Are McIntosh amplifiers worth it?

[DMill]

They have started building hypex-based amps, so at least we have a degree of quality on that.

i have to give McIntosh and their designers credit for doing this. I’ve seen far too many great brands get passed by and forgotten for not embracing advances to milk every last dollar out of old designs. It seems if you are willing to pay the very high cost of owning one, you can choose your favorite flavor of tubes, A/B or class D. I only know one guy who has a Mc stack in his home. I’m sure the meters and lights played into it being a pretty amazing sounding system to me. Maybe one day when I’m done paying for kids in school.

 

[pablolie]

They are very competently designed and have good measurements as a rule. If you demerit them because of price, well, clearly McIntosh wasn't after your business to begin with. The concept of brand value multiplying the price of luxury goods isn't new or surprising. Also, with many products, the perception of the buyer is that you "can't make a mistake" with some brands. I would agree that is the case with McIntosh, but yeah, you'll pay for it.

 

[Jflijohn]

My main setup is ALL McIntosh. Yes, I swallowed the Kool-Aid at a very early age (in the early ‘70s).
As soon as I see a review that says that they are ugly (many did mention that) then that throws the door wide open to aesthetics and subjectivity. Half will find them ugly and half can’t get enough of them but, that has nothing to do with sound or design quality. I don’t know this for sure because, as stated earlier, Amir doesn’t get much McIntosh equipment to test however, I’d be willing to bet that most Mac equipment would place well above average on objective testing and, there is no questioning build quality.
I always respect the guys who do their homework and I see it on a regular basis here when reviewing amps that test extremely well but also sound fantastic, many are equipment that I’ve never heard of, not to mention the DIY amps.
For me, Macs are the perfect combination of quality of build, the great sound, being able to drive any speaker, as well as the Mac look (ya, that’s probably a 20% markup) and how well it holds its value.
For sure though, they aren’t for everyone.

 

[pablolie]

My main setup is ALL McIntosh. Yes, I swallowed the Kool-Aid at a very early age (in the early ‘70s).
...

Back when I got married, bought a house, and had some $ to spend on a "dream system", I only looked at two brands: Accuphase and McIntosh. *Because* they are well-designed and admittedly eye-pleasing show pieces that stand out. Discreet and compact they are not nor meant to be.

These days though, I like a minimalist, compact approach and don't want things to stand out (other than the fact I have red speakers, but that blends with my room design. I'd probably be first in line if either McIntosh or Accuphase made a compact, "NAD M10 like" system... there is something about design -when mixed with competent specs, of course- that will never disappear from my preference list.

 

[NiagaraPete]

ya, that’s probably a 20% markup

I sold Mac from the mid 70’s until 1983. Markup in Canada was 100% and we could only discount on Boxing Day demo gear.

 

[radix]

I've not read the whole thread, so I hope I'm not repeating....

If you buy used McIntosh gear, I'd say it's worth it. You really won't lose much money when you go to resell it (ignoring inflation, but that would be the same loss for any equal-priced system you try to resell). I'd say even the new stuff suffers less of a hit on resale for McIntosh.

I think many (most?) McIntosh people, at least those not affected by upgradeitus, tend to keep the gear for a very long time. So if you depreciate it over the lifetime, it's not bad either.

Is it worth it from a technical point of view? My non-expert opinion is there's a McIntosh premium, but it's not stupid high like some botique brands which likely have more questionable performance. And they do have some soft power, like a decent UX, style, custom integration, etc.

 

[pablolie]

...

I think many (most?) McIntosh people, at least those not affected by upgradeitus, tend to keep the gear for a very long time. So if you depreciate it over the lifetime, it's not bad either.

...

I would have never ever shelved my Accuphase amp (see above, I also had a strong preference for McIntosh) unless my life circumstances hadn't changed. I sold the Cd player but kept the amp, just in case. 24 years later, the E-306v will still easily match anything you throw at it. Only reason it's not in active duty is size. I kept my equipment completely untouched (other than adding a streamer that connected to the DP-65v) for over 15 years. Yes indeed, equipment like that you keep for a long time.

 

[Vacceo]

i have to give McIntosh and their designers credit for doing this. I’ve seen far too many great brands get passed by and forgotten for not embracing advances to milk every last dollar out of old designs. It seems if you are willing to pay the very high cost of owning one, you can choose your favorite flavor of tubes, A/B or class D. I only know one guy who has a Mc stack in his home. I’m sure the meters and lights played into it being a pretty amazing sounding system to me. Maybe one day when I’m done paying for kids in school.

Hopefully their class D's will get the new Hypex amps. Not a night and day difference, yes, but still nice to ser further efficiency.

 

[RF Air]

I've owned McIntosh Amps for 35 years and still use them with my HT. Performance and reliability has been outstanding for me. I have one Amp that dropped a Cap, and a Factory Authorized Repair Center will repair it. They routinely work with legacy McIntosh audio products since the equipment is still valuable and has been collected for generations.

I have purchased many different components and found that McIntosh was the Amplifier that gave me the satisfaction of owning an "investment" that would always deliver. I have not been disappointed. Today, I could sell the equipment over the original purchase price, which adds to the pride of ownership. They have always been solid performers.

It's also a meter thing for me. Bought the Realistic 2 channel Vu Meter Display to add to my all-in-one stereo (tuner, 8 track, phono) just to "see" my music as a teenager; before I even heard of McIntosh. It was inevitable that I would be attracted to the Blue Meters when I got serious about buying my Home Theater.

Yes, it's worth it.

 

[Ler0ck]

In my searching for best amp for money. I see Mc is a candy with good measurements and price (ma352). It’s cheaper compared with Gryphon, Mark Levinson, Luxman,… Mc have a deep discount from MSRP too. So far, my Ma352 is worth p/p.

 

[DMill]

Hopefully their class D's will get the new Hypex amps. Not a night and day difference, yes, but still nice to ser further efficiency.

It seems to me the margins on newer class D tech would be pretty insignificant when we are talking about $6k+ amps that Mc sells. id Like to think Mc will build their Class D products with the same goal of having them last long enough to gift one to my daughter 30 years from now. Thats what makes them McIntosh. Let’s hope they do it.

 

[Vacceo]

The nice thing about Hypex amps is that they seem to be quite replacement-friendly, thus allowing you to swap modules with improved versions.

 

[OldHvyMec]

I started with Western Electric and sold the heavy, expensive, gear with WE speakers to fund my next 45+ years of Mcintosh.
Mac use to be a drop in the bucket compared to WE equipment. The fact that they were in business 20 years prior helped at the time.

I can say in all honesty "Big Blue" was IBM, not Mcintosh. The blue meter weren't used for many years.

Until a C2500, blue meters weren't part of my Mac gear. I owned MX120, 121 ARPs before the C2500. My issue was I liked a valve
preamps with a remote. There SS amps sounded like slow moving syrup compared to Accuphase, Threshold or Ampzilla at the time.
Things changed as the "Blue meter" MB came on the scene. MC2300, 2500 were a Grateful Dead thing. FEW people owned them.
MC2105 and the like were good but sound wise there was better. I just mentioned three that were at least head and maybe not shoulders
above Mcintosh power amps.

When people say C4 or C8 to me I think C4, C8 of the 50s

It's strange that most people relate to the "BLUE" meters vs the "Black and Chrome."

I have the original C11, 20s, MX110z (s) and MC225, 240s, 275s, 30s, 40s, 60s, 75s. They are MACs! They were purchased for hundreds and
sold for thousands. That is the Mac story. A MAC KIT sold for 290.00 usd.
Compare a 1964 MC275 to a 2000 GG or newer and there is 15-30 more watts in mono on the older units. a 1964 SOUNDs like a Mcintosh.
A Gordon Gow sounds like as GG. I have one it kinda sucks to tell the truth.

It never made me tap my foot like any of the early MC valve gear. It was also the only power amp of Mac I blew up. And I blew it up big time.
A cable drop (first and only) with precision accuracy right on top of a class D MB Hypex. As I type my BP is 200 over 100 10 years later.

Regards