C45 vs C220 premplifier

again - between the C45 and C220, not interested in the C46

I played with the 4 kHz control and it didn't roll off the harshness. In fact at that time I didn't know it was not rolling off up to 20 kHz like a conventional treble control and was trying to figure out the weird rolloff I was hearing. I asked myself why is it rolling of the mid highs and not the upper highs. It was not effective at rolling off the boosted highs heard on many new CDs. Later I checked the owner's manual and saw what was happening. YMMV.

I agree with Onhwy61.

Also, the original poster is obviously not aware of all the preamps being offered by McIntosh.

The 4kHz EQ setting is very well chosen by McIntosh. It's very effective at removing treble harshness and forwardness without unduly truncating very high frequency content, if used moderately.

i wrote a review of the c 220 on audiophilia.com, but did not compare it to other mcintosh products.

Well, the c46 highest tone control is centered on 4kHz. I ruled it out for that reason. If I'm buying a Mc Preamp, it's partially for the tone controls. Not being able to roll off the upper highs on the c46, I wouldn't buy it.

What about the C46? They make the C500T and the C100T as well.
www.mcintoshlabs.com