The C2300 was one of the most admired McIntosh vacuum tube preamplifiers ever made. Its successor the C2500 has been even more popular. Building upon those successes is the C2600 which incorporates the best of the previous models while adding our advanced digital audio section and upgraded tube circuitry design.
The C2600 is a versatile vacuum tube preamplifier with an expansive set of 16 inputs to connect virtually all your analog or digital music sources. For audio purity, the analog and digital sections are housed separately in our dual chassis design to prevent signal corruption. Analog inputs include 3 balanced, 4 unbalanced plus 1 each dedicated Moving Magnet and Moving Coil phono inputs. Digital inputs consist of 3 optical, 2 coax, 1 USB and 1 McIntosh exclusive MCT connection. Three sets of balanced and unbalanced analog outputs will connect the C2600 to your amplifier.
The C2600 features a 32-bit/384kHz, DSD digital-to-analog-converter (DAC). The optical and coax inputs will decode digital music at up to 24-bit/192kHz for high resolution audio playback. The C2600 is also capable of decoding and playing DSD files; the USB input accepts PCM signals up to 32-bit/384kHz and supports DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 plus DXD 352.8kHz and DXD 384kHz. When paired with the MCT500 SACD/CD Transport, the proprietary MCT input offers a secure DSD connection for playback of the high definition audio found on SACDs in order to deliver the purest possible sound quality.
With the C2600, all inputs can be renamed to your preference and are available all of the time, giving you more freedom to configure your system. The outputs have also been updated to be easier to operate when bi-amping or tri-amping so that your highs and/or lows are not accidentally turned off. Bass and treble tone controls can adjust individual sources as needed. For headphone listening, the addition of Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD®) brings an added dimension to your music. The Home Theater Pass Through feature allows for seamless integration into your multi-channel home theater system.
The C2600 features classic McIntosh design cues that not only blend with existing systems but also with any room décor. It can be paired with a variety of amplifiers, speakers, room correction devices, CD players, turntables and tuners to make a complete home audio system. Contact your local dealer to learn more.
ELECTRONIC SPECIFICATIONS
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- Number of Channels
- 2
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- Total Harmonic Distortion
- 0.08%
-
- Frequency Response
- +0, -0.5dB from 20Hz to 20kHz
+0, -3dB from 15Hz to 100kHz
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- Maximum Volts Out (Balanced / Unbalanced)
- 16V RMS / 8V RMS
-
- Sensitivity High Level (Balanced / Unbalanced)
- 900mV / 450mV
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- Sensitivity Phono (Moving Coil)
- 0.45mV
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- Sensitivity Phono (Moving Magnet)
- 4.5mV
-
- Signal To Noise Ratio (High Level)
- 100dB
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- Signal To Noise Ratio (Moving Coil)
- 75dB
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- Signal To Noise Ratio (Moving Magnet)
- 75dB
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- Voltage Gain (High Level)
- 15dB
-
- Voltage Gain (Moving Coil)
- 60dB
-
- Voltage Gain (Moving Magnet)
- 40dB
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- Input Impedance (Balanced / Unbalanced)
- 44K ohm, 22K ohm
CONNECTIVITY
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- Balanced Input
- 3
-
- Unbalanced Input
- 4
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- Phono Input Moving Coil
- 1 (adjustable)
-
- Phono Input Moving Magnet
- 1 (adjustable)
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- Upgradeable Digital Audio Module
- No
-
- Digital Coaxial Input
- 2
-
- Digital Optical Input
- 3
-
- Digital MCT (DIN) Input
- 1
-
- Digital USB Input
- 1
-
- HDMI (ARC) Input
- 0
-
- Digital AES/EBU Input
- 0
-
- Balanced Fixed Output
- 0
-
- Balanced Variable Output
- 3
-
- Unbalanced Fixed Output
- 1
-
- Unbalanced Variable Output
- 3
-
- Headphone Output
- 1/4″ High Drive with Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD®)
-
- Input Level Match
- Yes, +/- 6dB
-
- Home Theater PassThru
- Yes
-
- Unbalanced Analog Connector Type
- Premium gold-plated solid brass
-
- Service Port
- 0
CONTROL
-
- Tone Controls
- Bass and Treble
-
- Tone Bypass and Input Assign
- Yes
-
- RS232 Control Input
- Yes
-
- Power Control Output
- 1 Main, 4 Trigger
-
- Rear Panel Data Port
- 6
-
- Rear Panel IR Sensor Input
- Yes
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
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- Multi-Chassis or Single
- Single, two layer
-
- Output Meters
- Yes
-
- Vacuum Tube or Solid State
- Vacuum Tube
(5) 12AX7a and (1) 12AT7
-
- Power Consumption (On)
- 50 Watts
WEIGHTS & DIMENSIONS
-
- Dimensions (W x H x D)
- 17.5″ (44.45cm) x 7.625″ (19.37cm) x 18″ (45.72cm)
-
- Weight
- 29.5 lbs (13.4kg)
-
- Shipping Weight
- 45 lbs (20.4kg)
