My route from C220 to C1000P

[Jerome W]

Hi my friends,

These are my first impressions on how the C1000P sounds in my system.
But first, I would like to mention a brief history of my Mc evolution.

First Mc purchase was the MC275, bought new in 2006.
I was then using a Linn Kairn phono SPS II. CD player was the Copland CDA266. Speakers were Final 1.4 mkII full range ESL.
Great sound overall.
But my dealer was smart, when he delivered the 275, he brought with him a C45 preamp. That way, he showed me how better was the sound with a Mc entry level preamp.
In 2007, I sold the Linn Kairn and bought a C220, based mainly on reviews and also my will to stay with an all tube config with my pannels.
The sound improved by a large large margin : better dynamics, presence, bass extension compared to the Linn. Phono section a bit better but not by far. The Kairn phono is knowned to have a great phono section...
What changed most in the sound was the separation between voices and instruments. The definition was far better than the Linn. Voices were perfectly formed apart from the overall music.
A few months later, I bought a MCD201.
In 2008, I sold the 201, and bought a MDA1000.
Huge huge improvement for cd playback of course. Drive was the Copland again, then replaced by a Linn Ikemi.
I used the MDA1000 as a preamp for a few weeks. On my ESL speakers, the sound was much better than the 220 with good recordings. With average recordings, I prefered the 220. So I stopped using the MDA as a pre.
In 2008 also, I bought a pair of 501's. I won't say more about these fabulous amps.
Then I bought the PMC EB1i speakers. They were delivered in march 2009, to celebrate my new dedicated room. ( This room was actually my major upgrade : 50 000 euros !).

Now the serious things begin. I started to hear music differently compared to the ESL pannels. I love my pannels. I still have them, but the PMC EB1i are really special. To resume their qualities, I would say they have the Refinement of Proac speakers, with the JBL / Klipsch dynamics. The best of both worlds, in a USA / GB sound philosophy of speakers.
I have to mention that since the PMC entered my home, the 220 tone controls were no more used. Always bypassed. No more need for them. Don't ask me why.
My old Linn LP12 was then sounding extremely good with the incredible dynamics of the PMC so I ended listening mostly to LP's.
Then I wanted to upgrade the TT.
But as I knew the 220 phono preamp was good, I knew also that better phono pre are available, especially the ones with fine adjustment for loading / capacitance.
Based mainly on :
- a listening of Jean Marc's Clearaudio level II TT, with a C1000T
- Dan's experience going from C2300 to C1000P
- Mike Sastra's comments on the difference between C2300 and C1000P (This guy is really a good seller). For the few who don't know him, Mike is at AudioClassics.
I sold the 220 and I bought a used C1000P.
Choices for the P "against" the T were :
- I prefered the P for CD playback. It was more "tubey" actually than the T. The sound appeared richer to me and Jean Marc. We did not compare them for LP's because the Clearaudio TT was only connected to the T.
- Less trouble about tube rolling and tubes life etc...

Waiting for the C1000P, and having sold the 220, I was left with the MDA1000 used as a pre.
I discovered then, that with PMC speakers, I did not have any problem with average recordings. The MDA was always sounding good, and actually much much better than the 220. Better resolution, and especially, more refinement of the sound. More finesse. Still no need for tone controls.

THEN the C1000P arrived thursday afternoon, the 18 th June, The day General de Gaulle called the french people from London to ask them to resist, so that will be an easy date to remember !
Lots of work since.
Believe it or not, I listened only to about 8 tunes in CD and 1 lp ( Stockfish records " the collection" ).
I won't listen to it untill sunday cause my father is at home for the Shabbat and will leave only sunday morning. He sleeps in the listening room which is also our second friend's room. ( First one is occupied by my mother in law ! ).
So you can see here my experience with the C1000 is very limited.
But the sound improved so much, that's the kind of piece that if you are in an audio store, if you can afford it, and you listen to it, you will know just after 5 minutes of listening that you will buy it (That's what happened also when I bought the PMC). No need to listen during hours.

English is not my language. I will never say better than what Stereophile or Dan ( and others) already said about this preamp. So I will use some images and short feelings and opinions.

- comparing the 220 and the C1000P just makes no sense. It's like comparing an entry level Chevy to a Ferrari.
- hearing people stating that they would prefer the sound of the 220 over the 1000 because they have tone controls on the 220 makes me think of this :
What would you prefer ? Living in a Castle, with the absolute top notch decoration, the best HiFi system in the world, and all the music ever made by men, but all that alone, on the moon ( C220 ) OR, living in a small room in New York City, or Paris (C1000) etc... ? The answer would be : there is no choice. You're comparing 2 different worlds.
With a bad recording, the C1000 will ALWAYS sound better than the 220 with tone adjustments. I don't mean the bad record will sound good. It will sound bad with both preamps. But the sound will still be better on the C1000P.
Why ? because as it has been stated in Stereophile, the C1000P gives an incredible humanity, easiness of the music reproduction. Relaxed an Full at the same time.
The level of details and resolution is just hard to be believed. But, at the same time, all these details are presented as a whole. They are not separated and aggressive as very detailed high end components can sound (I'm thinking especially to the Linn Klimax Kontrol and amps, or some Krell items). The details are not calling you to listen to them. They are all part of a wire. The details are made of all the colors possible. And what you see finally is the wire, without having your attention taken by its million of colors.
You just see a wonderful wire. The wire is of course the music.

Just 2 things more to say :
- On Sara K. Live in concert album with Chris Jones, with the 220 or the MDA1000, the guitar strings, the vocals, even the acoustics of the room, all the sound comes out with a kind of tension. A lack of ease. Something that does not make you relaxing. The recording and the music is good. But there is this sense of tension which is difficult to explain. With the C1000P, that tension simply vanishes. You feel perfectly relaxed. And then, you can really appreciate the artistic work of the 2 guitarists and Sara's voice.
- My wife came to listen to it for 15 minutes.
She never told me what she told me then. She never felt "how better" was the sound after all my upgrades. She always said: " I don't really see the difference. When all that crazy thing will stop ? You said you were happy with the sound before that.... Well if you're happier now, I'm happy for you..." Thursday afternoon, she said for the first time : " This time, you made a REAL change. The difference in sound is immense. You did a GOOD thing". Believe me, in my wife's mouth, saying that kind of things, about something she does not really care of, the change must be HUGE !

This is how good the C1000 is.
Once again, I thank God for giving me the chance of being alive, in good health, and be able to listen to the music through such an item.
I thank especially my friends Dan and Jean Marc.
I thank Mike for being a great seller !
And all the friends here who gave me support and friendship along this route.

Best wishes,

Jérôme

[KMC45]

So, do you like it.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by KMC45

So, do you like it.

Absolutely not !

[1KW]

Jérôme,

I'm happy for you . Your signature shows that you have some of the best Mcintosh gear available which as you have written should sound fabulous. Enjoy but remember the Lu Flu is strong in you David

[MC352]

Jérôme,

Nice write up on your new baby and how it has made you very happy.

Looks like you'll need to build another guest room. That way you can listen to your music without waking your guests.

Enjoy the music.

[Still-One]

Jérôme,

Nice write up. Thanks for taking us on your journey.
I would be very surprised if your unit does not improve when you get to put a few more hours on it over the next several days. You should notice an improvement in the bottom end.

Jim

[Alberto]

Great write up Jérôme! Your English is nothing to apologize for, your post is beautifully written and gets the message across.

I like your "castle" analogy. I'll seek out a C1000 for audiotion and give it a second (or third?) chance with my collection of "crappy" recordings of great music .

Enjoy the week-end with your new "friend"!

Alberto

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Jérôme,

I'm happy for you . Your signature shows that you have some of the best Mcintosh gear available which as you have written should sound fabulous. Enjoy but remember the Lu Flu is strong in you David

Hello David,
Thank you!
I will not tell an Ear Nose and Throat doctor if I have the Flu or not !
You're right, I had it. Because when you're happy with the sound you get, why looking for a change ? ( see my answer in my next post for Alberto) but now I'm sure the Flu is over. There is not much left for improvement.
Best wishes,
Jérôme

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Stillone

Jérôme,

Nice write up. Thanks for taking us on your journey.
I would be very surprised if your unit does not improve when you get to put a few more hours on it over the next several days. You should notice an improvement in the bottom end.

Jim

Thank you Jim !
I noticed the bass is already exceptionnal. But if it improves over the next several days, I won't be surprised. Actually, after I heard that preamp, I think I'm opened now to any surprise !
Best wishes
Jérôme

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by MC352

Jérôme,

Nice write up on your new baby and how it has made you very happy.

Looks like you'll need to build another guest room. That way you can listen to your music without waking your guests.

Enjoy the music.

Thank you Chuck !

My father has a very bad illness. It's his pleasure to come every week from friday night till sunday morning and see me and his grandchildren. So I'm not sad if I can't listen to it untill sunday.
Some things are more important than music, as we all know.
Best wishes,
Jérôme