Does this image give you claustrophobia?

At least the owner isn’t worried about trying and swapping out cables.

I heard a pair at Audio Classics back in early June when I had to switch my preamp.  I thought they sounded quite nice,  However, nowhere as good as my GE Triton References.  I think they were upwards of 50K for a pair whereas my T Refs were 8500 a pair.  McIntosh should concentrate on electronics.  They already have Sonus Favor under their umbrella.

Might as well call them Golden Goose.

Julie Mullens of TAS heard the new McIntosh speakers with even more minds and tweets driven by McIntosh equipment and was gushing over them. Go figure.

Ask yourself, do they advertise in Tas?
They’ve had many reviews done in the last couple of years?
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/?search=McIntosh&x=13&y=11

From one listener, to the Mac wall.  "They always had great looking and well built stuff. Unfortunately, it sounded like, well, let's just say less than good."  
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-mcintosh-group-introduces-new-products-at-nyc-event-par...

And always getting Golden Ear awards, just a couple here.

https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news/C52-The-Absolute-Sound

https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news/C52-and-C47-Golden-Ear-Awards-2018

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/mcintosh-c52-solid-state-preamplifier/

Cheers George

Julie Mullens of TAS heard the new McIntosh speakers with even more mids and tweets driven by McIntosh equipment and was gushing over them. Go figure.

Are those McIntosh speakers with the gazillion midrange drivers?

Ye gads.  I high end store used to sell an expensive iteration of those years ago and they were consistently the most awful sounding speakers in the store. Quality-wise, they reminded me of a big version of a cheap boom box midrange...but just tons of them sending a wall of that bland, grey, low quality tone at me.

Not long ago I was in a high end store that had one of the newer versions of the McIntosh speakers - yet again with the multiple mid drivers.  I threw on some of my CDs and...there it was.  Exactly that awful presentation as I remembered it from years before.  Completely devoid of anything resembling organic, believable or high quality tone.  Just "sound" and lots of it.  (Again, I have no idea of the quality of drivers they use, but the sonic impression to me is that of taking the cheapest drivers from a boombox or cheap sub-sat speaker, placing a lot of them in a box, and just getting a big sonic presentation of low quality sound).

Different strokes for different folks. WAY too much equipment,speakers set up next to a floor to ceiling entertainment center. I can't imagine very good imaging. Not my cup of tea.

Looks like that is where Tekton got their "idea" for their tweeter array.

Can you imagine, how those 64 x midranges and 40 x tweeters could possibly all work in perfect unison without any smearing at all??? they’d have to be ultra matched not to.

https://ucarecdn.audiogon.com/6fc4a677-a038-403d-8f63-fead7daca816/-/autorotate/yes/

From a reviewer " these speaker didn't quite convey the intimacy or focus of say a traditionally well engineered two way system in a near-field environment,"  

Cheers George

Has anyone else noticed the Ortofon cartridge box on the centre mid shelf, but no turntable in sight?

Impressive display of wealth.  Sound-wise, I'll bet my 10k system blows this one away!  (Caveat:  my system in my room).

It's all about the acoustics of the room and speaker placement!  This system seems to commit every sin in the book.

wolf_garcia4,241 posts10-05-2018 10:05amIf somebody wants to blow large bucks for a wall of Macs I say COOL. It's like art...sort of...and I do like blue meters as I'm shallow and easily drawn to shiny objects. I know some people with too much money and they tend to put their housing specific sound bucks into multi room systems they can run from their iPhones, and I don't care...the good news is that a GREAT sounding system can be assembled for little money (relatively) and enjoyed by the "active" listener...most very wealthy people in my orbit are too busy for that.

What he said +1

tomcarr said:

"Looking at it makes me think I'd rather spend the money on a Porsche 911 GT3-RS."

Yep. Active participation and beautiful SQ too!

Looking at it makes me think I'd rather spend the money on a Porsche 911 GT3-RS.

Looking at it mostly just makes my back hurt.

Heat load? I'm sure there is a cooling room behind all that...generating perfect temp and humidity.

teo_audio: I think you might be right about written communication....but I do not believe it is ultimately a flaw of words. No, words are not sufficient for every nuance....nothing is. But the terrible ratio of intent vs understanding is more a product of poor writing and reading skills than an indictment of language.

Perception is probably the biggest problem. All of my cars seem to run just a little better after a wash and wax.....

There was a study once...done with color experts as subjects. They were shown the color red that Coke uses. Then they were shown a color palette of various hues and saturations of red. All done under the same lighting and medium. They were no better than finding the exact red among the palette of reds than chance.

Likewise, the abilities of highly trained and experience surgeons and gyns to palpate and accurately detect and characterize internal masses is pretty poor compared to modern imaging techniques.

The point being, so much of this audiophile stuff is subjective and subjectivity with the human senses is all over the place and is affected by so many real and not real factors. Often referred to as placebo and nocebo in the medical literature.

One study took people who were highly allergic to poison oak. They were told they were in a study testing reactions to various types of poison oak. They were blindfolded and an inert substance that felt and sounded like leaves was rubbed on their skin...........a certain percentage of these actually developed a rash............the mind is a powerful thing.

A slight 'case' of over bombing.

I actually think it looks cool. I’m not so sure if the cramped quarters for the amps is healthy. Also not sure if that speaker on the left has enough room to breath. But hey if it sounds good to him that’s good enough. Who are we to judge?

and lol @teo_audio who the heck is he talking to?

Wow. Impressive.  Somebody had them working just for them for a month up at the asylum.  No claustrophobia, though - just extreme organization.

The first thing I think of is the heat load.

Thanks for posting your system georgelowfi, now I know why you are such an expert, in your own mind....

Good thing I have never posted pics of my setup. No telling what sort of nasty comments would get thrown my way. Plus  the comments make it clear no one should ever allow anyone to see your stuff. Somebody somehow will find fault with it. At least it was not a member's home?

Could have been worse, could have been a wall full of Bose ****
https://a3-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/94/d525e53d3c59eae66b4844b9a1c2f4bf/full.jpg

Cheers George

What I don’t get is why the forum moderators allow @georgehifi to lob insults at people. It’s one thing to voice an opinion about this and another to generally insult a group of people on the forums.

Not sure why - reminds me of a original Star Trek bridge pic.

What I don't get is buying all that and then forcing the left speaker into a corner. It seems like the goal was to show off the McIntosh gear. It all in all feels off.

Too small of a TV. 3 speakers around the TV AND the main L and R speakers ... from an overall balance and aesthetic and sound quality it is all sorts of wrong. 

Best

E

Last time I saw a line up of Mac like that was at a dealer whom I believe was what Mac called a Premier McIntosh Dealer, or something  like that.
Looks cool.....

Not my idea of an optimum setup, but I always liked the cool blue effect.......a bit distracting though........Doesn't matter, I couldn't afford them if I wanted to. :(.............I'll stick with Vandy's, your basic black dress. :). She ain't the prettiest girl in the room, but she does know how to sing.

I like the tv. Too small though. 

So many switches
So little time...
My wife would prefer one switch that would turn on everything in the house.

I can‘t help but wonder how many of his components are thermally  challenged due to their total enclosure.

Last I checked 99.9% of what this forum is about is solely opinion.

The seller didn't ask anyone's advice or opinion. Maybe it would be better to keep your opinion to yourself.

You are entirely new to the internet I take it? 

Well it does have a certain brutalist aesthetic ;-)
Seriously though when comparing multiple speakers in the range $2.5k to $5k side by side, I loved the Dali Opticon 8s but rejected them for their brutalist looks and went with the Spendors which both sounded great and looked great

The seller didn't ask anyone's advice or opinion. Maybe it would be better to keep your opinion to yourself.

The placement of the speakers certainly makes me edgy.

I mean...c'mon!

It's a mac thing...I have no doubt sounds good. Not my cup of tea, to each his own though

Like I said everyone knows Mac owners purchase more for looks than for sound, quality.

And if you object, you probably own one, and also believe auto transformers on solid state amps are the real deal.   

Cheers George

Didn't make me claustrophobic, just felt the need to get busy, real busy.

If somebody wants to blow large bucks for a wall of Macs I say COOL. It's like art...sort of...and I do like blue meters as I'm shallow and easily drawn to shiny objects. I know some people with too much money and they tend to put their housing specific sound bucks into multi room systems they can run from their iPhones, and I don't care...the good news is that a GREAT sounding system can be assembled for little money (relatively) and enjoyed by the "active" listener...most very wealthy people in my orbit are too busy for that.

I don’t get a claustrophobic feeling at all. I saw another picture of the guys listening room in another ad and it is actually quite deep. I think it’s the cameras close up that gives you that feeling.

 I have 2 McIntosh systems and listen to both on a daily basis.

Maybe the 32 inch TV is just the menu screen for streaming service??? Might be.

Hahahaha. 

But it seems there are 3 speakers wrapped around it. 

Seriously hope this was the distributor's home. 

I'm reminded of a story I read, perhaps here, about a guy who collected reel to reel decks, but never listened to them, just liked to see them spinning and have the meters light up and move. Had a dozen of them. 

Maybe the 32 inch TV is just the menu screen for streaming service??? Might be.

My initial reaction is "look at all that expensive McIntosh gear showcasing some 32-inch tv".