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Mcintosh C15 - Your Impressions and Matching Power Amp

Dear All

 

I would very much appreciate your advise. I have been looking for C15 reviews but I could not find much on the net, so hope to get your opinions here.

I have been offered an irresistible deal for a Mcintosh vintage C15 preamp in very good condition and recently serviced. I understand the amp has smooth delivery, a good grip on bass and pretty detailed with the usual Mcintosh house holographic or tube like sound from the few reviews I have read that were available. I intend to replace my current Schiit Freya preamp with the C15.

Being new to Mcintosh, I hope those who know about this C15 amp or own it could give your impressions of its sound quality which would be helpful. Always wanted to own one hearing so much about various models of Mcintosh amps.

I am also looking at a matching power amp and would appreciate suggestions. Currently I own a class D - XTZ A2 300, 150 watt per channel power amp. Would this be a good match with the C15? Or should I be looking at something else. My speakers are Klipsch RP 6000f which are not really bright as most might think. More clean sounding.

I welcome your thoughts.

ram18
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,892 posts
 

Not sure what an "irresistible" deal is but i think C15 are generally overpriced.   That unjt was built during the Clarion years.   Those were tough times for McIntosh , that unit was good but not great.  I replaced mine with a conrad johnson Classic 2se and the improvement was huge.     I would suggest something like that used or a new  Quicksilver line stage 

ram18 OP
87 posts
 

Thanks for the informative nugget. 

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,892 posts
 

I bought one used around 04 for $750 , a few years later I sold it for $1350 on eBay.  It was pristine.    I saw one sell recently for $1500.    Having owned one, I would not spend that kind of money on one.    People generally overpay for used Mc in my opinion.  It's an iconic brand , but not everything that came out of Binghampton was great.   

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,129 posts
 

@ram18

Nobody can read your thoughts and understand the motivation behind your consideration for the C15. If it’s bang for the buck (or, more correctly, sound for the buck) there may be better choices. If you are okay with part of your equipment investment satisfying intangibles such as: been on your bucket list for decades, love the esthetics, something that represents a top tier product sitting in your home, etc. then only you can assign value to this equation.

My first introduction to "real" hifi was powered by McIntosh back in the early 70’s. It took over 40 years for me to finally own the product that first introduced me to high fidelity sound -- and launched a career in high performance audio. Our motorhome depreciated more the first year we owned it than what I paid for my "Mac stack." Using other examples of what we can invest in other "indulgences", the Mac amp & preamp have proven to be a bargain.

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