Hello all,
I've just parted with my Lexicon DC-2 and wanting a Mcintosh preamp to go with my Bryston 3bst amp.

I'm currently eyeing C15 and C38. I like the C38's balance output. I like the C15 for its newer stylist look and cheaper price :scratch2:. Will the MAC gurus please break it down for me.
Thanks.
afaa

I've not tried either, but if you do a search here, you will find the C15 has been mentioned a couple of times as a nice under-rated preamp. Not many were made, so kind of hard to find.

I own a C 712, which was the predecessor to the C 15. Same chassis, pretty much the same piece of gear. I used my C 712 with a 3Bst for several years. It was a great combination, though I like my MC 7270 a lot better than the 3Bst.
I spoke with Ron-C about the lack of compact Mc preamps and he mentioned that they were as good as the bigger units sonically but the customers wanted big control centers. McIntosh will only keep building what they can sell, so the smaller components disappeared.
Buy the C 15. You won't regret it. :thmbsp:

Thanks for the info and the vote of confidence on the C15.
The MC7270 looks nice but the price range is out of my reach. Wonder what would be a good price on the C15.

These are the same performance but the C38 has more features like a record buss and balanced outputs. They should sound the same.

Ron-C