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Disappointing On Mcintosh......help

 3 Months ago  I went to NYC and stopped by the WOM  and auditioned several MCintosh gear...........and left a bit disappointed or not impressed...then I told myself   " lets give a second shot"  and went today to a  HIFI store and again Good room accoustics10K speakers , MC Preamp , MC Amplifier........ and again  the same disappointment I felt 3 month earlier.

Is that the "warm" sound people reffer to about Mcintosh?  
The sound is ample, base is powerfull  but the the sound is simply  not to clear, the hights are not too "crisp"  It sounds like the treble is set at 3 and needs to be adjusted at 9 or 10.
It seems like  the sound is  coming through a thin layer of paper ...that is the way I describe that sound.  

Then 20 minutes later I auditioned a Parasound A21+ and a JC5 and the sound was more clear and the highs were crispier

Whats your take on my experience?  or That is the MC "warm sound? 
128x128cydrone

Showing 1 response by somegeoffguy

somegeoffguy
31 posts
 
I have a McIntosh MAC6700 receiver and I use the tone controls on it as well as a Schiit Loki to cut the midrange (The McIntosh bass and treble controls seem to do a better job than the Schiit, but they don’t have a midrange control). Every once in a while I listen to it flat and I don’t like it at all - similar to what you describe. But when I tweak it to just how I like it, I couldn’t be happier. I am running it into Klipsch RF7-III’s which are probably a bit brighter than most speakers to start with.

A lot of purists say you shouldn’t adjust the sound from the album/tape/CD/stream because that is how the artist intended it. I say make it how you like - it is your ears and money!

-Geoff
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