Description

From the official website translated with Google:

The McIntosh C2300 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier includes a suite of powerful engineering enhancements with intelligent, user-programmable features to deliver a truly extraordinary component. Each input can have bass, treble, and mono/stereo modes adjusted and stored in memory. When individual inputs are selected, these settings will be applied according to the listener's preset. All adjustments can be made either from the front panel or the remote control.

Eight programmable source selections
All eight source selections accommodate unbalanced inputs, while four also accommodate balanced inputs. Any of the 12 standard names can be assigned to a source selection and the panel display can be customized to indicate unique available sources.

Electromagnetic silent switching
Signal routing occurs via electronic switching devicesromaDigitally controlled magnetics. Precision switching contacts, isolated from environmental contaminants within inert gas-filled glass tubes, provide the most reliable, quietest, and lowest-distortion switching possible.

Advanced volume control
McIntosh's two-stage VRV (Variable Rate Volume) electronic control is in action. It never wears out or needs cleaning, and keeps the matched channels within an extraordinary 1/10th of 1 dB.

What it is: Preamps

Manufacturer: McIntosh USA

Features: Valvular

Price new: 9.900 year 2013

Specifications

Amplification type	valve
Stadio phono	MM
Analog inputs	8 programmable sources (4 with balanced XLR inputs, 8 with unbalanced RCA inputs)
country of origin	USA
Year of production	2013
Trim	Black with glass front panel and blue LED indicators

About the brand

McIntosh Laboratory was founded in 1949 by Frank H. McIntosh and Gordon Gow in Silver Spring, Maryland, and moved to Binghamton, New York, in 1951, where it remains headquartered today. Since November 2024, the McIntosh Group, which also includes Sonus faber, has been owned by the American company Bose, which has stated its intention to keep the two brands focused on amplifiers, speakers, and turntables.
McIntosh's history begins with the Unity Coupled circuit, patented at the company's inception and the basis of its first amplifier, the 50W-1: a unique output transformer configuration that reduced distortion compared to amplifiers of the time and is still used today in tube power amplifiers like the MC275. The design is unmistakable: black glass fronts, adopted in the 1960s, and the distinctive blue-illuminated VU meters, present since the mid-1970s. The transformers are still hand-wound in-house.
Distinctive technical solutions include Autoformers, the output autotransformers used in many solid-state amplifiers and integrated circuits, which allow full nominal power to be delivered into 2, 4, and 8-ohm loads; Power Guard, a patented circuit that compares the input signal with the output signal and limits clipping; and Sentry Monitor, a fuseless protection that disconnects the power amplifier when the current exceeds safety limits and automatically restores operation.
The range covers the entire chain. Integrated amplifiers include the MA252, the brand's first hybrid integrated amplifier, with a 12AX7 and 12AT7 tube preamplifier, a 100-watt solid-state power amplifier into 8 ohms, and a headphone output, and the MA12000, a 350-watt-per-channel hybrid, as well as the MA5300, MA7200, MA8950, and MA9500 solid-state integrated amplifiers and the MA2375 tube amplifier. The MC275 VI tube power amplifier delivers 75 watts per channel with KT88 tubes, or 150 watts in mono configuration; solid-state power amplifiers range from the MC152 to the 2.000-watt MC2.1KW monoblock. The range is completed by the C22 MKV, C49, C55, C2800 and C12000 preamplifiers, the MCD85, MCD350, MCD600 and MCD12000 players, the DS200 streamer, the MHA200 headphone amplifier, the MT2, MT5 and MT10 turntables and the XR100, XRT1.1K, XRT2.1K and ML1 MK II speakers.
The ML1 MK II is based on the ML1 designed around 1970 by Roger Russell: same closed cabinet and same dimensions, but with five speakers instead of four, including a 12-inch woofer. The MT5 turntable uses a magnetic suspension bearing, with minimal contact between the parts.
Those looking for a single unit with a tube preamp and simple operation will find the MA252 the most natural entry point. With demanding speakers or large rooms, autoformer-equipped integrated amplifiers like the 200-watt MA8950 or 300-watt MA9500 deliver full power into 2, 4, and 8 ohms. Those who prefer separate components can pair a C Series preamplifier with an MC275 VI, ideal for high-sensitivity speakers, or with a solid-state power amplifier when more power is needed.
In our Carpi showroom, you can listen to McIntosh equipment in the listening room, compare it with your speakers, and get advice on matching it. The same models can be ordered online at audiocostruzioni.com with shipping, asking us for advice first by email if necessary.

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