Conrad Johnson vs. McIntosh Tube Gear

Thank you, Arthur. I have decided to do precisely as you advised since the price of a 275 is so reasonable. I'll pair it with a C2200 tube preamp and have less than $9,000 list in the combination brand new. I was very tempted to buy vintage Mac tube monoblocks but am leary of the potential reliability issues with electronic gear 40+ years old; plus it is virtually the same price as a brand new MC275. I have replaced the factory-issue Chinese tubes in my Quicksilver Triodes and also in the Quicksilver preamp and have improved them considerably. My local stereo dealer has some really nice Shindo equipment but yikes!!! it costs as much as a house!!

Mac has a new C2300 preamp that replaces the C2200, if interested.

I think the main difference is the C2300 has phono inputs (both mm & mc) and the C2200 does not; at a considerably higher price. The Mac dealer told me that the C2200 is now discontinued but there are still some out there available so I'll go with one of those (spinning records is not for me).

Try a tube/ss combo and get the best of both worlds... I've had great success matching tube preamps with McIntosh SS amps. For example I use an Audible Illusions Mod3a preamp with a MC402 amp, I also use a CJ premier 14 with the MC352 amp. You get all the warmth of the tube preamp and all the power & quickness of the ss amp.

I'm also a fan of the Quicksilver gear having owned the line stage pre, the Silver 90's and the Silver 60 (amps). The preamp is good, but you can do allot better.

Good luck and enjoy.

Db2sub1, take a look at the comments by Gmartan at this link, FWIW.

C2200/C2300