What's a good McIntosh preamp to match a MC2300?

Hi, I recently picked up a McIntosh MC2300 and now need to seek out a preamp for it.
Any suggestions? Should I go with an older tube preamp, or a ss C24/C26/C28 or something similar? I want everything--warmth and detail, but I can't spend a fortune. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks, dale

 

Pick up a c-20 if you can swing it. Almost as good as a c-22 but much less coveted.
Stay away from the c-28 . One of their first solid state pre's and one of the most mediocre pieces of gear Mac ever produced.

 

The C20 is a great pre amp for the money and quite a few of us have them.
The C26 is very reliable and a reasonable price.
If you had $7k I would get the new Mac tube pre.

 

c-20?

The only C-20 I could find costs $2600 for a mint example. Is the sound so far above what you get with other models to warrant the extra $2000 or so? Dale

 

The MC2300 is more or less the antithesis of the much slower C20. Hard to imagine much synergy between the two. I've never heard a combo like that, though, so who knows.

If you really want a tubed McIntosh preamp, you might find the solid-state rectified units to be a better match to your 2300 as they're a bit quicker. That leaves the C11, C22 and MX110. The biggest value would be the MX110, with the final Z series probably being the best match. In fact, that final Z series incarnation was discontinued only two years before the introduction of the MC2300.

Don't be too hard on the old C28. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than the C26 and much better than the C24.

Actually, until the last couple of years the MC2300 was produced, the C28 was McIntosh's top preamp. That's when the C29 was introduced, and though it improved on the C28 in some ways, it's debatable as to whether it was actually better overall. You could do worse than a C28 as a preamp for the 2300.

No way I'd give $2600 for a C20, mint or not.

 

The C 28 circuit design actively runs all signal through that rack of buttons and switches on the front all the time. No bypass at all. That the real quality killer.