Note: We drafted this wildly popular blog last year and generated a lot of curiosity about this McIntosh preamplifier. Now that you’re at home, and you rely on home audio and entertainment for your lifestyle, it’s time to take a second look at the McIntosh C2700.

Many would describe the McIntosh lineup as “iconic,” largely due to its glossy design, vintage logo and time-tested sound quality. Not to mention, they have built a sonic legacy since they started in 1949 and have continued to develop their product offerings since. Fast-forward to the 2020s, and McIntosh keeps making audio technology that never fails to seem modern. That’s why the brand is still a trusted source for speakers, amps, receivers and preamps alike. Keep reading to learn more details about their C2700 preamplifier and the specific features you’ll appreciate for many years.

This blog has now been updated; you can view this updated post here.

Last month, we introduced the McIntosh MA352 integrated amplifier. If you’re an analog purist, there’s much to love about the MA352, which combines the warmth of a tube powered preamp with the raw power of a solid-state amplifier.

With the new C2700, McIntosh Labs brings more options on the table. The MA352 is an all-analog design, with no digital circuitry—anything digital, like a CD player or a streaming audio player—is external. The C2700 mixes it up a little, making for an extremely versatile preamp that you can use for all your two-channel sources, including TVs. While it still uses a tube preamp for that smooth, warm sound purists love, it comes out-of-the-box ready to connect to all your digital sources.

Is this the McIntosh audio preamp any audio enthusiast, analog purist, or digital music maven could love for their two-channel Marietta rig? There are two ways to find out—visit our 20,000 square-foot showroom in Marietta or continue reading below for the pertinent details. Either way, you win.

Fish or steak? Form or function? Vacuum tube or solid-state? Vinyl or CD? Why are we always faced with so many decisions?

With the MA352 hybrid integrated amplifier, McIntosh Labs has tried to solve some of those decisions. Fish or steak will remain a problematic dinner choice, but the MA352 beautifully balances form and function while giving you the best of both audio worlds—it deftly blends the smoothness of vacuum tube technology with the power of solid-state amplification, while being an audio showpiece you can proudly display at the center of your listening room.

Audio enthusiasts have long argued the merits of traditional audio technologies like vacuum tubes vs. solid-state componentry. Like the vinyl vs. analog or CD vs. digital music debates, it can create heated discussion regarding what constitutes better sound. With the original MA252 integrated amplifier and now with the new MA352, McIntosh uses its seven decades of audio know-how to use each technology for its highest and best use.

The McIntosh MA252 was an instant success at Georgia Home Theater when it came out in early 2018. The MA352 promises to be just as popular. If you are planning a two-channel upgrade or new audio system in your favorite Smyrna listening space, you will want to pre-order one now. Read on to see why this is such an exceptional high-fidelity audio product.

Father’s Day is coming in June, as it always does. Are you not sure what to get your significant other as a gift ahead of this year’s celebration?

Georgia Home Theater has some ways to change that, especially if your Dad or husband is an audio or video enthusiast. Even if he's not, we have some excellent gift ideas that might just turn him into one. So if you’ve been wondering what to get the Dad in your life for Father’s Day, these five ideas are sure to amp up his Atlanta-area media room design with their outstanding performance.

Are you excited that you will now know what to buy for Father’s Day? Just keep reading.

Some products stand the test of time. Their design transcends the fads, and the company pedigree assures a level of performance that lives up to the brand. In cars, the Porsche 911 is one such product. In continuous production since 1963, its design has evolved with the times, and its performance continues to push the limits, but it has stayed true to its purpose. The Herman Miller Aeron chair is another modern example of iconic design, often imitated but never duplicated.

In home audio, several brands have also withstood the test of time. But few have hewn as closely to their purpose and heritage as McIntosh audio. In 2019, the company celebrates its 70^th anniversary of offering superlative audio products. Like the Aeron chair and the Porsche 911, McIntosh has its own classic design flourish – the blue-lit analog power meters and traditional metal trimmed knobs on a massive black faceplate. Just like those other classic products, older generations of McIntosh audio products are still prized by fans of vintage audio; they were designed to last for decades.

What makes McIntosh special? It has always been a commitment to ultimate performance and quality. The company may be best known for its amplifiers, and that was the starting point, as well as the genesis of those iconic blue power meters. In the 1960s, McIntosh amplifiers helped power the massive Woodstock concert, which was conveniently in the company's backyard in upper New York State. The 1970s saw the rise of HiFi audio, and the company broadened its line into tuners and speakers. If you walked into a HiFi shop then, you knew that McIntosh was top-of-the-line gear.

The 1980s saw the rise of digital audio with the advent of the CD, and McIntosh introduced its first CD player as well as expanding further into loudspeakers. The 1990s brought home theater and architectural speakers into popularity, and McIntosh was there with new multichannel amplifiers and in-wall transducers. The decade also saw McIntosh move into automotive audio, and a McIntosh system was produced for another iconic automobile, Ford's 2003 remake of the Lemans-winning Ford GT.

Currently, McIntosh continues to evolve with the times and has embraced two of the major technology drivers of the audio market: Digital music and wireless. For a taste on the current range of McIntosh audio offerings for your Atlanta home audio systems, you may be surprised at the breadth.

Just keep reading to find out more.

With the advent of the CDs and digital music in the 1980s, everyone predicted that vinyl records would go the way of the dinosaur. In fact, with the convenience and longevity of CDs, vinyl records almost did disappear. The next phase of digital technology, the download, begat the iPod and “30,000 songs in your pocket.” The incredible convenience of digital music stored on a portable computer or player made it easy to take all your music anywhere. With streaming music from the cloud, the cycle was virtually complete. You didn’t even have to take your music with you; 40 million tracks are instantly available from the cloud. How many vinyl records can you carry?

The only problem with digital music is that it took away from the physical and focused experience of listening to music. There’s no way to make a playlist out of several records (short of tape or digital recording), so part of the magic of vinyl is listening to an album all the way through, with no skipping, in the order that the artist wanted it. Add to that the tactile experience of reading the liner notes, and the unique photography or custom artwork on the album cover, and the listening experience harkens back to a different time when the world moved much slower.

It seems that the vinyl experience is experiencing a resurgence, and what’s more, a younger generation that grew up in the age of the iPod is buying into it too. At a time when big box stores like Best Buy are ending CD sales, vinyl record sales are up 19% over 2017.

Vinyl isn’t going anywhere. It’s a great way to rekindle your love of music, rediscover old favorites or listen to new ones with the warm, pleasing sound that vinyl uniquely delivers. Along that line, it’s not too late to upgrade the high-fidelity audio setup in your Atlanta home this holiday season with some stylish equipment that will be the envy of your friends.

Vacuum tube vs. solid state amplification is one of the biggest debates for music enthusiasts, and people usually fall into one of the two camps. But pitting these amplification technologies against each other is unnecessarily restrictive, and McIntosh has realized the potential of a system that merges the two with the McIntosh MA252, the company’s first hybrid integrated amplifier.

This high-demand piece of technology has been back ordered for a long time, but we at Georgia Home Theater have the item in stock at both of our Atlanta-area showrooms. In our opinion, it's shaping up to be an iconic piece of gear within the McIntosh suite of luxury high-end audio products.

Read on to learn more about why a McIntosh MA252 is the perfect addition to the home audio system in your Alpharetta-area house.