Not with McIntosh but with a manufacturer of speakers who said they are way behind because of the virus. If that's the case they should have been upfront in the beginning.
Frustrated McIntosh Owner
I’ve been a satisfied McIntosh separates owner for quite awhile. Two months ago, I got the bug to upgrade, so I decided to trade-in my MC462 stereo amp for MC611 monoblock amps. I reached out to my local authorized dealer that I’ve done business with for years, we worked out a deal and placed my order. He told me he expected he would have the monoblocks from McIntosh in about a month. I called my dealer yesterday asking for an update and he’s now telling me that McIntosh won’t tell him when my order is shipping, let alone if they have been manufactured yet. He even went so far as to inquire with his McIntosh regional rep. I trust my dealer and know that Covid has stressed a lot of manufacturers, but the lack of communication from McIntosh to their dealers has got me concerned. Basically what I’m getting is, they will ship when they ship- it could be in 8 days or 8 more weeks, possibly longer. Have any of you experienced any issues like this with McIntosh lately? Is this a sign of any bigger issues with them?
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The reality is your made in America amp ( fill in the blank ) isn’t just made here. Hoax or not, global supply chains for all sorts of bits have been ( and will continue to be ) disrupted. Now having said that, it is NO excuse for poor communication from Mac. best wishes for your music enjoyment those are both wonderful music machines :-) |
@gelfdaddy, I agree with the above posts. Everyone is having supply chain issues and, unfortunately, it probably will continue until COVID-19 is under control. HOWEVER, as was posted above, there is NO excuse for poor ’communication’ from McIntosh. Please call them on Monday and ask for a delivery status update. They should be able to provide you with some delivery information. I also encourage you to work with your McIntosh retailer. Please keep us posted. Thanks. |
McIntosh was closed for a couple months at the beginning of the COVID virus. Their factory is running at less than half capacity due to the mandatory social distancing in NY. I would call McIntosh directly and ask for a ballpark time frame. They do not manufacture the big amps on a daily basis, I believe they wait until they have a bunch to make. I have always gotten satisfactory results when calling them. |
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who are these "globalists and controllers"? https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/specialty-products/MPC1500 |
Pretty much everything is the same with order times and delays. You have to keep in mind that demand in the industry is up, they’re working with half or less than normal staff, and everyone is calling to check on orders. It’s just not possible to keep everyone notified the way everyone would like them to. Right now the world is pretty much it will be here when it gets here. |
Personally, I would let the order stand and try out a few other brands from your dealer while you are waiting. Given the proper item (Audio Research?) you might just decide that there are products out there that YOU like better IN YOUR ROOM, of course. What else have you got to do? I would be surprised if most retail shops were not swamped with requests for demo-ing gear right now. If I still had my shop, I would be reaching out to all my customers to see if there was something on my shelves that they would be interested in trying out in their room. As a business owner, you have to FIND the business and this is a good time to be doing that, IMO. Cheers! |
I have not run into this issue with McIntosh. I communicate directly with a few McIntosh folks via email and it is always a great and timely exchange. My dealer Also doesn’t have any trouble getting products I order or getting intel. But folks are correct, no doubt COVID has an impact on the product production, plus I understand the trade war with China and corresponding tariffs have resulted in some earth metal (or whatever they are called) being in short supply. What also happens is that some of these ladies that have been making McIntosh products for 30 years are slowing down. Frankly, that is one of the reasons I like McIntosh (aside from the sound). I like that they are committed to their people and their people are committed to the equipment. Did you know that one lady makes all the new 901s? Anyway, don’t give up. You’ll be happy when everything arrives and is set up. I’ve been trying to find a new refrigerator and it is next to impossible these days. |
It's very simple Covid-19 shut most factories down for a month or more: The global supply chain has been disrupted: Mac is assembled in the USA from foreign and domestic parts. So there is most likely a part that they can't get so they won't commit to a delivery date. I purchased The C1100-D1100 and MC 462 2 years ago and it over a month to get everything. So long delivery times are normal if there is no stock at the factory. Try and purchase a necessity item like refrigerator and most are backorder into Nov or longer. When I purchased my system. I was torn between the 611's & the c2600 vs c1100/d1100 and MC462 & I went with the latter. Given my room size and speakers, I determined the 611's were an unnecessary expense. My feeling was the better front end investment was the way to go for me. I don't know what speakers you have or how big your room is so the 611's might be a worthy upgrade. My advice is if you still have your 462 is to enjoy it and wait for the 611's If you cancel and oder again, you will be pushed back to end of the line again. If you traded it in and now you don't have an amp, maybe your dealer will let you purchase a loaner. |
McIntosh publishes a monthly inventory update that is delivered to dealers. It’s short on specific production dates but does give some projected timelines on backordered items...so they are at least trying to give customers, via their dealers, realistic expectations. Their mantra is: It’s worth the wait. We deal with other companies who give us nothing but “when we have it we’ll let you know”. |
I have owned McIntosh amps, CD players, server, oscilloscope, preamps, and AV controllers, all without trouble, so I had not had an opportunity to "test" their service department. However, I had a much better recent experience with McIntosh. I purchased a MR-78 from our kids pediatrician when he retired and decided I wanted the Modafferi modification from Audio Classics. Having had terrible experiences shipping antique radios with UPS (Oops?) and FedEx when they did the packaging, I called McIntosh to order a shipping carton from them
designed for the tuner. The very nice lady said they would have to make one, but it would probably be 8 weeks or more before they could get around to it. It arrived a week later, labeled for MR-78, and even included 4 feet to keep the unit located in the double-boxed shipping carton in case my unit came out of the wooden case and lacked feet (it did). |
Follow up to my original post. As suggested by some of you, especially @hgeifman, I called McIntosh today. I was connected to Chuck, presumably the production manager. He couldn't have been more helpful. Within 3 minutes he told me exactly where my order stood and when it should be shipping (within 2 weeks). Not sure why my local dealer has been giving me the run-around when it was so easy for me to get this info? Also, I learned from Chuck that McIntosh produces 50 pieces of most line items in their catalog every month. Most are already sold by the time they are produced. Again, thank you all for your advice. Cheers! |
Sometimes the answer is, "We don't know." - and the manufacturer cannot commit to an answer because of supply chain logistics. I can relate. I sold Sony professional video equipment and, at one point, had a customer that had ordered nine, 8-inch video monitors. Sony made them once a year and could not give me a production date as they had several parts that were custom manufactured, and there was a delay in the custom parts. Every month I called Sony, got the same answer, called the client and gave them an update - no delivery date from Sony. This went on for six months before the monitors were delivered. Manufacturing and delivery delays happen, and no amount of righteous indignation and getting upset will make the delivery faster.. |
One trend I have noticed in the past 10 years or so is that no one wants to hold inventory. Things are made as they are ordered so if there is a glitch in the supply chain there is an inevitable delay. Warehousing is expensive and manufacturers don't want to store it. Retailers don't want to tie up funds on inventory because regardless of the item, we have become a Walmart nation. We want everything cheap so manufacturers and retailers have to drive out cost. We've done it to ourselves. |
Stereo 5.... Did you get that from CNN, or MSNBC? We have a media that has been taken over by a lying political machine that is determined to transform the United States into a nation that will not longer threaten the esteem of inferior systems which are run by political tyranny. Many people today can not understand how the Germans could have been so stupid to follow Hitler. Guess what? We can know now. For we have people among us today just as stupid, blind, and hateful... History repeats itself. The founding fathers who wrote the Constitution would not be surprised in the least to see how so many Americans today are run by selfish emotion, not by principle. If Joe Bidden wins? The United States of America will cease being the USA. Only the name will remain. Why? Like the Germans who were stupid and followed Hitler? We have the same breed of emotional haters amongst us today..... They will gladly believe anything they are told as long as it hurts those whom they hate and are jealous of.... |
@genez you are describing the political party you are associated with. FYI, watching OAN and FOX is the reason your party is full of clueless, stupid and hateful people. Change the channel, there are news outlets including BBC which are more truthful. Did your know Rupert Murdoch’s son REFUSED the head job at FOX because he won’t head a company that gaslights the public every |