McIntosh preamp?

[frenchmon]

Oh, you dont have to be sure....I am! And your not Raven.

Dont you have Castle Speakers?

[TheHills44060]

Oh, you dont have to be sure....I am! And your not Raven.

Dont you have Castle Speakers?

I do have Castle speakers (not sure how that relates to a preamp) and what's your problem with others posting in this thread? If you asked for opinions on a piece of gear you were considering buying wouldn't you want to hear as many comments as possible both good and bad?

Minimalistic preamps have their place for sure but my point was the Vincent seems like a complete rip job at that price regardless how it may sound.

[frenchmon]

I do have Castle speakers (not sure how that relates to a preamp)

Made in China....just like those Swan speakers you had/have.

and what's your problem with others posting in this thread? If you asked for opinions on a piece of gear you were considering buying wouldn't you want to hear as many comments as possible both good and bad?

Dont have any problems with peps posting in thread...but you where rude, when you didnt have to be.

Minimalistic preamps have their place for sure but my point was the Vincent seems like a complete rip job at that price regardless how it may sound.

Naw...not a rip at all...I own amp/preamp...the pair $4300.00 retail, and its very much under priced.

[blackraven]

Frenchmon,

I have considered the Vincent and it appears to be a great preamp from the reviews. I have always admired their gear and if I was starting from scratch I would probably go with them as they are a company that is a lot of bang for the buck with tube gear. But I think that I will get the most bang for the buck going used. I really wanted the CJ ET-3se (which is only slightly warm and not syrupy) but the guy on Agon was a dealer and would not respond to me. I think he sold it privately.

As far as the Mac goes, I just happened upon a C2200 that has only 150 hrs on it. The Vincent may be comparable in sound for all I know. I have heard mixed reviews on the tonal quality of the 2200. The reviews say it is neutral and some people say it is warm.
The same can be said for BAT VK-51se that I am looking at. Warmer is what I want but not overly warm. The Vincent would probably give me what I want but I want a preamp that sold for $4K and above. There is definitely diminishing returns on the sound as you get above $3K but it is noticeable.

One thing that I like about the C2200 is tone controls. It would certainly help with some of my Cd's that are overly bright or sibilant.

[TheHills44060]

One thing that I like about the C2200 is tone controls. It would certainly help with some of my Cd's that are overly bright or sibilant.

Agreed 100%. The tone controls are absolutely invaluable in my experience. Heck even the balance knob is useful.

[frenchmon]

Agreed 100%. The tone controls are absolutely invaluable in my experience. Heck even the balance knob is useful.

I have tone controls on my SA-T1 and never have to use them. I find the Telefunken, Valvo, and Kobe TEN tubes give all my music a neutral sound that is never to bright and I never hear any sibilant. Now with Gold Lion tubes its a different story.

[frenchmon]

Frenchmon,

I have considered the Vincent and it appears to be a great preamp from the reviews. I have always admired their gear and if I was starting from scratch I would probably go with them as they are a company that is a lot of bang for the buck with tube gear. But I think that I will get the most bang for the buck going used. I really wanted the CJ ET-3se (which is only slightly warm and not syrupy) but the guy on Agon was a dealer and would not respond to me. I think he sold it privately.

As far as the Mac goes, I just happened upon a C2200 that has only 150 hrs on it. The Vincent may be comparable in sound for all I know. I have heard mixed reviews on the tonal quality of the 2200. The reviews say it is neutral and some people say it is warm.
The same can be said for BAT VK-51se that I am looking at. Warmer is what I want but not overly warm. The Vincent would probably give me what I want but I want a preamp that sold for $4K and above. There is definitely diminishing returns on the sound as you get above $3K but it is noticeable.

One thing that I like about the C2200 is tone controls. It would certainly help with some of my Cd's that are overly bright or sibilant.

Raven...I understand. Every mac I've heard was not overly warm. But as you know, one mans warm, is not the same as that other mans warm, so you may have to take a chance, have a listen to one, or go with some ones ears you trust. Right now the only person we know who has heard it is TheHill$4406. So you may have to go off his ears.

[TheHills44060]

Made in China....just like those Swan speakers you had/have.

Please get your facts straight. Castle speakers are now made in China (since 2010-ish so don't quote me) but they were manufactured in England for years and years. I bought mine in 2001 and wouldn't touch any of the new chinese Castle variants. There is no comparison between the two.

The Swans are indeed chinese but they also happen to be super inexpensive and a value to my ears. I wouldn't recommend them for full time duty but for my application in a second system with sub they are just what the doctor ordered. I didn't want to make much of an investment.

Dont have any problems with peps posting in thread...but you where rude, when you didnt have to be.

How was I rude? I said my opinion was that it was overpriced for what you get and a much lower used price would be more inline.

Now it's blatantly obvious you took offense to the me stating the Vincent was chinese made and you happen to own one. Not sure why that would bother you but don't worry you don't need to explain.

Naw...not a rip at all...I own amp/preamp...the pair $4300.00 retail, and its very much under priced.

That's fine and dandy. The more options for Raven the merrier and I have always enjoyed reading your posts but in the meantime don't take things so personally when someone puts in their 2 cents also. It's all good here, sheesh.

Oh and raven i did experiment with the swapping tubes and the changes are evident when compared to the stock tubes. Sometimes better and sometimes just different. I didn't have any particular issues with the Mac tubes but I wanted to tinker. I think you have more experience than me in that area so I'm sure you already have your favs.

[blackraven]

Oh and raven i did experiment with the swapping tubes and the changes are evident when compared to the stock tubes. Sometimes better and sometimes just different. I didn't have any particular issues with the Mac tubes but I wanted to tinker. I think you have more experience than me in that area so I'm sure you already have your favs.

What Mac did you have and what tubes did you like? I am only familiar with all the 6CG7's, 6N1P's, 6DJ8's and 396A's. The Mac's use different tubes.

[TheHills44060]

What Mac did you have and what tubes did you like? I am only familiar with all the 6CG7's, 6N1P's, 6DJ8's and 396A's. The Mac's use different tubes.

I currently own the C220 preamp but I had both the C2200 and C2300 in my own system for a while so I got to dabble quite a bit. First I tried Electo-Harmonix because they were a friend's leftovers. Oddly I didn't hear much of a difference at all which made me paranoid because I thought I must be missing something. It was my first tube swap so naturally i was bummed out.

Next I tried some Ruby's that came from from a guitar amp and my first impression was that they hissed a lot more than I liked. Good crunch but I couldn't get over the background noise. Not sure if that was due to the fact that they were burned hot in the amp but nevertheless I was turned off.

I borrowed some Svetlana's which I really liked but in the end I ended up with Gold Lions. I love a warm sound but these tubes gave me the best of both worlds and kept me from diving into the overly warm pool which I tend to do sometimes.

EDIT: I never did get a chance to try Tung-Sol's which I have heard some favor in the Mac preamps.

[blackraven]

Was the C2200 detailed? Did it have good air, sound stage and transparency? Was it warm or more neutral? How as the midrange?

Thanks!

[frenchmon]

I currently own the C220 preamp but I had both the C2200 and C2300 in my own system for a while so I got to dabble quite a bit. First I tried Electo-Harmonix because they were a friend's leftovers. Oddly I didn't hear much of a difference at all which made me paranoid because I thought I must be missing something. It was my first tube swap so naturally i was bummed out.

Next I tried some Ruby's that came from from a guitar amp and my first impression was that they hissed a lot more than I liked. Good crunch but I couldn't get over the background noise. Not sure if that was due to the fact that they were burned hot in the amp but nevertheless I was turned off.

I borrowed some Svetlana's which I really liked but in the end I ended up with Gold Lions. I love a warm sound but these tubes gave me the best of both worlds and kept me from diving into the overly warm pool which I tend to do sometimes.

EDIT: I never did get a chance to try Tung-Sol's which I have heard some favor in the Mac preamps.

In my system the Gold Lion where leaning towards more of a lively presentation pared with NOS Telefunken than I cared for in my preamp. And Mullards/Telefunken where great until I put the NOS Valvo tubes in the amp. Those Valvos are great! I am now waiting a set of Tungsram NOS.

Raven...what tubes are in the McIntosh?

[frenchmon]

Please get your facts straight. Castle speakers are now made in China (since 2010-ish so don't quote me) but they were manufactured in England for years and years. I bought mine in 2001 and wouldn't touch any of the new chinese Castle variants. There is no comparison between the two.

Ok...good for you.

The Swans are indeed chinese but they also happen to be super inexpensive and a value to my ears. I wouldn't recommend them for full time duty but for my application in a second system with sub they are just what the doctor ordered. I didn't want to make much of an investment.

Also...good for you.

How was I rude? I said my opinion was that it was overpriced for what you get and a much lower used price would be more inline.

Ok...thats your opinion...I don't share that.

Now it's blatantly obvious you took offense to the me stating the Vincent was chinese made and you happen to own one. Not sure why that would bother you but don't worry you don't need to explain.

Its not a secret its Chinese made...infact at the ShengYa factory. German owned and designed in Germany and built at ShengYa factory for cost. I would hope you understand some great products come out of China...its a global market you know.

That's fine and dandy. The more options for Raven the merrier and I have always enjoyed reading your posts but in the meantime don't take things so personally when someone puts in their 2 cents also. It's all good here, sheesh.

Perhaps I took offense of you saying its over priced when infact I know they are under priced. Not that I want them to raise prices, but thats the reason they went to China....cost. Perhaps I read a negative tone when I should not have.

Oh and raven i did experiment with the swapping tubes and the changes are evident when compared to the stock tubes. Sometimes better and sometimes just different. I didn't have any particular issues with the Mac tubes but I wanted to tinker. I think you have more experience than me in that area so I'm sure you already have your favs.