Why No McIntosh Recommendations?

@noromance 



“@noble100 said it! I find the stuff pretty ghastly to look at -the green LEDs lighting up the small signal tubes being the nail in the coffin.”

the green lights under the tubes remind of the Happy Days episode where the Fonz jumped his motorcycle over the tank with the shark. Jumping the shark has evolved to mean the beginning of the end of something, which I don’t believe applies at all to McIntosh....at least not until they begin to use carbon fiber.

McIntosh has fine products. The trademark looks and bling is a big part of the appeal. Lots of robust competition for the asking price these days compared to many years ago where much of the competition was Made in Japan. BTW those vintage made in Japan units from back in the day seem to have become somewhat trendy again these days in that asking price for ones in good condition these days are often more than original cost but somewhat less than many competing new products.

Most unlikely combo award goes to:  My neighbor.... driving his 30yr old Cerwin Vega D-9's with a brand new $4500 McIntosh Amp that I procured for him.  He wanted something good, US made, and loved the big blue power meters!!   The Mac.... a clear upgrade from his 30yr old Onkyo Integra amp (with big green power meters).  I think the Cerwins sound dreadful....  but he's retired, plays music all day, and his system makes him very VERY happy........ that's what it's all about folks!     

I've owned a wide variety of ARC pieces in the last 30 years (I have 3 ARC pieces in daily use right now) and I've never had ANY explosions (or problems)...................

McIntosh today is a Financial Instrument for Private Equity Groups to broaden their investment portfolios. Unfortunately this has nothing to do with Audio Greatness.

This story started when Quadrivio - an Italian PE group who was known for their investments in the frozen foods market started an audio holding company called Fine Sounds. Under this banner Quadrivio bought, Acoustic Research, Wadia, Wolf Cinema, REL, Sumiko and McIntosh.

McIntosh then merged with LBO & Yarpa and bought Fine Sounds from Quadrivio - it wasn't cheap.  They have since re-branded as The McIntosh Group. They are now  a producer of Fine Audio Lifestyle Equipment. Their commitment is solely to their share holders who demand guaranteed returns on investment.

In order to meet those demands compromises have been made which is why these companies have become Homogenized. Their products are good enough  to command their price points but not great. Which is a shame because they were all pushing towards greatness earlier on before being absorbed. The companies that would not compromise were ultimately, re-branded into what you see today - Wadia, or they cut and ran away- REL and Wolf Cinema.