Ampzilla 2000 v2 and Mcintosh MC402

I regret selling my McIntosh C28 preamp several years ago. I still have the MR77 tuner! Excellent tuner!

I have been in A/V retail for 30 years. I have had the pleasure of facility tours of 2 major high end electronic manufactures. The most important take away from both tours is that their products are designed to work and sound their best in a complete system. Mix and match at your own risk. In my experience, it leads to frustration and the endless cycle of upgrades.

Stick with Mac if you like a warm robust sound.  Almost anything else in that price range will articulate better.

@jb1 you give me a very good point , sire

@viethluu

A subtle nuance to your comment above regarding your Mac preamp. I’ve owned a few Mac preamps through the years. They are feature rich, inoffensive, reliable and trustworthy. They commit no major sins, however, yours interfaced well with Pass Labs NOT because the Mac preamp is universally versatile but because Pass Labs amplification is quite forgiving in that regard.

There are fans and foes of every type of gear manufactured; past, present and future. Mac is a solid business, Ampzilla’s business strength is for you to decide. Formerly bankrupt companies (or those for whom that might be a fallback plan) are difficult to value. I recognize I keep it pretty simple for my amplification choices and I’ve owned alot of great gear. I prefer non-gimicky reliable and beautiful sounding amplification. I don’t have any qualms admitting that I prefer what I prefer and that usually involves vacuum tubes. Horses for courses right?

Have you considered another Pass Labs amp? I believe the Pass Labs amps are reasonably agnostic regarding preamps...which wasn’t an accident but in fact a design goal. My 2 cents on the topic with a 2 cent discount.