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.