McIntosh (MC601) amplifier overheating problem

+1 Elizabeth, sounds like a case of arrogance to me.  Hopefully issues such as this will reach more mainstream social media and force them to address customer service and QC. 

Glad you found a solve Arthur.....

Hi Sandy - Yikes!  I think this issue is even more widespread than it seems.  That's the nature of this kind of problem.

The unfortunate part about it is that, fundamentally, this is not a problem McIntosh had any control over - the transistors are not made by McIntosh, they are made by ON Semi.  I tried to explain to Mc that they should get ON Semi involved in this solution, since they made the parts.  Maybe they would be willing to pay enough to make Mc a solid business case for an "amp swap" instead.  Besides, they could upsell some people to new amps in the process.   This is how I would have handled it, had I been in their shoes.

I know a service center and a dealer that both say Mc is a pain to deal with.  I got to witness this first hand.  At these price levels, I was expecting them to want us to feel impressed.  That did not happen.  In this day and age, you cannot afford as a hi-fi business to act this way towards your customers.  The pond is too little.  

This notion has been reinforced by recent interactions I've had with Avantgarde Acoustic of Germany, makers of horn speakers.  I also know a couple people that have dealt with warranty repairs with AG, and I have to say they offer exemplary customer service. They go out of their way to make sure everything is perfect. It stands in such stark contrast to how Mc chose to handle a similar case.  

I was an advocate for Mc years ago in this very forum, back when it was not popular to come to Mc's defense.  But Mc has sort of been tossed around between large conglomerates for some time now, and it's hard to say how things are really going in there.  From out here, the core doesn't look too healthy.  It's a bummer.  Although I think it's totally fixable if they act now.

For the sake of balance, this brings me to some positive attributes I ascribe to McIntosh.  For one, I'm in love with my MC152 power amp.  It's fantastic.  It is a perfect balance of all things:  detailed yet coherent, beefy yet deft, sparkly yet sultry, here yet there.  Same goes for my dynamic MCD301 that I've just had refreshed at a Mc service center, who by the way did a great job, and was very friendly and engaging in the process.  So there is hope. 

Thanks for the replies, and have a great Thanksgiving!
Arthur