Why No McIntosh Recommendations?

Jeez, McIntosh is fine equipment. So is Bryston, Simaudio, Pass Labs, T+A, CH Precision, Dartzeel, Nagra, Naim, ASR, Sugden, Luxman, Levinson, Burmester, Chord, etc, etc. on the solid state side of things.

If you love what you have and it happens to be McIntosh, that's cool. Many might argue that McIntosh doesn't even make the best amps within its own corporate family (Audio Research?). It doesn't really matter though does it? If you are happy then that's all that matters. But there seems to be a pervasive trend where when someone else objectively doesn't love what you love then it must be because they: can't hear, can't afford it, have poor taste, etc. That's a little narrow but many own what they own for a variety of reasons.

The dealers do a fine job of representing McIntosh. It sells and it does happen to fill a need of providing alot of decent watts for the money.

I do have one complaint about McIntosh equipment and I hope someone at McIntosh is monitoring this post.  Please get rid of the glass front panels and replace with Lexan (plastic).  The black plastic laminate in front panels de-laminate over time especially around the head phone jack and near the corners/edges and any repair is impossible and futile without costly replacement of the panel.  I know that lexan is a good alternative.  I bought a C24 pre with a glass panel that was destroyed in shipping. Since this is one of the few parts from Mac or Audio Classics that is N/A, I took the trouble and found a manufacturer in Hong Kong that made other lexan repro panels for Mac (not a licensee), sent him the broken pieces and they were able to make a perfect reproduction in lexan with all of the correct graphics and colors. It is so perfect it would defy anyone at Mac to tell the difference from their factory panel.

I’ve had numerous Pass Labs, ARC, and many others. Listened to Krell, Levinson, PSA, etc while working for a major dealer in the Midwest for a few years. McIntosh is just as good sound wise as any, it’s just a matter of opinion which you prefer. Reliability wise, it’s been better than most in my opinion.
ARC sounds good, but in my experience it’s exploding crap. Maybe I’ll start an ARC bashing thread

      McIntosh always reminds me of equipment owned by a middle aged guy who listens to Sinatra or Perry Como lps on still dressed in his work suit in the evening with a cocktail and maybe smoking a cigar or pipe.  He'd usually also have a new or newer Buick, Olds or Caddy sedan parked in the driveway.  
     I first started to get interested in stereo gear when I was about twelve in 1970 and I noticed a lot of my friends' dads had McIntosh.  I remember them all sounding very good and being told by everyone not to touch any of it. 
    I've always thought of it as good gear that lasts a lifetime and kind of looks like it.  As I starting building my own systems, I never really considered McIntosh gear seriously because I considered it not very exciting, kind of like your old man's equipment.

   All stereotypes I know. But I still have the same impression even though I'm now a dad and middle aged.  No offense intended and I know it's mainly good stuff because some of my more conservative friends own new and even classic older McIntosh gear.


Tim 

I have listened to numerous McIntosh products through the years. I've also had 'heart-to-heart' talks with McIntosh dealers. Bottom line is that McIntosh tube products tend to sound much better than their solid state counterparts. Overall, if a comparison was to be made between the product lines of McIntosh and Audio Research, Boulder, Rowland, or several others; McIntosh would consistently come up short. McIntosh looks good and reliability is a strength, but to say that McIntosh is in the same league as the aforementioned companies is simply not true.