New setup. The Bellini preamp was great with the TAD amp. I needed to keep the heat down as I went to an enclosed cabinet. The McCormack is best described as crisp, detailed and open. I like jazz, classical, and occasionally a bit of rock and 80's new wave. As long as the system shines on jazz and classical and is competent on the other types of music, I am a happy man. If anyone has ideas about what I could try for tweaking purposes, let me know.
Circa 1978, I think. A little tweak to the 19hz pot and its locking on in stereo. FM really does stand for free music. NOt as much bass as my Proton 440, but a very pleasing sound. Nice controlled bass.
Canare 4s11
Terminated with Supra spades and Blue Jeans Cable's bannanas.
I don't know how much you are looking to spend, but here a couple ideas.
As Shersta said, a tube preamp would give a nice warm sound. A Conrad-Johnson PV10 would be about $600 and under. I happen to have one, which replaced my rotel preamp, and the difference was amazing.
I also replaced my Rotel amp with a Conrad-Johnson MF2250. That to was a huge difference. While this is not a tube amp, it has a very warm "tube-like" sound. I would think you could find one used for about $1000 or a little less.