I'm a McIntosh owner and have been for 30 years. When I was younger and would visit various hi fi shops, I would honestly be reluctant to tell the salesperson that I had McIntosh gear (if they were not a McIntosh dealer). There was plenty of perceived distain from salespersons when announcing I had Mc gear.
Also, I distinctly remember that one shop in my area would politely run down my McIntosh pieces as being inferior "high end" gear. That all changed when they became a McIntosh dealer. Then, I had really cool gear. Hmmm...interesting behavior.
Gotta comment on the Rotel and Arcam setup mentioned above. Certainly a lot of bang for the buck there and I've been impressed with my Arcam (rebadged as JBL SDA-2200) power amps. Made in China, but they sound good. There is a lot of great sounding gear that is way less expensive than McIntosh. That for sure is fact.
One of my vintage pieces is a MC250. 50x2 solid state amp. 20-30 years ago, that was a horrible amplifier to most people. Colored, way too warm sounding, House Sound McIntosh; yuk. Similar to a boat anchor except heavier. You couldn't give 'em away. Now, try finding a nice one for less than $1,000. Good luck. I've really enjoyed the MC250 for over 30 years now and still is a favorite to fire up. Still sounds great to my old ears and no issues ever.
I've heard a lot of very nice sounding, high end systems over the years. I've never said once that "that system sounds terrible". All this stuff sounds fantastic if it's set up correctly in a good room. Every system has it's pluses and minuses, but overall, there is a lot of incredible equipment made by many manufacturers. We all have choices on what to buy and that's a good thing.
This year, I replaced almost my entire system and retired the old McIntosh pieces. While I had nearly a million choices, I replaced all the electronics with new McIntosh. I overpaid for everything as compared to what one can source from other brands (see the Rotel / Arcam post again).
I don't have a $300,000 Lambo, don't live in NJ, am not a doctor or lawyer and no one will ever see my system in my living room. We do get a lot of snow though. I simply like what I like and to me, my system is a ton of enjoyment. That's what's most important at this stage of my life.
Also, I distinctly remember that one shop in my area would politely run down my McIntosh pieces as being inferior "high end" gear. That all changed when they became a McIntosh dealer. Then, I had really cool gear. Hmmm...interesting behavior.
Gotta comment on the Rotel and Arcam setup mentioned above. Certainly a lot of bang for the buck there and I've been impressed with my Arcam (rebadged as JBL SDA-2200) power amps. Made in China, but they sound good. There is a lot of great sounding gear that is way less expensive than McIntosh. That for sure is fact.
One of my vintage pieces is a MC250. 50x2 solid state amp. 20-30 years ago, that was a horrible amplifier to most people. Colored, way too warm sounding, House Sound McIntosh; yuk. Similar to a boat anchor except heavier. You couldn't give 'em away. Now, try finding a nice one for less than $1,000. Good luck. I've really enjoyed the MC250 for over 30 years now and still is a favorite to fire up. Still sounds great to my old ears and no issues ever.
I've heard a lot of very nice sounding, high end systems over the years. I've never said once that "that system sounds terrible". All this stuff sounds fantastic if it's set up correctly in a good room. Every system has it's pluses and minuses, but overall, there is a lot of incredible equipment made by many manufacturers. We all have choices on what to buy and that's a good thing.
This year, I replaced almost my entire system and retired the old McIntosh pieces. While I had nearly a million choices, I replaced all the electronics with new McIntosh. I overpaid for everything as compared to what one can source from other brands (see the Rotel / Arcam post again).
I don't have a $300,000 Lambo, don't live in NJ, am not a doctor or lawyer and no one will ever see my system in my living room. We do get a lot of snow though. I simply like what I like and to me, my system is a ton of enjoyment. That's what's most important at this stage of my life.