Preamp with Tone Control Recommendations ....

Get a D'Agostino Momentum preamp for only $32,000. Sure, it's a little pricey but hey, you get tone controls.

Ha!

I had the D'Agostino Momentum. Sure it has tone controls but they are not independent and have no zero point. So that means once you engage them you HAVE to use BOTH bass AND treble. Not an ideal solution and frankly annoying at that price point. I do have to say it was one of the finest sounding preamps I've ever heard. If it had properly designed tone controls, I would have been happy.

Effischer and Ulf,

Thank you. I had the C2300 two years ago and I'm sorry I sold it. The C2500 would be the logical upgrade and the DAC might be a bonus (as long as it sounds good).

Sure I believe tone controls affect the sound, maybe not damage it. But once you cross that line, it dosen't seem to matter.

My ideal preference in the McIntosh line would be a C500T (or even the C500P) with the tone controls of the C50, totally bypassable of course.

Thank you for all the suggestions, please keep them coming.

Essrand,

The Triode Corporation TRX-1 looks cool but I think the output impedance might too high for my situation. I'll check it out.

If you could afford a D'agostino preamp, look for a used Cello Audio Palette or Audio Suite, those might give you the flexibility you'd want. Not easy to find used, though.

A modded Dynaco PAS 3 might surprise you assuming taking out tone controls wasn't part of the mod .