Replacing gear often has nothing to do with improving things per-se...at a point that everything is sounding great in your system it's time to change stuff because YOU CAN, and you're an audio hobby junkie...I've replaced things merely because of appearance and compulsive curiosity, for which there is no cure (except to replace things). As for McIntosh stuff...its allure is clear to me: it looks cool. I know from experience it sounds cool also, but man...the glass faces and meters! I put my Squeezebox Touch in the "meter needle" setting to emulate the Mc meter's ability to indicate something is alive in there. I think all gear should have meters...even tiny ones on cables (now THAT'S an idea...I'm calling my investment banker..."Garcia Meter Cables" for $4,625 each!).
Is McIntosh a stepping stone into HI/FI?
I’m a McIntosh fan/owner and still own some Mc gear. This is not a knock on Mc sound; rather it be tube, autoformers, or straight SS, the sound is unlike any other. I was wondering why so many move to Krell, Levinson, Conrad Johnson, Ayre, and BAT. Is it associated gear, or a food chain thing? I understand that ears are like eyes and all fault to different desires. I’d like to know if/when you went back and if you feel McIntosh is a stepping-stone into hi-fi.