Why do some audiophiles beat up McIntosh?

typo..I "was" not "I wash"...jeez!

Frank McIntosh and Gordon Gow both died around 1990 and '91
and were partner's since their first amp they designed together in 1949, the 50W-1. Since their death the company has been bought and sold several time's. Their peak glory day's were during the 1950's and 60's. One example why their quality is not up to the very best is their standard copper glass circuit board's in all their component's. You won't find exotic, very expensive, fluorocarbon resin or teflon or polysulfon circuit board's which have much greater and lower noise level's, as well as the very best caps, transistor's, and resistor's on the market typically found in products such as FM Acoustics, Accuphase, Luxman,
and the absolutely spectacular components from Tidal Audio and what is critically considered the world's finest solid state preamp from Robert Koda, the K-10. A masterpiece. McIntosh make's a good product but it is not the ultimate high end since they have alway's provided a product that appeal's to upper middle class income's.

Yep..about as iconic as Bose. Back in 1970 those Doctor's and Dentist's loved putting together their MAC gear with Blose speaker's. Yuk! Put my finger down my throat!

Don't get me wrong..I wash trashing Bose, not McIntosh. The first time I heard McIntosh was in 1970. Went to a Christmas dinner on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The host had a MAC tube receiver in his living room hooked up to a pair of floor speaker's. Sound was excellent. The one company that gave MAC a run for their money was Fisher. Their tube receiver's from the 60's were outstanding. I trash Bose and will always remember when Amar Bose sued High Fidelity Magazine in Superior Court in New York in 1968 for a very negative review of his 901 speakers that just came out. He lost.

Here is why many don't like MAC. Newer Audiophile's during the past twenty year's have no interest in the "Classic" sound character of how electronic's sounded back in the 60's and 70's. Back then amps sounded more relaxed, warm,
recessed, very smooth, and a slightly colored midrange bloom. MAC has kept in place that "Classic" sound quality that still sounds like their gear from forty year's ago. With today's
Audiophile's its all about neutrality, extreme detail, and transparency, with a very wide and deep soundstage. Completely the opposite of the classic analog sound from year's ago. You have to rembember that people back in the
60's lived in smaller home's and smaller apartment's. Back
then most Audiophiles were using KLH bookshelf speaker's with small MAC amps or receiver's, or gear from Dynaco or Fisher and their Garrard turntable's. The rise of the digital age changed all that and the sonic character that's preferred nowaday's is a more forward open neutral quality without grain or harshness. The generation your from determine's if you like the more classic style or the type of sound born from the digital age.