Integrated used as Preamp?

The part of the question that was not asked. If you go with an MF integrated, just make sure that the integrated has a preamp out. Not all MF A3's had a preamp out. I found out the hard way.

FWIW, MF standalone preamps are superior to the preamp section alone in an MF integrated. Both still have the MF house sound, but the stand alone units are quieter and richer sounding.

Regards,

Rich

Thanks for the feedback thus far. To answer some of the questions...

It doesn't have to be a MF integrated/preamp... I have just been looking at one to mate with my MF A308CR power amp. What I need is a good 2-channel preamp, because my system currently serves double duty as a stereo setup + home theater. The MF amp I have has 2 sets of inputs with a switch on the front to control which one is active. That means I can connect two different preamps (a good stereo preamp and my existing Acurus prepro) so I can keep the home theater setup without sacrificing 2 channel audio quality.

Rar1 - what do you mean about not all A3s having a preamp out? Are you saying there are multiple versions of the A3? According to the MF website, the A3, A300, A3.2, and A308 integrateds all have preouts.

The MF A3 that I had did not have a preamp out. See this thread from 2004. Don't mean to disagree with MF's web site, but it is why I wound up trading the A3 integrated for the A300 power amp, after I purchased the CD PRE 24.

With that said, a CD PRE 24 would give you what you are looking for. Stereophile did an exhaustive review that you may want to read.

Regards,

Rich

Thanks for the info Rar1. That's interesting that your A3 didn't have preouts. On the CD Pre 24, I've had my eye on that as well, but they aren't easy to find and are a little outside the range I am looking to spend at the moment. If the right one came along, I might pull the trigger though, since I could make up some coin by selling my current CD player.