I have seen some Interesting comments about Mcintosh lately


These comments come from here and a couple of other sites.

1.The only people that buy Mcintosh gear are one's that just don't listen.
2. Mcintosh is what rich people buy just like Mercedes Benz.
3. Mcintosh relies on generational buyers as a business plan.
4. Mcintosh is known for rebranding products and putting there name on it.
5. Mcintosh has great looks but uses cheap off the bin parts.

I can't think of another high-end company that have so many stereotypes about the brand. On the other hand I can't think of another audio company that has been in business as long.


taters
I know the Mcintosh people hate to hear it but I think bdp24 really nailed it.

Tube reliability. Now, there’s an oxymoron for ya. It’s because they are inherently UNreliable that you don’t see any more tube gear in military or commercial aviation. That all went away in the ’80s. Why? Reliability. The reason that old McIntosh tube stuff demands high prices today is not because of reliability. It’s because of sound quality. Sound you can reach out and touch. It's always the reason there are so many tube electronics available today to audiophiles.  Sound quality.  But if it's reliability you crave, it looks like it's gonna be transistors for you. Reliability is a number.

Thanks for your explanation bdp. While I never considered most McIntosh gear past the 70's "cutting edge" I really feel quite differently about some of their earlier products of the 50's and 60's. I've listened to some quite incredible Mac systems based on some of these earlier designs. One in particular back in the late 80's had me searching for a nice pair of MC60s which I located and still have to this day although not in regular use. While I DO agree that their early designs are rather conservative there is MUCH that can be done to improve performance. After all, they still have those marvelous unity coupled transformers!

I've been a Mac fan since the sixties.  Couldn't afford  it until the eighties.  I used to read the US stereo mags, particularly Stereo and HiFi back then, and I remember that around 1970 or so, Mac stopped being mentioned in the magazines.  The story was that one of the mac guys (maybe Gordon Gow?) became incensed at an article published in a magazine by one of the big reviewers (I can't remember who, but he was one of the major names at the time) and pulled Mac completely out of the hifi mags.  No advertising, and no reviews.  This lasted many years and effectively moved Mac out of the headlights of the highend community, and fostered the attitude about Mac that has persisted.


In the nineties that story was repeated to me by a salesman at a store that carried Mac, supporting my memory of events.

Bill

I know the Mcintosh people hate to hear it but I think bdp24 really nailed it.Enter your text ...


Your absolutely correct,IMO