Is McIntosh still a good choice?

Here is my .02 cents and let me note that I own no Mac gear.

I was looking into some Mac gear not long ago and what I found, right or wrong, was that Mac made some great gear in the 60's and 70's, then the gear seemed to be so-so for many years and it appears their current line is again gaining respect.

One thing seems to ring true when I read comments and/or reviews on Mac gear, it may not have the last bit of detail as some, but the reviewers always claim the product to very musical!

My suggestion would be to look at their amps and preamps, I have read nothing of their CD players (or whatever source), you *may* want to look elsewhere for that.

If you have the ability to bring the units home, you love the sound and the looks, you will enjoy the pieces for many years like many, many happy Mac owners.

If an intergrated amp interests you, consider their MA6900, this looks very promising. There was a write up on it in the February issue of Stereophile.

Definitely check out the new MacIntosh tube gear!!

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!!