Предусилители — McIntosh C2800

McIntosh designed the C2800 as a stereo valve preamplifier. Alongside the tube line section it houses a phono stage, the DA2 digital module and network control, and it can be used with a television or a computer as easily as with a record player. It offers sixteen inputs in total - seven analogue line, two phono and seven digital - and is certified for Control4 and Crestron Home as well as tested for Roon.

Key specs that matter

Three 12AX7A tubes and one 12AT7 form the valve complement. Line inputs comprise three balanced and four unbalanced pairs, with input sensitivity of 900 mV balanced and 450 mV unbalanced. Outputs include three balanced and three unbalanced variable pairs, delivering up to 16 V RMS balanced or 8 V RMS unbalanced. THD is 0.08 percent, and frequency response is +0 and -0.5 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, extending to 15 Hz to 100 kHz at -3 dB. Signal-to-noise ratio is 100 dB on line inputs and 75 dB on phono. The chassis measures 445 mm wide, 194 mm high and 419 mm deep, weighs 12.7 kg and draws 75 W.

Engineering and use context

Each phono input can be set for moving coil at 0.45 mV or moving magnet at 4.5 mV sensitivity, with gain selectable at 40, 46, 52, 58 or 64 dB and RIAA equalisation. The DA2 module uses a quad balanced, 8-channel, 32-bit converter and has two coax plus two Toslink sockets rated for 24-bit and 192 kHz, a USB input handling DSD512 and DXD 384 kHz, an MCT input for DSD from McIntosh SACD and CD transports, and an HDMI ARC input for audio from a television. Multi-channel Dolby and DTS streams are converted to stereo. A 6.3 mm headphone jack includes Headphone Crossfeed Director processing. Electronic bass and treble controls move in 1 dB steps, tone bypass is remembered per input, and level trim covers plus or minus 6 dB. Home Theater PassThru, a processor loop, one main and four trigger power control outputs, and six data ports serve system integration. Warranty is three years.

Pairing

The balanced outputs suit McIntosh power amplifiers, and Output 2 can feed a subwoofer in mono or stereo. The McIntosh Connect app handles volume and input selection over the network, and the MCT input links directly to a McIntosh disc transport.

Alternatives

McIntosh also builds the C22 Mk V, a vacuum tube preamplifier using one 12AT7 and five 12AX7A valves, with two balanced, three unbalanced and two dedicated phono inputs.