McIntosh and Brystons: Fair comparison ?

I have 40 years of experience in audio myself but I sure don't know everything.

Sorry but you lost me with the Shakti Stones Oracle.

Sorry to stray off topic but the Shakti Stones tweak on the breaker box is one of the best I've tried. Better yet was adding Alan Maher Designs CBF's inside the breaker panel.

Hi all,
I've owned two McIntosh amps, both with autoformers. They are fantastic, IMO. Powerful, smooth, and undistorted.
There's a lot of talk about how autoformers kill transparency or muddy the sound. Intuitively, one might think this is possible. However, in my experience, the amps are extremely clear and I achieve tons of transparency in my system. I think McIntosh amplifiers render detail well while not hardening the treble. This is a difficult balance that many transistor products do not achieve. Some may say that the autoformer adds an unnatural warming effect, but in my view, the sound of the autoformer design is probably more faithful to the recording. At very least, it can be more listenable. My two cents. Enjoy.

OK let's hear about these Shakti Stones. Cost, benefit etc.
New to me also.........and you get them where?

Shakti stones are so old your grandpa may have had some. They are another pseudo-tweek that the (nearly insane) owners rave about. I put them in the same league as the infamous "Tice Clock" which was an ordinary 'tweeked' Radio Shack $29.95 clock (sold by Tice for $600)
You want stones.. pick some up off the street.. put them in a glass peanut butter jar and save money big time.
Shakti stones are about in the same league as having a phoney witch doctor put a spell on your system (the also infamous "Teleportation Tweak" in which some dude upgrades your system sound with just a phone call)