Mcintosh C220 vs CJ ET-2

Onemug has good advice. Listen to the equipment not the dealer. I used to go to a local dealer and no matter what I mentioned, if he carried it, it was perfect for what my needs were. If he didn't carry it I got the stories. I used to carry it but too many problems, etc. As far as your concerns here. Q1: I beleive some of the magazines and many owners catagorize McIntosh as audiophile. Q2: there will be a differnt sound both being high quality. The decision will be what your ears like between the two. I have only heard one CJ Pre-Amp and cannot tell you the model. I have owned many McIntosh pre-amps but never tube. You really need to hear the two. One thing I will point out is that it seems that Mcintosh retains it's value better in the used market.
Also the service from McIntosh is impeccable. But that opinion as you may have gleened already is somewhat biased.
Bottom line the CJ dealer was selling CJ that day.

Don't you have to use the balanced ins on the Monarchy amps for them to run in mono?

Thanks everyone for your responses. Ironically, this dealer was both a McIntosh as well as a Conrad Johnson dealer. He did say that it was "easier" for him to get a Conrad Johnson. He also said that the phono stage on the C220 was very basic and that the CJ provides more options.

The Monarchy amps are single ended (SE-100) the SE stands for single ended, so it actually does not need balanced input. I do not know if they need it to run in mono....

Give the dealer a break, there are many audiophiles that feel that Mcintosh products are good but not leading the field in terms of ultimate transparency.

If you look at the ET 2 parts quality and design topology it is an impressive piece of hardware. CJ feels that balanced circuits cost more and complicate the design with very little real improvement for home environments.

Also the CJ is a purist design without any embellishments which are usually found in a Mcintosh design.

Personally I would take a CJ any day of the week over a Mcintosh, I would take a CJ, BAt, or Audio Research tube amp over a Mcintosh tube amp, and I would take a Balanced Audio, or Mark Levinson solid state amplifier over a Mcintosh.

If you look at the design topology of most solid state amplifiers they are direct coupled designs, where most Mcintosh amplifiers use an auto transformer which gives the amplifier the ability to easily push power into any load however an auto transformer is not necessary if you use a big enough power supply. The upshot much a direct coupled amplifier has much greater clarity.

Audiofreakgeek: Interesting statements. At the $3.5-$4k price point, in your opinion how does the Mc 275 compare to CJ, BAT, and Audio Research? Not much embellishment going on for the 275.

I did read somewhere the LS26 sounded much better in someone's system than a C220 he had, but then again synergy is important. C220+MC275 is a very nice combo. Likely the LS26 + an Audio Research amp would also be better than combining pre and amp from these two different brands. Then taste is also important.

Now which of these preamps sounds better with your Monarchy amp is just a guess on everybody's part unless they have tried it. Can you ask your dealer for an in-home audition of the two products you are considering??

Enjoy the search!