I bought a c2600 just last week, open box, and love it so far. It replaced a c47 and before that a Peachtree NovaPre. I like the c2600 the most and the tubes make a positive difference for me. Very open soundstage and an amazing midrange. And as you noted it has a DAC and HT bypass though I don't use it, Overall I'm very happy with it. And yes I have it paired with a Mac amp.