Changes of ownership and marketing orientation, in order to maximize exposure and, hopefully, profits. When Frank and Gordon were running the show, it was strictly no-nonsense. A product stayed in the catalog for years. At least until they thought they could offer something better. The company relied on an established dealer franchise network that supported what was sold, providing after the sale customer massaging, via 'clinics'. If Mac advertised, it was usually a quarter page blurb, showing a picture of their tuner/preamp, and offering to send out a free FM radio station guide, if you wrote for it.
The hi-fi press (mainstream) was always spec oriented, and McIntosh could not compete on specs/dollar. Probably because of that, Mac never sent gear to
Stereo Review, Hi Fidelity, or Audio. They understood that a much cheaper Pioneer performed as well on the bench for a lot less dollars, and the magazines could not 'quantify' things like dealer support, pride of ownership, longevity, residual value after depreciation, etc. So their was no upside to them for a review. When first introduced, the MR-78 might have been an exception.
The 'underground' hi-fi press eschewed the brand. Gordon Holt or Peter Aczel couldn't be bothered, both offering opinions advising readers to avoid the brand. Instead, these magazines pushed gear that sometimes cost much more, often performed much worse, and typically offered no long term consumer value (who today wants a used Quatre Gain Cell, or anything made by Andy Rappaport?). Why was this? I think it was mostly because the company did not cater to the 'tweaks', and wouldn't send out review samples. Perhaps with Gordon, he couldn't afford to buy a McIntosh so he had no first hand experience with the brand. Aczel could afford it, but was in bed with Mark Levinson.
Sometime in the late '80s or early '90s, the company changed. Management paid a bunch of hi-fi journalists to visit their factory, and as a result got some 'needed' press, launching them into the 21st century. Aczel wrote that the gear was certainly expensive, but what else was new? David Rich took some of the amps apart and found that, design-wise, they were OK, but nothing special-- a consumer could do better for less money, elsewhere. But then you didn't get the cosmetics.
Eventually
Stereophile (and what was left of Harry Pearson's rag) realized that Mac had changed, and was now embracing their inner tweak. Consequently, those magazine's influencers started to hear that special MacMagic that the old designs had hitherto been missing.
Today Mac is really two companies. It seems to me that they are attempting to balance it out. IMO, not to the best effect. Play old off the new. Half traditional, and half tweako bling. However all that is, if you can afford the stuff it will no doubt work for you... it's certainly not throw away junk. And it maintains value. At least the amps. I doubt their digital stuff will be important, twenty years from now.
Think of it this way-- you can go to any mall kiosk and purchase inexpensive flashy gold plated bling that is just as shiny as the high-priced 24 karat stuff you'd find at Tiffany or Bulgari (if they let you in the store and after walking past the armed guards). But a connoisseur of bling knows the difference, and anyone who can afford it probably wants the real thing.
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