Differences between MAC C100, C200 and C46

the mcintosh C100 &C200 are the some product except for the display . the C46 is a one box unit and it has an 8 band equilizer built in it . i am sure it is a good unit , i have a C100 and it is world class . i have put my C100 up against some of the best such as levinson 380S,& 32,arc 11 & 14 ,bat vk50, classe omaga , krell kct,threshold t2,rowland coherence & synergy. the mcintosh C100 was better then all of the above and i would suggest you audition a C100 or C200 for yourself . also you can get them used $3500 to $4500 and new a C200 is $7100 and that is a very low price for what you will be getting. good luck.

I have the c200 and other than the difference in the displays and the HT passthrough it is the same as the c100.
These are some of the best solid state preamps available.
They are very transparent with great soundstaging. The c46
will get you very close however to the c100/200. If you can
compare them with your own ears that should give you the best indication of perceived sound differences. Soundwise
the c46 will get you well into the ballpark of the c100/200. Good luck.

as for HT pass through the C100 can also do it but it does
not have a stand alone setting for it you have to choose what output want for HT pass through and this way the C100 is more virsitile then the C200 . also the C100 has on the unit what out put you have choosen . the remotes are the same . i agree withh Larrman these may be some of the most transparent and best soundstaging preamps any where . good luck and good listening. don't be afraid to listen to the
C100 or C200 these are as good as it gets and they have a phone stage built in .

Larrman, I own a C200, too. Until now, I have only listened to CD; now I will get back into vinyl, too. Do you play vinyl, and if so, what turntable/arm/cartridge do you use? I have not yet decided about using the MC-input of the C200, or adding a special phono-preamp. What, if any, is your experience?

daer hassel i see you ask larrman about phone for the C200
as you can see from above i have a C100 and do have a tt.
my set up is a sota nova 5 + an sme 5 arm + a koetsu rosewood sig. this set up goes right into the mc input of my C100 and the sound is great.

I would like to thank everyone for their answers to my questions. This has helped a lot and given me much direction in making my decision.

thank you

Hassel, I don't run a TT yet but I plan to get one. One of the reasons I bought the c200 was because I wanted the ability to run MC/MM and the c200 has excellent phono sections. All I'll ever need.

Baldeagle, It's my understanding that any input can be assigned for pass through on the c200. Also the c200 is totally off when pass through is used. Volume is controlled from the A/V proc.

dear larrman the C100 and C200 work in the same way for the pass through mode in the C100 the A/V proc. controles all the volume the only difference is the C200 has a designation for the pass through and the C100 doesn't . the way they function are the same only the nameing is different. also you are right on the money the phone stages in theses are very good and in many cases better then some of the better stand alone units.

The two are basically identical. Please be aware of the fact that the first series of the C100 were flawed by a problem related to the volume control, which was subsequently upgraded. I believe the second series C100 has exactly the same volume control present in the C200.