Is McIntosh still a good choice?

I am in the same catagory as you as I am an old Mc lover. I have always felt,heard and understood them to be the best in audio as quality,durability and value retention. I have come to the conclusion as an owner of a MX132 control pre-amp and two amps a MC352 and a MC7205 5 channel amp. They do hold up their reputation. I would say the MC7205 isn't the build or sonic quality I expected but is still a very good peice and I would trade it for a Byrston,McCormack or Linn but I am hooked on the blue meters. Although I do believe that the 7205 does offer good resilience in dynamic range in that it answers the call when power is demanded.
The MC352 is...well another level entirely. The McIntosh Autoformers add so much to this amp. The MC352 is quieter,cleaner and much more accurate than the 7205. I amd driving old Infinity Kappa Seven's and they have always
left me disatisfied in the mid-range and bass depth. The 352
brought the speakers back to life. The MX132 is a wonderful
pre-amp and fantastic processor. I just traded a McIntosh C39 control pre-amp and a MSD4 processor in they were good but the pure stereo pass on this MX132 is sooo much cleaner.Not to mention the home theatre benifits are outstanding. So to answer your question YES buy McIntosh amplifiers especially with the Autoformers. Their pre-amps are very clean I really think they are most dependable, mostly credited to the elctro-magnetic switching. Best of all I have found that the McIntosh people are so willing to help you with questions and service. I would however stay away form source components such as dvd, cd players etc. Their tuners are awsome though.

I have owned an amp of MacIntosh MC2102, which is a terrific piece and great great sounding with very low distortion and neutral. That is for my stereo system and I also want to get a solid state MC602, which has hight rating in some audio magazines (sorry i do not remember the names) for my Hometheater system. I suggest that you should follow your grandfather's opinion but I warn you MacIntosh products are not affordable at all. Even though you can afford them you also can afford a better pair of speakers, which are driven by MacIntosh amp, probably for a good match.

The McIntosh TUBE units - just wonderful!!

not really

overpriced and not as up there sonically

check out sonic frontiers, audio research or bat

No one has addressed your question about the Arcam A85 integrated. First, I would note that at $1500 (new list, available new for less, as memory serves) for an integrated, this is in a different price league than Mcintosh (a lot cheaper)! If you really have a Mcintosh budget and are interested in other brands of integrateds, you should probably be comparing to higher-level integrateds than the Arcam.

Higher-end integrateds that fare well in reviews here include Plinius, Bryston, and Classe. While more than the Arcam, I think these can be had less expensively than the McIntosh gear (I'm not up on Mac pricing). The NAD silver series includes a high-current integrated also. Although people say the Bryston (with 60WPC) sounds bigger than it's rated, I would look for a high-current integrated that offers at least 100WPC; this gives you some flexibility in speaker and room choices.

My own budget is more in the Arcam range! I had an Arcam A85 at home for several days, and compared it head-to-head with several sets of separates. I found it rather "thin". Too bad, I really wanted to like it. It has every feature you could want in an integrated (including available phono board, and full featured -- but confusing -- remote). It's nice-looking and compact. With efficient speakers in a small room (how I demoed it at the dealer), I think it would sound good. For less efficient speakers and/or larger room, I would look to a more powerful integrated, or to separates.

If cost isn't too much of a problem, and if you demo and really like the sound, you may want to go with the McIntosh just for emotional value. There's something to be said for equipment (as well as music) that brings back a warm feeling. That's probably the main reason I still listen to LPs. What the heck!

All the best,

Eric