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McIntosh partners new Hi-Res DAC with vacuum tubes in C2700 preamp

McIntosh partners new Hi-Res DAC with vacuum tubes in C2700 preamp
The C2700 preamp features the new DA2 Digital Audio Module and an analog circuit with six vacuum tubes
The C2700 preamp features the new DA2 Digital Audio Module and an analog circuit with six vacuum tubes
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The C2700 preamp features the new DA2 Digital Audio Module and an analog circuit with six vacuum tubes
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The C2700 preamp features the new DA2 Digital Audio Module and an analog circuit with six vacuum tubes
The C2700 preamp offers nine analog and seven digital inputs
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The C2700 preamp offers nine analog and seven digital inputs
Five 12AX7A and one 12AT7 tubes can be seen glowing through the top panel when the C2700 is powered on
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Five 12AX7A and one 12AT7 tubes can be seen glowing through the top panel when the C2700 is powered on
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Just last month, the new DA2 Digital Audio Module from New York's McIntosh Labs made its debut in the C53 preamplifier. Now the company has partnered digital with analog for the C2700 two-channel tube preamplifier.

The DA2 boasts seven digital inputs, including an audio-only HDMI return channel for connecting to a compatible television. And multi-channel audio formats from Dolby and DTS will be converted to two-channel audio for playback through the C2700.

The module has an audiophile-grade digital-to-analog converter at its heart, allowing the setup to support playback of music files up to 24-bit/192 kHz resolution and DSD512.

Five 12AX7A and one 12AT7 tubes can be seen glowing through the top panel when the C2700 is powered on
Five 12AX7A and one 12AT7 tubes can be seen glowing through the top panel when the C2700 is powered on

The C2700 benefits from a dual chassis design to help negate signal corruption, with the digital module occupying one section and the analog components living in the other. The latter has nine inputs shaping up as three balanced, four unbalanced, a Moving Coil phono connection and a Moving Magnet phono input. To the top of the chassis, you can see six vacuum tubes glowing when the unit is powered on (five 12AX7a and one 12AT7 tubes).

The system offers three balanced and three unbalanced variable outputs, plus a 0.25-inch headphone port that's connected to the company's High Drive Headphone Amplifier, which is reported capable of driving almost any pair of headphones. And EQ controls can be adjusted in 2 dB increments.

The 17.5 x 7.6 x 18 in (44.45 x 19.37 x 45.72 cm), 29.5 lb (13.4 kg) C2700 is priced at US$8,000.

Product page: McIntosh C2700

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