Maggies and McIntosh 501's?

Skip, I had the same experience. The Mac dealer I first went to had the 501's in a HT setup with these huge Mac speakers and a very heavy sub. I had to ask him to turn the sub off. I ended up getting them from another Mac dealer I had purchased lots of equipment from, and they are awesome. And,...beautiful to look at. Please feel free to e-mail me if you end up buying the 501's. If you do not have a competent local dealer,I have a dealer that will give you an unbelievable deal.

Noonan - thanks. I plan to do that. My casual impression is that most AV dealers put far more effort into selling expensive TVs than audio, especially ausio not intended for home theater. That includes at least some McIntosh dealerships that I have dealt with. Skip

Lfb44-I don't know what the problem was in the store you heard the 501's, but I assure they are nowhere near shrill, or boomy! It blows my mind how dealers can make great equipment sound awful. It's almost as if they try. I have seen many McIntosh dealers demoing their stuff with Mac speakers. I have never been impressed with their speakers. Good luck in your evaluation, but listen to the 501's somewhere else before you give up on them.

If you don't mind buying used, there is only one way: "buy and try." You won't lose money (and if you are careful, you can make money) so it is definately worth a shot.

I don't ask for opinions anymore because even if the systems are the same, the ears listening to it aren't. Good luck! Arthur

Thanks Campbelr. I spent some time listening to the MC501's at a local shop, but it was the usual problem: familiar preamp (C2200), familiar Bach CD (one of mine), but unfamiliar CDP and speakers. I didn't like what I heard - boomy bass and shrill high end. Hard to know where the lesion was and the sales folks were selling TVs.

I just sold a pair of Maggie 3.3Rs (bought Apogees), but ran them briefly with my new Mcintosh 501's - wonderful sound! Very smooth, removed the shrill high-end, reinforced bass response, and the noise floor disappeared...loved it!!!