McIntosh C2300 noise

  Hmm...I have a C2300. There are two phono sections in this preamp. Have you tried swapping out the tubes? Have the tubes ever been replaced? I was surprised with my C2300 when one of the output tubes failed after just a few years of use. Although they are labeled McIntosh, I learned on this site that they are made in China. At that point I replaced all  six tubes with NOS Telefunkens from the 1960's, and was amazed with the improvement in sound. 

I do use Tele NOS in line stage. The line stage makes a very very low pitched buzz which isnt really a big deal when i start playing music. I tried moving the Teles to the phono section and still see noise shoot up with the meters dancing like in the video. This tells me the issue is much before the gain stage - but i am a newbie - thats just my guess. 

Ok. I’m just throwing this out there.  A while back I noticed a buzz , often intermittent but sometimes steady that I had a difficult time pinpointing because I didn’t know if it was the pre or the amp.  

I traced it it down to the amp but it wasn’t the amp at all.   It was a Glade Plug In air freshener.  Removed it from the next room and my noise disappeared 

good luck. 

My c2300 was making a motor boat noise through the phono section that I tracked it down to an apple tv being too close to the preamp. Moved it away and noise gone. 

@scorpio1951...………………………

I have the C2500 preamp  with the stock tubes.  A lot of the Mac guys are telling me the Gold Lion tubes are the best for the preamp.  You seem to really like the Telefunkens though.  Are they that good?  I had bought a pair of Telefunkens from Upscale for a Rogue preamp and they were noisy and that was their Platinum grade.  I sent them back and tried 2 more, but they were even noisier.

It was a Glade Plug In air freshener.

 I tracked it down to an apple tv being too close to the preamp

I moved the 2300 to a different room - no sources or amp connected - still same behavior. Infact I used the dedicated refrigerator AC line - still same issue. 

I have a C220.  Although I did not have a severe noise issue like you, I did replace the 4 tubes in this pre with Mullard reproduction 12AX7s, and the preamp got quieter and sounds better in many respects.

I would try this:  If you are using the main single-ended outputs to your amplifier, try using one of the other outputs and see if there is a difference.  I had these outputs fail on both my first C220 and the replacement, which I still have, but use one of the other outputs, not the main one.  As far as I can tell, my long runs of ICs to my amp were stressing the RCA output jacks on the C220, and they failed, resulting in a very loud hum (a short, I guess).  I now suspend the cables to relieve the stress on the C220's output jacks, and have had no issues in about seven years.

Lastly, if your dealer can't figure it out, I have found calls to McIntosh to be answered promptly and helpfully.

@Pistha  - If you had no sources or amp connected to it, how could you hear the buzz?  Is it a transformer hum from within the preamp itself?

^^^^^^Excellent question.

 If you had no sources or amp connected to it, how could you hear the buzz? Is it a transformer hum from within the preamp itself?

the YT video shows no source connected but amp and speakers connected. buzz goes up and down with volume on phono section as seen. As a test - i moved the preamp to a different room with NO source or amp connected. Offcourse I dont hear anything audible as no speakers are connected and no transformer hum either - but the needle jumps as though there is gain/current. So clearly it's not a source or a cable issue. 

If you are using the main single-ended outputs to your amplifier, try using one of the other outputs and see if there is a difference.

@bondmanp - yes - i tried Outputs 1 &2 with same behavior. Differ with you on calling McIntosh - i get very curt responses. Luckily Audioclassics is treating me well!

^^^^^^Excellent question.

grrrr

pistha - If you bought your preamp from Audio Classics, you’re in good hands. They won’t let you down.

Sounds like a tube noise. Just as an experiment, gently tap the phono tubes while you hear the noise and see if that affects the frequency or pitch.

@kalali - that was the first thing i tried - while it makes the needle jump - it doesnt change the noise - frequency or pitch. Am gonna try borrowing some tubes just to rule out tubes