McIntosh - is it that great?

I have owned a few pieces of Mac gear over the years.Their older tube amps 50's and 60's where some of the best gear ever made.Some of the early 90's stuff is not very good but they are again making great stuff.It is very pricey but you have to take into account the build quality.They are hand built in the USA in New York state.The cost of labour is siginficantly higher than most other parts of the USA and a big component of the cost is labour.The amps will last forever and they hold thier value.

Simple answer...Yes.

McIntosh gear is ridiculously overpriced relative to its sound.

McIntosh great?? Yes and No. I would say McIntosh similiar to Rolls Royce enduring value for the money.But it is no Ferrari that has both ends of the spectrum covered value and performance.I have owned McIntosh 20 years ago,but when Levinson,Krell,and Threshold came on market,left McIntosh behind in performance arena. Just my opinion.

I own all Mc units with 2 MC7150amps, C42 preamp, MR78 tuner, MVP831 DVD, 7008CD changer, MPI4 performance indicator, 2 ML2C speaker cabinets along with a MQ101 EQ, (as well as Sonus Faber Grand Pianos and Concertinos)
I've owned Mac for 17yrs. Not only is their stuff RELIABLE, but to me, it sounds awesome. To me, many philes are just not into music, but are really into sound! Music is what it's really about and when you have good gear, Levenson, Classe, Mac, Conrad-Johnson etc' hey, it's just about preference. If it's matched well, it's gonna sound good (assuming it's good gear to start with)
So hey, if your thinking of Mac, go to audio classics.com and speak to Frank Gow. 1st, his dad was president of Mac for 7 years. They are located 5 miles away from the Mac labs and are a virtual "vintage" wearhouse of Mac gear. Some of their gear is a bit pricey but if they say it is excellent, they mean it. I just bought a MR78 tuner that was made in 1972! I paid $2000 for it and I swear it looks like it came off a shelf from some high end store.