An Audio Amateur's question about McIntosh Audio

@jfrost27

I never considered myself a McIntosh guy.  Since my beginnings in this hobby in the early 80’s (as many of us in high end audio), McIntosh was never on my radar, mostly because of price, and the biased rep that they were more show than go.  So, I never considered them, and it wasn’t because of the “McIntosh sound” 🤡 .  Then, a couple years ago, my friend at Best Buy hooked me up with his employee discount, 40% off retail.  Then came the split between McIntosh and Best Buy, and I lucked out with a two day blowout sale and snagged the latest preamp at 70% off retail.  Well, I now have McIntosh gear, along with PS Audio gear.  If people were honest, McIntosh has a lot of haters out there, but it has nothing to do with the “McIntosh sound.”  

@katzenjammer27, how about growing up a bit?  Then you can play with the big boys.

@5farms 70% off new Mac gear would have definitely swayed me!

@socalml528 I found Hi Fi Haven when I was in HS in the mid-70's.  I'd ride my bike from La Mirada to the shop on Saturdays and spend hours talking to Bill and Tim about various components, having owned a Fisher 210 receiver and a pair of I-can't-remember-speakers, as I had a wide variety on rotation. 

I ultimately bought a MA6100 integrated amp, and later an Onkyo tuner, Tandberg cassette deck and a Thorens TT from them.  I sold the McIntosh 6100 to a friend about 15 years later for $100 more than I paid for it, and ended up with a Mc C31v preamp and a Mc 7270 amp. Somewhere along the way, I bought a MI-3 tube scope.  To the OP, I still own the McIntosh equipment and enjoy it almost daily.  

Keep auditioning gear and buy what sounds good to you.  Everyone's ears, and budget is different.  

Modern Mcintosh is unfairly maligned imo. I have an ARC REF160S amp/pre-amp combo, a Pass XA3.8 amp and a Mcintosh mc462 amp/C53 pre amp that I use on my Martin Logan ESL15A speakers with some REL s812 subs. the Mcintosh gear holds up quite well when compared to the ARC and Pass. It does NOT have a particular sound signature that stands out and is musical, dynamic, detailed and neutral. All of the folks commenting on it having "house sound" or "throaty" or "soft" etc. must be imagining this or be listening to old gear or through mediocre systems that are coloring the sound. My system is really revealing and it does not present this way. And, the MC462 at 450 watts/rms is a top rated amp both by Stereophile and The Absolute Sound and one of the writers (Sasha Matson) bought his sample unit and runs his Wilson's with it as his main amp. In addition to being bullet proof and sounding good, Mcintosh is pleasing to the eye and enjoys good to great resale value.