balanced Audio, or Mark Levinson solid state amplifier over a Mcintosh.

If you look at the design topology of most solid state amplifiers they are direct coupled designs, where most Mcintosh amplifiers use an auto transformer which gives the amplifier the ability to easily push power into any load however an auto transformer is not necessary if you use a big enough power supply. The upshot much a direct coupled amplifier has much greater clarity.