Okay - I am ready to break my silence. (Pause, while I put on my flame-proof protective suit). I recently decided to stop trying to get my Conrad Johnson PV-11 preamp to behave and replace it. I wanted to stay with tubes, I wanted all the features of the PV-11 plus several more - remote control, a balance control with more range (I have acoustic issues) and - gulp - tone controls (quick duck and cover). Those of you who know the preamp market know that that left me really only one choice: McIntosh. Mac gear is mostly out of my price range, but I decided to splurge on a used C220 hybrid tube preamp. This is a current model, in production since 2006. I went with Audio Classics as a dealer. Although I paid a bit more than I might have here or on that big auction site, I got a guaranty, a home-trial period, and a trade-up option. Since I had never heard this piece before, the home trial was a must.
A full detailed review will eventually go up on this site, but for now, I have decided to keep the C220. Yes, it is warm sounding, as you would expect from Mac. But, it is not your father's McIntosh tube preamp. It is pretty extended up top, and especially so in the bottom (I discovered I had been missing a good part of the lowest octave). It is pretty quiet, especially for a tube pre. It is extremely well built, and pleasurable to use. Compared to the Connie-J, I do feel I am giving up a little soundstage width and perhaps some tube bloom. That said, this pre is cleaner-sounding, with better image placement (anyone who doesn't believe Ohm Walsh speakers can project a solid image needs to hear my current system). I am also getting a hint of soundstage depth, of which I had none with the PV-11 (I do have a 55" RPTV behind and between the speakers). Most of all, though, I am tapping my toes more, and playing more air guitar since the change. And it turns out that about 90% of the channel imbalance issue I had with the C-J was in fact the C-J. Just 2 or 3 clicks of the balance control (out of 107 possible) are sufficient to provide a dead-centered image.
The internal MM phono section seems about as good as the PV-11's.
Another area where there is a big difference is in sibilants. They are very different on the C220 than on the PV-11. Overall, I think they are more realistic, although they can be a little too pronounced on some recordings (which means it is likely the recordings, not the C220, at fault). The improved sibilants are matched by improved transients as well. This, I think, is what is responsible for the improved imaging I am hearing. The transient info is more attached in space to the musical notes that follow. At no time is the sound edgy, brittle or wince-inducing, even when played pretty loud.
Those tone controls have not been used extensively. Mostly, I am in the Tone Bypass mode. However, when a particularly ugly CD is played, they have come in handy, and do not seem to harm the signal at all. It has enabled me to simplify my system by removing the Behringer parametric EQ which, as the C220 exposed, was not very transparent.
There is only one area that caused me some concern with this upgrade. There is occasionally, on some recordings, a small patch of roughness or exaggeration at around 8kHz. Guess what the Walsh 2000 does at 8kHz? Yup - the hand-off from Walsh driver to tweeter. I am not sure what to make of this, but it is rare. Perhaps it's a little bump in the C220's response curve, or perhaps it is transparent enough to expose the limits of whatever crossover components are used in the 2000.
Some of the best sound I've listened to thus far was from Norah Jones ("The Very Thought of You") and Pink Floyd ("Wish You Were Here"). Note that the Pink Floyd CD is a standard CD reissue, not an audiophile item, and it had always been a fatugue-inducing recording. Through the C220 and Ohms, it was simply real sounding and musical.
This is my first "modern" stereo preamp. I must say that I do feel I am now in the grown-up section of the pool. And I cannot stress enough how amazing the Ohm Walsh 2000s are. That a sub-$3000/pr loudspeaker allows me to hear so clearly the differences between preamps, digital players and a cheap EQ is truly remarkable. I doubt many speakers in this price range can do that.
More formal review and observations to come.
