Yes, the X1 is a little thin in the midrange. That Atma Sphere preamp looks like a great deal and it is enticing. I have looked a an MP-3 pre before. But it has no remote which is a deal breaker because I an too lazy to get up and change the volume after a long day at work. It also has only one pair of outputs and no sub out.

I am going to go over to my local Mac dealer later today and give a listen to some of their preamps to help me decide on the C2200.