McIntosh C1100 Preamp

350+ views and no responses.  I guess that means people are interested, but no direct experience.  I'm happy to report that after about 50 hours of listening, I can say that it's a phenomenal preamp.  Very, very quiet, projects an excellent sound stage, both deep and wide, and the built-in phono stage is very detailed.  Very happy camper so far!

Your report does not surprise me at all.  McIntosh is quality.

I just noticed your question. I have a C1100 going into my MC601s. I absolutely love it and would suggest it for anyone that has the space for the 2 boxes and wants to spend that amount on a preamp. It replaced my C2300. I agree with everything you said except for the phono stage. I like the C1100 phono stage but I still prefer my Audia Flight SS dedicated phono stage. I didn't use the phono stage on my C2300 either. My Audia Flight phono stage did cost more than my C2300 though.

That's really interesting because I went from an Audia Flight phono (had a CD One M, too) just prior to getting the C1100. It certainly is a world-class phono stage and can understand how you would prefer it to the one built into the Mac. Unfortunately I had an issue with mine and post -sales support was lacking which caused me to go in another direction.  

From what I gathered from the McIntosh guys, the phono stage in the C1100 is a step up from 2300 and 2500.  Out of the box it was definitely lacking, but after 50 hours it has gotten much better and am enjoying it now.

I suspect that it will open up more with another 50 hours, so will wait until then before I pass final judgement, but I do think that it does compare well to other phono stages in the sub-$5k range.