I have seen some Interesting comments about Mcintosh lately

When was the last time you surfed? My dive watches really get slammed when I surf with them (I'm an old longboarder…3rd in my Senior Longboarder contest rating a few years ago)…orthogonal my ass, but mostly I use dive watches and chronographs to determine elapsed time when grilling food as they are designed to withstand the intense pressure from eaters. 

I collect watches, prefer mechanical ones, and have little interest in Rolex watches since they’re so damned expensive (last year nearly bought a Tudor Pelagos as I wanted a titanium watch…instead scored an older Oris Lume tt1 Titanium "new with tags" for WAY less and it's cooler…seriously...) and somewhat common…not unlike "high end" audio, there are MANY watch companies that I feel make stuff that’s more interesting than Rolex (note that Rolex makes about a million watches a year). McIntosh gear sort of IS the Rolex of audio…in all the right and wrong ways. A note about Seiko…my first water resistant watch was a "Seiko 5" my mother bought me in 1964 so I’d know when to paddle in from surfing (Honolulu…many waves break on a reef pretty far out there) to meet her for a ride home. Recently bought the 50’th anniversary Seiko 5 automatic…beautiful thing…under 200 bucks. That’s cheap even for me! My fabulous sounding Jolida 502p?…don’t get me started...

I wear watches when surfing so I know what time it is, and because I have piles of water resistant dive watches that need to have some fun. Hey, watches have feelings too. A note regarding the "church lady" consciousness that raises its thick humorless head around here from time to time…these forums should remain somewhat "open" and brand condemnation or quasi religious cult-like appreciation are simply two extremes of this stuff, and if you can't handle THAT, you need to turn off the computer and get the orderly to tweak your meds…maybe let you out into the yard to look at the ducks…get a nice watch…something…listen to a McIntosh 275 and bathe in the warm glow of the LED lit tubes…go surfing...

The "tube reliability" comments seem to ignore the world of tube guitar amps which have been the standard for most guitar players for generations.  Do Jadis and VTL users spill beer on their amps, drive them to gigs in bouncy vans, or utilize a pair of 1953 vintage amps at 1000 seat concert venues (Julian Lage). I'll bet Fender buys more tubes in a month than all the hifi companies combined use in a year…I've owned and abused tube guitar amps since the 60s and can absolutely attest to the reliability and toughness of these things, and to think otherwise is to simply ignore what has to be the largest group of tubers, other than potatoes and peanuts.

Legumes are actually a very small group of tubers as they are not tubers at all, but peanuts themselves are a large group if each individual peanut is counted. I hope this clears up that issue. Also, tubes blow of course (had one in my hifi amp commit "tubicide" right in front of me…amp survived)…but more frighteningly I endured a SS amp blowing after a show killing an entire pile of pro bass speakers...I continue to be traumatized by that painful experience…and that was in 1978….*sniff*...

The "function worlds above other brands" is a silly statement, and patently untrue. Pateks and Rolexes are valuable (and relatively expensive) but not necessarily better at keeping time than many less precious mechanical watches, and McIntosh amps compete with far less costly things that are also well designed and sound astonishingly (and equally) good. Ever notice a Ball watch or Primaluna amp? An Oris, Jolida, or Vincent? Ever ride in a Mini turbo? Well, come on down!

Having said all this, I do dig that damn McIntosh turntable that glows…more tables with thick acrylic platters should glow…love that sort of thing...

Somebody was recently selling a non McIntosh acrylic platter table that had some LEDs installed under the platter to make it glow…so there's that.

Surfers don't need tide data if they're surfing because they're actually physically in the data stream and can see and feel the currents…I wear a watch while surfing to see what time it is, and to show off my cool watches when they're not hidden under my wetsuit sleeve. Note that you should never take McIntosh gear surfing as it is not waterproof (a thread specific addendum…you're welcome).