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What preamp should i buy

I have had my heart set on the Sunfire tube control preamp for a long time now,But it seems impossible to find and consumers have driven the price up to the point that it is beyond what it cost new over twenty years ago. The stories of the warmth and sound stage really impress me. Now i am considering the McIntosh tube preamp C2300 which is about $5000.I do not want to spend that kind of money and be stuck with a preamp that does not sound as good as the Sunfire. Help!!!!
I have not read many articles that compare the sound of the Sunfire tube control preamp that says there is a tube preamp in that price range that sounds just as nice. When i do the independent research on a preamp that is supposed to be just as good there are always a ton of negatives....Please help, i have presently saved up $4000 dollars and want to get something with a warm sound and big sound stage. I currently have a refurbished Sunfire 300x2, benchmark usb1, Klipsh Cornwall 3's. Using a $500 dollar Chinese tube preamp which sounds nice but i would like to upgrade.
128x128mrjazz1959

Showing 1 response by lewinskih01

lewinskih01
906 posts
 
At some point I also considered a MC2300. It's a great preamp, but you need to ask yourself what exactly you are looking for? At any given pricepoint, manufacturers need to make tradeoffs as to how to spend their budget. The MC2300, and generally all McIntosh preamps, are strong on ergonomics and sound good. But ergonomics (remote control, programmable name for inputs, input level matching, phono amp, and other belss and whistles) do have a cost, so those preamps are not 100% focused on sound.

I opted for a Lamm LL2. Low on ergonomics, very high on sound. Other very good contenders along these lines are First Sound Presence, AtmaSphere, to name some VERY good preamps.

FWIW, I couldn't be happier with my preamp. You can read reviews from Marc Mickelson who did a round of reviews like 10 years ago where he compared several preamps in the 5k pricepoint. I think they were for soundstage.
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