The key question is what sound characteristics are most important to you. Forget about being drawn into looks unless McIntosh preamps give you the sonic qualities you’re looking for. Are you looking for more tube warmth and fullness or more neutrality with some tube magic? That should be your determining factor, so if you share that info you’ll get some great recommends here.
Looking for preamp recommendation
I am getting Pass Labs x250.8 soon. I would like to mate it with a tube preamp. I prefer the preamp to have a phono stage built in and balanced in / output.
I have always liked the way McIntosh C22 mkV looks. Do you think it would work well with the amp? My budget would be $5K to $8K USD.
Thanks.