I have a Mac C-41 pre. I am building a "new" two channel system - amp- pre-cd-speakers. I can replace the Mac with a new Parasound P6... will I lose anything going from the Mac to the P6? the P6 has a great DAC and other useful features the Mac doesn't. Ahhhh. I would miss the pretty Mac light show... lol I am kinda old school but seems the P6 will do the Mac and more..
Look at the McIntosh c47 pre, it has a decent internal dac and internal phono preamp for both mm and Mc carts. I like my C47 but use an external dac that supports MQA, a Roon endpoint and it just sounds better. But my external dac cost more than the C47.
The best preamp ever (for me) and it have to match with the poweramp.: Ear 868, Audio Note M5,-6, Esoteric C-03. A combination :preamp , tubes and power, transistor or vice versa works wonderfully. As Dac,i use my Luxman sacd-D-06 (is great). I have Audio Note M5 preamp,and GamuT D 200i poweramp. Sounds fantastic. Speakers: Ilumnia Magister. (“The best”)
I did historic pyrat reenactments for a few years and we all had to have actual period correct everything... including cool blackpowder weapons... that was my pyrat name... we all had one! I wear a beaver pelt hat.
I agree with what some of the others said on keeping the C-41 and adding a DAC. My only gripe with Mac kit is the light-show (and size in some instances) but the C-41 isn't bad in that respect.
Your DAC choice should be driven by your requirements: DSD, MQA, USB, multiple coax or optical etc. Your stance on "golden-ears" and diminishing returns should also be factored in and finally your budget. I put budget last because I firmly believe there are decent DACs available at many price points. I personally wouldn't spend more than $ 1K on a DAC (prob closer to $500 to be honest) but that is me.
I have been considering the Halo P6 as I want to move from an integrated (Peachtree Nova 150 to seperates). Both devices use the same base DAC so that's not an issue for me but the P6 offers more flexibility than any other preamp that I've come across in my research. I have to factor in home theatre plus a subwoofer to supplement my LS50s (real estate issues) and the P6 handles all this easily.
IMHO after spending $ 1-2K on any component more might get you different but not necessarily better. Let YOUR ears guide YOU.
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