2. amps-preamps
  3. 1368417143

Why do some audiophiles beat up McIntosh?

I've been around audio my entire life. I'm 45 and I bought a decent Technics system when I was 12 with my paper route money. Genesis speakers built in New England which were actually pretty darned good. I would spin vinyl every single day to the point it drive my parents crazy. My buddies father had a McIntosh system that I was in love with and he was allowed to play it. It was haunting for me to hear his fathers system.

Fast forward 28 years later and I'm perplexed at the hatred I see posted online about McIntosh. Is it really that bad or is everyone upset that McIntosh is so successful? It doesn't make sense to me that the resale value is the best in the business yet audiophiles bash them. I personally have always loved their gear and sound. I don't own any, and probably never will. Still, I just don't get it. I've always admired McIntosh. Looks aside, I always enjoyed the music. Can someone tell me that they're junk or do you just not like the presentation?
donjr
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Georgelofi, transformers on solid state gear is much like the "safety factor" in civil engineering. But it ruins the sound of its life.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,634 posts
 
Georgelofi and Tbg,
Please tell the rest of us which pieces you have owned and used in your own systems that that led you to these conclusions.
robsker
132 posts
 
as some have mentioned, McIntosh gear is not sonically the performer they once were. I currently have a 35 year old MAC SS amp and it is really quite excellent sounding. It has what Audiozen described as a "older" rounder, smoother less analytical sound than what you hear in most amps today. The newer McIntosh gear seems to me to be not as good a value as the older McIntosh gear. But old McIntosh is nice stuff.
larryi
3,714 posts
 
I heard a current model (302?) high-powered solid state Mac amp on some high efficiency speakers. Yes, this is not the kind of speakers that amp is meant to run, but, this does give one an idea of how it sounds putting out very low power (how most amps actually run most of the time). The sound was extremely lifeless and uninvolving. While a LOT of solid state amps sound flat and lifeless on efficient speakers, this amp was particularly bad.

I have also heard their 275 tube amp and it also does not do anything for me. The amp I heard was of older vintage so I don't know if it was in top form. The newer version of the amp does not appear to have the same kind of construction as the older amp. Google the show "How it is Made" for the episode on the building of the 275 amp (it is on you-tube). I thought that what was shown was pretty disappointing. The construction was incredibly shoddy. The input jacks as well as the speaker outputs are not hardwired--a printed circuit board is pressed into place to make these connections (done in a couple of seconds instead of having to be soldered). The output transformers are spun on a jig in a matter of seconds (compare with how quality transformers are meticulously hand wound); I also did not see anything that suggests that the windings included the complex interleaving that McIntosh was famous for in the past.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

"02-26-15: Roxy54
Georgelofi and Tbg,
Please tell the rest of us which pieces you have owned and used in your own systems that that led you to these conclusions."

I'll turn that around and ask you to explain in technical terms, what sound improvement benefit is there to be had by putting and output transformer on a solid state amp?

Cheers George
More to discover