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In Reply to: McIntosh C26 ain't bad.... posted by Tromatic on April 11, 2007 at 12:20:30:
Hi, Tromatic:I have never found either a McIntosh C-26 or C-28 to be as nice sounding as ANY tube preamp I have ever owned. Sure, the thing is probably dead quiet overall, but "musical" it is not.
The fact that you own an SP-3 leads me to suggest that once you have your SP-3 back and, provided that it is repaired and working to spec, you would be very hard-pressed to even begin to compare its performance and overall level of satisfying sound with one of these McIntosh solid-state preamps.
Now, if you are enraptured by the appearance of the C-26, purchase the unit in question and admire it in the dark or whatever, but it is NOT equal to an SP-3 in proper working condition.
Not even close.
My personal opinion, of course!
Richard Links
Berkeley, CA
Follow Ups:
I agree, it sure is not the SP3, and mine has been working to spec aside from the recent cap issue. Just saying it's not as nasty as the archives would have you think, unless my ears suck or this is a fine axample of a C26!
Hi, Tromatic:Thanks.
I clearly recall a situation which happened about thirty years ago.
I purchased a beautiful used McIntosh C-28 and thought at that time, that I had fallen in love with the piece. But, alas, I was very disappointed with the sound of the phono preamp section in the unit. I then brought it to a dealer-sponsored McIntosh Performance Clinic and had it thoroughly tested. The unit not only met spec, but exceeded it by a major margin. So, even with vanishingly low distortion and all, it still sounded bad to me.
I had an opportunity to purchase a nice Marantz 7 tube preamp and once I had that unit in my system, I never again operated the C-28 and the day I sold it was a day for some amount of relief and celebration.
Not to complain! About four years ago, I spotted a C-28 with a smashed front glass at a local flea market and it was priced at $10, so I purchased it. It also worked but did not sound that great to me, yet I kept it as a "flea market" souvenier!
Good luck with the SP-3 when you get it back. I also remember how nice those units not only sounded when they were new, but saw excellent results when someone brought one to yet another of the famous McIntosh Performance Clinics--in an era when they were testing anything brought in to them.
Exemplary performance, to say the least!
I've had the SP3 and C28 when both were new and for the the SP3 is in a class by itself. I think of it as what the Marantz 7C could have been if Saul had come out with a successor. That said, the C28 presented a representation closer to what I heard at the BSO and Avery Fisher Halls than the SP3 in my system and hence stayed with the C28. The SP3 had more air but at the same time seemed to have a veil that the 28 did not. As for the phono preamp, the SP3 preamp and the 28 preamp each react differently to cartridges and I found in the testing that it was not untypical that a cartridge that did nicely in 1 did not shine in the other.The 26 is not in anyway a dog but in comparison to the 28 has a higher noise level and the 28 has a higher level than the 29. Each is noticably so. However the 28 and SP3 have about the same noise levels. It really is not an issue if the preamps are set up correctly unless you are using very efficient speakers or like to lean against the speaker to listen to the rush.
Oh, the power amps used for the testing at the time were simply those I owned. Marantz 9s, ARC DUAL 51 and D75 and the Mc MC250. Speakers of course were the venerable KLH Nine.
We have a wizard/shaman/guru out here who gives it TLC when required, and it's in good shape other than being a bit on the senior side. It's going to be a sad day when he hangs up his iron. The SP3 has a very unique sound, at least to me, and I love it. I've been very fortunate to have a used audio shop nearby (Echohifi.com) that has let me hear some really unobtanium gear, and the SP3 is it for me. Not sure what that says about my taste or hearing, but I'm very happy.
As I'm sure you know & I fully believe..If it sounds good,It is good.PERIOD.. It amazes me how some of my vinatage gear just smokes my modern stuff in every way that counts to me..The music...
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