McIntosh Laboratory
C12000
Introduced 2020$19,000 MSRP
McIntosh's flagship Hybrid Drive preamplifier, the C12000 splits its design into two freestanding chassis — a Controller module housing power and control electronics, and a Preamplifier module housing the true dual-mono audio circuitry — connected by proprietary umbilical cables to isolate noise-sensitive audio paths from the power supply. It offers switchable vacuum-tube and solid-state signal paths on both its line and phono stages, letting listeners choose between tube warmth and solid-state precision on the fly (McIntosh).
MSRP
$19,000
Used market · Good
$12,250
-36% vs MSRP
as of Sep 1, 2026MSRP to used market
From $19,000 at launch to $12,250 today.
Specifications
- Gain
- Phono gain adjustable in 6 dB steps from 40 dB to 64 dB; line-stage numeric gain not published
- Price
- $18,000 (Hi Fi Buys Nashville, USD); $18,995 (Surrounds Australia, AUD); €20,180 (Hi-End.lv); $37,990 (Len Wallis Audio, AUD, includes local taxes/markup); Stereophile review lists $16,000
- Inputs
- 6 balanced XLR; 4 unbalanced RCA; 2 unbalanced phono (MM/MC configurable) — 12 analog inputs total
- Outputs
- 1 balanced vacuum-tube output; 1 balanced solid-state output; 1 fixed unbalanced output; 1 programmable (tube or solid-state) unbalanced output — 4 outputs total
- Topology
- Two-chassis, true dual-mono; Hybrid Drive combines vacuum-tube and solid-state circuitry with switchable outputs
- Phono THD
- 0.05%
- Output voltage
- 10V RMS unbalanced; 20V RMS balanced
- Published price
- 19000 USD
- Tube vs solid state
- Hybrid: vacuum-tube output stage uses two 12AT7 + one 12AX7A per channel; solid-state output stage uses a discrete balanced op-amp; phono stage uses four 12AX7A tubes
- Chassis configuration
- Two freestanding chassis (Controller + Preamplifier module) connected via 3-foot proprietary 23-conductor umbilical cables; must not be stacked
- Signal to noise ratio
- Solid-state balanced: 109.1 dB; tube balanced: 108.8 dB (measured at 2.5V); phono: 83 dB, A-weighted
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