Disappointing On Mcintosh......help

@djcxxx have to agree but I'd go one step further and say MAC is uninvolving to my ears, just not musical IMHO. 

I hate to tell you, but auditions like that are a waste of time.  You don’t know what you’re hearing.  If you don’t develop a reference point for yourself, you’re just wondering around making meaningless comments.
Buy what you want and give it a try in your own system, with your own ears, and go from there.  Don’t be biased - forget the brand.  Good luck

As a Mcintosh owner as well I say find another dealer who really
knows the product line well and can steer you in the right direction. There are models that sound clearer than other models but I think most Mcintosh owners are after that less fatiguing warm tube sound. My dealer here in Quebec Cananda did some A/B comparisons to demonstrate how different one model from another can sound. All in the same price range. So Mcintosh is
trying to offer something for everyone. You just have to find it. 
Good Luck! 😎

Value is in the eye of the beholder...I'll share my experience with upgrading my system.

My system started with Sonus Faber Venere 3.0s, NAD C375BEE with a vintage dual turntable and Parasound Tape Deck.

My system was designed from the start to be 2 channel stereo as I decided to have a dedicate home theatre and figured my living room could use music for entertainment.  I started with selecting speakers and looked at PSB Towers, (T2 or T3) and B&W 805D before selecting the Sonus Fabers.  My home theatre was NAD and I considered an Integra unit but since my NAD T785 performed well I stayed with NAD.  

I added a Node 2i and started thinking of upgrading.  My primary rationale was volume - I like it loud and I listen to rock, jazz, blues as well as R&B and pop when entertaining.

My audio dealer where I purchased the Node 2i had a special on Naim Atom - when I expressed my desire for my volume the dealer didn't think this upgrade would fit the bill.  So we discussed some other options and I decided to wait.

Then a McIntosh C2600 deal came up - it had a DAC, phono stage and I thought it may be a good way to get into separates.  Oh my did the sound change.  The sound became 'bigger' meaning you could hear all the nuances during the dynamic sections of music.

I noticed the amp was struggling at 45% when the Node 2i was the source.  The tape deck and phone sounded significantly better.  

I recently swapped the NAD C375BEE when I found a deal on a McIntosh MC 302 and this improved the sound quality and the volume.  I enjoyed playing music very load with the amp going strong to the 300w for music like April Wine's 20th Century Schizoid Man, Daft Punk's Get Lucky, Bestie Boys Brass Monkey.

Going back to the original post - that's your experience.  Its not mine.  I like the sound I have - I can play Black Sabbath Paranoid on an LP and I can hear the distinction in the bass from the drum and the guitars clearly during War Pigs.  I can stream a MQA on Tidal with Steel Dan or the Talking Heads and experience the dynamic range of the music.  The two things I've done to 'optimize my components' are I have Blue Jean Speaker Cables Bi-wired, Blue Jean Optical from the Node to the pre-amp, Transparent RCA from the tape deck to the amp and I'm using Better Cables Silver Serpent XLRs from the preamp to the Amp.  The difference between Transparent RCA from pre-amp to amp was significant - specifically in overall volume and when there is 'silence' in music such as during Johnny Cash's Hurt.

Hopefully this is interesting, useful or at least amusing.