My route from C220 to C1000P

[hkval]

Terrific write-up!! I could feel the excitement and satisfaction. I agree that Sara K (Chesky CD) sounds great on a quality system. I particularly like her Closer than they Appear album. You might also enjoy Laura Fygi Rendez-vous all in French.

[Vintage Pete]

Jerome,

Congratulaions again on your acquisition....you, Dan and others are slowly but surely nudging the C1000 onto my "dream" list...along with the MCD/MDA1000, etc. Unfortunately, it appears it (they) will be only a dream for the forseeable future.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and the situation with your Father's health. I know just how this is.

Very best to you,

Pete

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by 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

Alberto,
Thank you for your nice comment. Coming from such a "reviewer", it's a real compliment.
You know, If you would live in Paris, I would let you the C1000 for many weeks, as long as you would need it to realize how good and "necessary" it is !
Before it was delivered, I thought sometimes that of course, it will be better than the 220, but not in proportion of the expense. I always thought that in high end audio, you pay a very high price for small improvements each time.
You know like me that this statement is at least wrong for the MDA and the MC501. But you can't imagine how far from reality it is with the C1000.
The C1000 is by VERY VERY FAR, the biggest improvement that was ever done in my system.
It is bigger than when I went for my power amp from an Audiolab 8000PX to the MC275, from the Linn Kairn to the C220, from the Copland CD player to the MDA1000, etc....
It is worth every dollar I spent for it.
Like you, I really think I was "happy" with the sound of my system. I was just feeling some "refinement" was missing, when I compared it to Jean Marc's system for example.
Then I learned that my father had a lung cancer, with a poor prognosis.
For months, I did not really listen to music. I was very depressed, and I think I'm still. But one day, I realized that I should return to listen to music, to think about something else. Dan also gave me great thoughts as always.
He is truly a brilliant individual and I write this here even if I know he would not appreciate such a public compliment.
I realized that what could help me was buying an other component.
The preamp showed by himself. About 18 months ago, I put an ad to sell the 220. No serious call for all this time. The same week, I got 3 calls from serious buyers ! I said OK, time has arrived.
I post a message here about the phono section of the 2300 compared to the C1000P. You saw that one. Mike Sastra also wrote to me only 3 phrases to push me towards the C1000P. I listened to it at Jean Marc's home, and I had a good memory of what Dan said about it.
I thought : life is short. I don't know if I will be here tomorrow. I can afford it. Let's go and we'll see ! If the improvement is not in relation with the price paid, I will always be able to sell it ( a SH Mc can be sold pretty easily like hot cakes, even with the crisis, and at a very good price. In 3 years, I sold the 275, the 201 and the 220 ).

If my post gave you the will to listen to it seriously, even if it has no tone controls , ( BTW you will be able to add that future Mc EQ coming if you really need it...), then, I'm really happy.
Try to listen to it with your amps ( 501's), the MDA as a source and your speakers. And bring your 220 for direct comparaison. That's the only way you will realize how far it is from the 220.
I don't mean the 220 is not a good preamp.
You know like me, it is indeed a very good one, but as Mike Sastra would say, the 220, 2200, 2300 are not in the "same league" as the C1000. I would say in my words, they are simply not in the same world..

I deeply wish that for your listening pleasure, you will also follow what I consider to be my last "footstep" in improving the sound of my system.
If you're happy now, you will just live in Heaven with the C1000 my friend !

Best wishes,
Jérôme

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by hkval

Terrific write-up!! I could feel the excitement and satisfaction. I agree that Sara K (Chesky CD) sounds great on a quality system. I particularly like her Closer than they Appear album. You might also enjoy Laura Fygi Rendez-vous all in French.

Thanks !
I have "closer than they appear".
I don't know Laura Fygi. I'll check that. Thank you !

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Jerome,

Congratulaions again on your acquisition....you, Dan and others are slowly but surely nudging the C1000 onto my "dream" list...along with the MCD/MDA1000, etc. Unfortunately, it appears it (they) will be only a dream for the forseeable future.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and the situation with your Father's health. I know just how this is.

Very best to you,

Pete

Thank you very much Pete !
( A way to get the sound of a MCD1000 / MDA1000 at a less expense, is in my opinion to replace the MCD1000 by a used Linn Ikemi. It has the same mechanism, the same AES / EBU output, and it "sounds" exactly the same, at least, when the digital signal is converted by the MDA1000 )

Jérôme

[Jean-Marc jmajma]

Once again, félicitations Jérôme, and like we said on phone, we'll listen to this fabulous system on thursday afternoon...enjoy my friend!

[jdandy]

Jérôme.......I thoroughly enjoyed every single word of your C1000P review. You have a fine command of the english language, and nothng to apologize about. What's more, you are able to express yourself on an emotional level that flows through your words with perfect clarity. Your journey was well laid out. I can actually feel your excitement, your pleasure, and your satisfaction with having made this incredible upgrade to your sound system. Then, to top things off, you were rewarded with your wife's blessing that you did good. Well, it doesn't get much better than that. This also tells me she enjoys the sound system, even though she may not spend the hours with it that you do. That may begin to change now.

Your impressions of the C1000P parallel mine. Not only is the music presented in a most organic, and relaxed manner, there is absolutely no loss of refinement, delicacy, or texture in the details. Every voice, every instrument, every note exists in its own space with no smearing. All the while, no single aspect of the musical presentation is demanding separate attention, as is so often the case with some other high-end preamplifiers. Everything about music flowing through the C1000P speaks of a living performance, a refined presentation, not drawing one ounce of attention to the component itself. The C1000P lives at the pinnacle of preamplifiers, in my humble opinion.

You have achieved what so many audio enthusiasts diligently strive to embrace, an inner satisfaction that comes when you have finally assembled the sound system of your dreams. All I have ever wanted my sound system to do was to simply step out of the way, and leave only the music. The realization that you have arrived at that point is very personal, and different for each of us, but it is clear from your words that you have arrived at that place. I am there as well, and very pleased to know you have found this elusive satisfaction.

To the best of my knowledge, we only pass this way once. Every day, every moment matters, so make the best of all you have. I wish you, your family, and your friends many blissful hours of listening pleasure. I will echo the words of your lovely wife. You did good.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Jean-Marc jmajma

Once again, félicitations Jérôme, and like we said on phone, we'll listen to this fabulous system on thursday afternoon...enjoy my friend!

Thanks Jean Marc !
See you next thursday. The Champagne will be at the good temperature !
Cheers,
Jérôme

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jérôme.......I thoroughly enjoyed every single word of your C1000P review. You have a fine command of the english language, and nothng to apologize about. What's more, you are able to express yourself on an emotional level that flows through your words with perfect clarity. Your journey was well laid out. I can actually feel your excitement, your pleasure, and your satisfaction with having made this incredible upgrade to your sound system. Then, to top things off, you were rewarded with your wife's blessing that you did good. Well, it doesn't get much better than that. This also tells me she enjoys the sound system, even though she may not spend the hours with it that you do. That may begin to change now.

Your impressions of the C1000P parallel mine. Not only is the music presented in a most organic, and relaxed manner, there is absolutely no loss of refinement, delicacy, or texture in the details. Every voice, every instrument, every note exists in its own space with no smearing. All the while, no single aspect of the musical presentation is demanding separate attention, as is so often the case with some other high-end preamplifiers. Everything about music flowing through the C1000P speaks of a living performance, a refined presentation, not drawing one ounce of attention to the component itself. The C1000P lives at the pinnacle of preamplifiers, in my humble opinion.

You have achieved what so many audio enthusiasts diligently strive to embrace, an inner satisfaction that comes when you have finally assembled the sound system of your dreams. All I have ever wanted my sound system to do was to simply step out of the way, and leave only the music. The realization that you have arrived at that point is very personal, and different for each of us, but it is clear from your words that you have arrived at that place. I am there as well, and very pleased to know you have found this elusive satisfaction.

To the best of my knowledge, we only pass this way once. Every day, every moment matters, so make the best of all you have. I wish you, your family, and your friends many blissful hours of listening pleasure. I will echo the words of your lovely wife. You did good.

Thank you Dan !!
Yes, I think we achieved something very closed to perfection for sound reproduction.
Your detailed review of the C1000P, along with the comparison of your 2300, and my own listening at Jean Marc's home, were my tools to know this preamplifier was a must and thanks to you my friends, I made the right choice.
Now, as you said, we just have to enjoy music, knowing we have "the best".

Thanks again dear President,

Best wishes,
Jérôme

[jdandy]

Jérôme.......I am interested to hear Jean Marc's impressions of your system. I bet you are, too.