Melos SHA-1 Gold vs McIntosh C2200 sound quality?

As an owner of a SHA GOLD pre my self and also using NOS German RCA 7308's I feel that the analytical/brightness problem is possibly cable related or more probably the Sunfire amp. There is nothing soft or tube sounding about Sunfire products that I have heard. They present a very forward thin sound at best, strictly HT, not good for 2 channel. I would suggest looking into a high quality tube amp like a Cary V12i or SS pure class A like an older Threshold SA series.

The Mc2200 would probably cure your brightness problem. In my experience, cables can't make big changes in your system's sound - you will need to change components for that. I have read a few times about the 777es as being on the bright side too but I think that the MC2200 may be what you need. I have heard it several times in several systems and can say that it can reliably improve system sound by making it sound smooth and enjoyable (like all other Mc stuff). Yet detail doesn't seem to suffer because I always heard as much with other preamps (in A/B) - it is just portrayed differently and I love it. Check out the current issue of Hifi+ for a rave review of it. It won't be neutral enough for some but in your case, it may be perfect. Synergy is the most important ingredient and it seems you are on the right track IMO. Let us know what you end with and your thoughts on it. Good luck! Arthur

I have been using a Melos Ma-111 for some years now. I use Philips 6922's. Pre-amp has a moded power supply and film caps as well a upgraded internal wire and rca jacks.Set up as dual mono with 2 separate volume pots no mute no tape monitor and no balance control.The simplier the better! This pre-amp has great staging has never been bright especially now using Sonoran Plateau cables and hardwired Sonoran Plateau Pc. many of these upgrades could be done on your SHA-1 Gold..Tom

Thanks for the helpful responses. I have tried several different interconnects between the XA777ES and the SHA-Gold and found that the Cardas QuantumV's gave me the "fullest" midrange. The unshielded Pandora S 1/2 meter IC was very bright sounding. I have some new ICs coming but I still think the McIntosh C2200 may be my best solution. The only problem I have with that possible solution other than cost, is the nearest dealer is 175 miles away. My main consideration for the C2200 is that many recordings could use a judicious amount of tone control to tame some of the source brightness.
Thanks again for your inputs -- Tim