Which one to get: McIntosh C2300 or Mcintosh C2500

Agree with Miner, the C2500 will be terrific but the C2300 will be highly sought after in years to come ala the original C22. The in board dac will save you a set of cables and an extra power cord in addition to what is likely to be a very nice dac but there is plenty of evidence out there that the average Mac user is not afraid to accumulate a few boxes. ;)

I understand why McIntosh is doing it and the incremental cost is negligible. The craziness of this hobby however will probably cause a few to picket due to the heresy of mixing analog and digital.

Thank you.....I actually ended up buying the C2300. Any recommendations on tube rolling?.........I actually tried the Genelax Gold Lions but ended up putting the stock tubes back in.....the Gold Lions were too bass heavy for my taste.

For cheap tubes that made a big improvement in my humble C220, try Mullard reissues. I paid $40 for each matched pair. They sound smoother, are quieter, and are better at soundstaging and imaging than the stock tubes. Check out the McIntosh forum on the audio circle site for more on tubes.

I use Psvane Treasures in my C2300. I have tried Tele ribbed, Mullard, Sovtek, Gold Lions, Tungsol and ended up with the Psvanes. If you go with them spend the extra for the 'selected' ones - see Grant Fidelity.

oops, sorry. The McIntosh forum is on the audiokarma site.