An Audio Amateur's question about McIntosh Audio

I love the look at McIntosh, but the Sonics don’t rise above box store offerings to compete with many other high-end audio choices. The sound is underwhelming. I suspect the masses view McIntosh as an upscale luxury product, and most/all who purchase have very limited exposure to demoing other high-end offerings.

I’m a bucket list audiophile who began my journey about 10yrs ago. My strategy was to listen to the very best high-end audio has to offer, then try to replicate the sound within budget. So I demoed at many audio stores and audio shows like AXPONA where I purchased the demo speakers. Although McIntosh may sound great amongst box store competition, it doesn’t sound competitive in both price and sound to modern high-end audio alternatives 

Mark200mph..."pound the base"....It's BASS, not base...Ever read an album cover? Bass guitar/Acoustic bass etc...Base is for Baseball

@chrisoshea  I thought bass was a fish.

Sorry to say, but it is favoured by those who have never attended classical concerts and never will. 

@kennyc 

So, I guess you're very familiar with the sound of "box store offerings"?