MCINTOSH C500 SOLID STATE PRE AMP

Excellent condition MCINTOSH C500  solid state pre amp for sale.Incudes original boxes, remote manual, etc.
Buyer pays for shipping, insurance and PayPal 3.5%( unless Friends and family) Shipping it's 2 boxes. Reason for sale it's because I moved to tube pre amp.
Please check my over 20 years Audiogon feedback  and buy with confidence.

McIntosh C500 preamplifier controller

The McIntosh C500 stereo preamplifier is a
no-holds-barred, fully balanced, dual- mono design with separate power
supplies. Available with solid-state or tube preamplifier electronics,
the C500 preamplifier marries outstanding audio performance with
flexible user-programmability in a stunning two-chassis solution.Dual
R-Core transformers anchor a massive power supply that is the heart of
this preamplifier, providing the audio circuits with clean, rock-solid
power enough to handle the most demanding musical passages with ease. Moving
Coil and Moving Magnet phono preamplifiers are supported in both the
solid-state and tube designs. Both feature high open-loop gain enabling
the use of negative feedback around the compensation amplifiers for very
low noise and distortion and markedly improved RIAA performance.The
C500 volume control is a balanced design with a logic-controlled audio
taper. This custom attenuator is accomplished via a 4-stage, digitally
controlled analog circuit that operates with 16 bit precision.
 

Preamplifier chassis has the signature blue meters on both versions and the tube version also has a window to backlit tubes. The attractive, well-built chassis houses a full featured, state of the art preamplifier with a dual mono, fully balanced design complete with a Moving Coil and Moving Magnet phono stage.

The technology incorporated within the C500 is fairly extensive, including a variable rate volume control, silent audio switching, and dual, fully regulated R-Core transformer based power supplies. The McIntosh website has much more information on these technologies and the descriptions thereof make for interesting reading.

I have been listening to the C500 preamplifier for several months and utilize it as my reference preamplifier in my two-channel audio reviews. The sound quality is superb and truly reference grade. Music was reproduced in a natural, unforced manner with superb presence and solidity. The noise floor was the lowest of any  preamplifier I have ever had in my system; detail and dynamics were akin to what one would find in a top notch solid state unit. This combination of qualities led to a detailed, well formed soundstage with each source well identified without congestion or crowding even with busy orchestral pieces.