Please recommend a preamp/ phono stage for Mcintosh MC30 amps

I'm looking to acquire a preamp with a built-in phono stage to mate with Mcintosh MC30s.

I play mostly vinyl on a Linn LP-12 with a MM cartridge, so an excellent phono stage is important. I tend to favor vintage 50s and 60s recordings--a realistic sound with magic midrange (like Nat Cole or Sinatra) is more desirable to me than reproducing the super-tight bass drum "thwack" of a late 70s rock record (although that's nice, too). I'd like to keep this under $1000, if possible. Modern or vintage gear could be considered.



Some recommendations I've heard so far:

Audio Research SP-6 series
Luxman CL-35 MK3



What do you recommend?

 

ARC SP-9, should be able to get a clean one for around $900
CJ PV-12 with phono, about the same.

CJ PV2a can be had for about $400. Might need to have the power supply rebuilt,
but CJ can fix it reasonably inexpensively.

I know this is a bit out of your budget, but the Croft Micro 25 is outstanding. I've got one in for review right now and am really excited about how good both the linestage and the phono preamp sections sound.

$1395 from Acoustic Sounds....

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/67021/Croft_Acoustics-Micro_25_Preamp-Pre_Amps

 

Thank you for the suggestions!

How would the ARC SP9 (tube hybrid) compare sonically to the "old school" all-tube SP6?

I heard a SP-6 C a long time ago and was pretty impressed.

 

Not sure there, but the SP-9 is still a somewhat romantic sounding preamp, compared to some of the models after it. I had an SP-9 for a long time and really liked it a lot. I'd say whatever you can find a good deal on that's in great shape will be very good. I could live with an SP-6 or SP-9. Considering those MC-30's are pretty romantic, the SP-9 might be a pretty awesome match.

Worst case, if you don't love it, you should be able to put it right back on Ebay or Audiogon for whatever you paid for it.

 

I would try to find a McIntosh preamp to match!
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1294883368&/McIntosh-MX132-
don't know much about Mc SS pres, maybe check some other forums.

Just seems like a good thing to at least consider to me. I would think a more modern pre (than the MC30s) would be recommended, at least.
As above, "Worst case, if you don't love it, you should be able to put it right back on Ebay or Audiogon for whatever you paid for it."

 

You might be able to find an MC220 for about $15-1800. It's got a great MM phono stage built in. The other vintage tube Mc preamps are going to be pretty spendy and the SS ones just aren't that great.

 

Who could ask for anything more?


The SP9's seem fairly common, I hope to check one out.

 

I'd highly suggest a Mk. 1, they were a little warmer sounding than the Mk. 2 and 3...
And less expensive!

If you like the SP-9 you should be able to experiment with a few variations on the 6922 tubes inside to achieve the result you want.

 

I can recommend the McIntosh C220 preamp with the MC30s you have as I have the same combination. The modern pre matches beautifully with the 1957 amps....the best of both worlds, now and then.

I have yet to have an amp pass through my listening room (guest amplifiers and my own) that didn't mate well with the C220.

It does indeed have an outstanding MM phono section which easily supports my Dynavector 10X5....the sound is wonderful!

 

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...tle&resnum=2&ved=0CC0QsAQwAQ&biw=1024&bih=568

I used one of these with a MC 240. I'm sure MC30's would sound nice too.

 

It's neat how that unit includes a tuner.

What do you think of the phono stage? Can it compete with the more modern suggestions?

 

Marantz 7 would be great, but won't come close to your stated price range.

 

I can certainly vouch for the C220 and its MM Phono stage - but I think it's way over his price range ... which is why I didn't suggest it.

If you can stretch the budget to the ~$2000 range it's seemingly a great match. Roll some tubes in there to taste ... should be a slice of heaven.

 

If you look for ARC sp-9 be sure to go for the mk-II. The first sp-9 really doesn't sound very good in comparison.

 

ARC SP-9

Thanks! I appreciate the different opinions. I wonder what the actual differences are between the SP-9 MK-II, MK-III, etc.

And my friend in Seattle who had the SP6C said he compared it to the SP9, and thinks the SP6 sounds the best. He did say that they both are fantastic pieces of gear.

 

As I said, the mk. 1 is warmer overall than the other two. Whether this is "better" is up to you.

The phono stage in the SP-9 is quieter, so that might be a factor as well. Either way, you probably won't go wrong on this.

 

Well, in its time the SP6 was ARC's top preamp, and the SP9, while newer, was their entry level model for its generation. Also the SP6 has all-tube audio circuitry, the SP9 is a tube/transistor hybrid.

 

Just spoke with a local ARC dealer who sold those units back in the day.

He also said the type of 6922 tubes can make a huge difference.




Too bad I cannot find any of the recommended units (ARC, Mcintosh, CJ) to audition locally--it's gonna be strictly a mail order situation to find the stuff.

 

How 'bout a McIntosh C20?




Would that be worth considering as an upgrade to the ARC gear?

 

Except a good clean C-20 will probably set you back about 3k.... The MX110 is pretty dark, may or may not be your cup of tea, but again, used Mac holds it's value, so if you don't like it, easy to resell...

 

I used to use an MX110 and a C22 reissue with my MC60s (all of which I wish I still had) and those preamps worked great. The C22 reissue sounds more modern than the original, but still had a nice warm Golden Age sound to it. The MX110 sounded a bit "round" and it helped to try different tubes in the line stage to open the sound up a bit, but I thought it had a good phono stage and the tuner was very lush sounding, great for classic oldies music. Don't expect to find them cheap on ebay though, I'd look elswhere. I used an LP12 with MM at the time too. Nice system.

 

I have a MX 110 Z with my Mc 30's and love them together. Before the MX 110 I had a McIntosh C28 SS pre amp and the sound was really close. A good C 28 can be had for about 750 bucks I think. Not quite the sound of the MX 110 but a lot closer than you'd think and for about half the cost.

 

Do you use the phono stage of the MX-110? If so, how do you like it?

 

I remember when the MX110 was considered to be the poor man's C22, but those days are apparently over, the prices on them have really gone up! I really enjoyed my MX110 for several years for playing records.