2. amps-preamps
  3. 1054480144

Preamp or CD Player for Best Sonic Improvement

Hello,
I'm new to this forum. I have been considering an upgrade for my system & have come up with the following options.I have not being able to make up my mind yet so i shall very much appreciate any suggestions & comments.

(1) Upgrade my pre to a Mac TUBE C2200. ( I will only consider Mac for now )

(2) Upgrade my source to either Linn Ikemi or electrocompaniet EMC1UP.

Either way i will be upgrading my source at some point but right now i'm only interested in the option which will give me the best sonic improvement TODAY as i will not be able to upgrade again for sometime(at least for 2 years).I have to say that i will prefer option 1,the TUBES, if it can give me the best sonic improvement for the next 2 years till i can afford a better source.Is this correct or should it be vise versa ????

My sys - Linn Genki CDP,Mac MA6900,TDL Reference Studio Monitors(18Hz-20Khz),Transparent Cables

Thanks a lot for the replies,
Dylon
dilly0727
Post removed 
ljgj
955 posts
 
I vote for the C2200 and later get a new Cd player than the 402 amp. Sell the 6900 to finance the amp. The 42 is a very good preamp - the 2200 is more natural sounding and IMHO will be an improvement.
budrew
467 posts
 
I recommend the Electrocompaniet CD player! I have the Mcitnosh C2200 and MC 2102 tubed components and the Electrocompaniet EMC-1 CD player. Before that I had the MA6900. The EMC-1 is a great, great CD player and matches well with the Mcintosh components. The C2200 will be a definate improvement, but for now the EMC-1 will offer a lot of bang initially and I think you'll be happy with that purchase for a while and can delay the C2200.
dilly0727 OP
2 posts
 
Thankyou all for the advice.It's nice to have a forum like this to turn to.

I have not heard the EMC1 as we don't have a local dealer but have read many good things. At least the Mac's have a dealer & i have arranged for an audition in a few weeks . Shall keep you posted .

I am considering another option on the source.Maybe i should post in the Digital forum.Pls. have a look.

Best Regards,
Dylon
jsawhitlock
302 posts
 
My vote goes for the Preamp first but also consider checking out a few different brands as you mentioned you have not yet heard tubes so the audition of several preamps is a must as $4500 is a fair amount of money and I think it's worth exploring more than the one brand. Happy Listening!
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