McIntosh C1100 Preamp

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.

Sorry you had a problem with you Audia Flight phono. So far so good for me - keeping my fingers crossed. That is a problem with more exotic equipment and the reason most of my components are McIntosh. Now that I have 100's of hours on my C1100 I'll have to give it another try for its phono stage. I used to roll various tubes with my C2300 but I am reluctant to do this with the C1100 since it is so dead quiet and don't want to mess up a good thing. 

I would be really interested in your thoughts after you try the phono on the C1100 with a couple hundred hours on it.  I was very disappointed with the issues with the Audia Flight, and did have some reservations before buying, but thought that their reputation in Europe would be worth the risk. I don't think it's an inherent issue with their products (the other two I had were flawless), but the lack of support I received here in the US when I did have an issue was very frustrating.

After that experience, I limited my search to more readily serviceable units and the C1100 turned out to be the best match in my system.  You are right that it's dead quiet and, if I hadn't heard the Audia Flight, I could be perfectly happy with the C1100 phono and fully expect it to get even better over time. I'm glad that your experience with Audia Flight has been good so far (knocking on wood) and even happier that there is someone else who can do a direct comparison.

Greg, I switched my VPI Classic 3 w/ Lyra Kleos cart over to the C1100 MC phono stage and gave it another try now that it has 100's of hours on it. My wife and I switched back and forth between the C1100 and the Audia Flight but it was immediately obvious to us that we both preferred the Audia Flight by a considerable margin. For me the C1100 sounds very good but with a direct  comparison the Audia Flight sounded more musical to me. I thought voices sounded more resonate and detailed, there was a wider soundstage and instruments were not overshadowed by vocals. So my conclusion is that I will continue to use the Audio Flight until something happens to it - hopefully not.