I think the Mc fans here have more or less countered these claims. I'm just pointing out that he's not really bashing people so much as saying they're deluded in thinking they've gone into true audiophile territory.
AND there is the rub. Everyone has an opinion and as a few have pointed out, "Pick out the gear" and work from there. I could use just about any gear and work from there. Some start with Mac, some with Sansui like Master M.
To even suggest an audiophile is determined by the gear they own or don't own is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. THAT is the problem with this guy. He doesn't seen to understand statements just like that puts HIM in the not only the Midfi class but somewhat ignorant to what an audiophile is. It has ZERO to do with GEAR, it has to do with the persons ability to excel in spite of or in lieu of money or gear. Knowing 1/2 the sound is the room just how far does one part (say a power amp) costing 2k vs one costing 40k, IF 50% is the room and the actual amps are 5-10% of the SQ? Same with cables. I've seen people budget according to "CABLES" total BS. The point of diminishing returns happens so quickly after 300.00 for me the .25% per 1000.00 spent just isn't worth the 100.00 dollar room improvement and get 3-5% return in SQ.
I've strapped into systems that the sweet spot was so small your head went between two cushions above your ears..
The hours spent on some of these peoples rigs is crazy, and the money to sometimes, BUT sometimes NOT! Look at Master M.. FOR PEANUTS. A system for listening to music.. 523.41 cents :-) He added 4 dollars for ear plugs..
I can say this from experience, you have to experience ugly, gothic and then WORSE than ugly, to know what it is.
Me if it's that UGLY, I didn't go around it to begin with.
Mac is the finest gear on the planet, you have the right to be wrong, I will give you that.. But I'll recommend a little bigger spoon, Mac guys have heard it all from the jealous and of course uninformed..
I'm looking at a pair of brand new 24K gold studded cases for MC60s. Rare as hens teeth. Any body want to one up that? From a classy group in Canada that keeps the flames fanned with top notch repair parts.. They actually have a jewelers polish rating.
It's not lonely owning Mac as you can see.
No I don't have any Mac paraphernalia other than a Bulldog from a MACK Tractor..
Mac guys are hard core right? The real "Marantz" crowd makes Mac guys look like beggars in the streets. Talk about hard core. THEY love their Marantz Tube gear. Try to buy, some of that gear.. They don't even list their gear any more, they just pass it amongst themselves. They don't even call it gear. :-)
How does it really sound? Like Marantz tube gear. Yup sure does.
Thanks Master M. for pointing out the relationship between the user, their room AND their gear.
The three are as important as having 120vac @ 60hz with new equipment.
I have been able to make just about any preamp and power amp work if I first address a clean AC source and then with a room up approach. I don't tune like Master M with perfect personal volume (Helmholtz) tuning.
It is difficult to achieve for ME I'm not that patient and wouldn't be able to clean that type of system with MY pet situation. I do have 4 14" x 84" Sono tubes though. They are well on their way to taming a 25 X 40 shop.. Helmholtz.
3 bumps 60, 80 and 120hz are tough in a single tube. I'm close. It hasn't ruined the bass either. Those bumps can become deep dips with Helmholtz, it works BOTH ways. It's just mechanical in leu of full blown PEQ. A passive EQ is actually better for MY bass system. GEQ. My contours are added analog to the bass passively not digitally by altering the signal.
Sub/bass and then integrate the main speakers in.. I have used the same type of speakers 25+ years.. Small planars and ribbons.. The only thing I've changed in the last 6 years is the 60-80hz and below. GRs servo system.
I know I could use an MC240, C20 and a couple pairs of good class D to really set up top notch SQ in a tuned room. It's 50% of the sound pretty easy. 1300.00 for the original C20 and 240. I still have them. I use 12K Behringer for bass and GRs.
I'm with Master M as the years go by it cost LESS to get great sound not more. It does cost a lot of time though..
OH BS, Navajo, code talker!! I can communicate to a 100 different cultures. So what. Brag somewhere else.. Talk is cheap. Teha' te to'. I like peanuts and I have and ingrown toenail. Big deal. How about Gaelic?
Mercy the stuff you read from the uninformed and jealous. It’s one thing to not care for a brand, but to call great gear that has been around for as long as Mcintosh "MidFi" gear or elude that by using it your not in the audiophile community is as funny as saying "something else" will some how propel you there. I can tell you this it’s sure not my way of thinking.
It’s never been the gear, it’s the ability to get the gear to do what you need. Mcintosh just happens to be an avenue a lot of folks world wide chose. Why pick gear because what someone else thinks. There is a lot of cars I don’t know about, doesn’t mean I don’t like them.. I think in most cases, it’s I can’t afford them, so I don’t like them.
If room acoustics are 50% of the sound how is the gear the other 50%. That 10-25% is being forced down a lot of peoples throat by choice as if it was 100% of the answer to better sound and it’s not. Just like the gear quest, or the cable quest, or the speaker quest. CRAP make up your mind and go from there. What on earth changes folks minds to change types of speakers or gear or color of paint in the room?
Just askin’
I can make just about anything work. I like Mac and Cary, and GR and Farm Girl, I don’t have to put gear down to make me feel better about the gear I’m using.
OP you see and hear a lot from a person that I can't get past what I AM seeing and hearing. It's simple the guy just turns me OFF. Terms like MiFi and Mcintosh in the same sentence and then infer a lack of knowledge if people disagree.
I've heard the same CRAP my whole life about Mcintosh. To make blanket statements about a product that is as different as Mcintosh is saying he has heard even a portion of the Macs through the years. I'd really really doubt it. Kind of like the guy here on AG that compares all the amps. Unless I'm looking for a spelling of a product. I can't really see a value. I did find it strange that they finally found the Holy Grail or so they say. Sure a lot of information to sort through.
Is one product the best? I don't think so. Are all the amps tested still there for testing? How can you compare a product from 5 years ago, today, without the product to compare it against.
If I set up a room, very few could tell the difference between my 2k and a others 20k amp SQ wise. I could roll a set of valves a 100 ways with the amps I use. Most would KNOW I swapped amps. Some would swear it's SS others would know it's not and a few wouldn't give a hoot. "It just sounds good". Mcintosh sound has changed as much as the tech that have rebuilt the millions of Mcintosh pieces through the years.. Very few use the same parts so the sound is as different as the parts they use.
BTW all Ford products are the same. 63 Ford Falcon, 2022 Lincoln Navigator, they look and sound just alike.
Mac's MidFi? I guess I'll just have to settle. :-)
His entire presence not just his looks. I worked around a lot of crusty people, "Looks", NO! Presence, YES!
And the spew begins.
Now that all the "FAKE" autophiles have shown up.
That is the problem you don't give a crap and make statements that people who OWN or LIKE Mac are in the MidFi loop.
What a DUMB A$$ statement..
An autophile is a "Personal" choice by the individual. It has ZERO to do with other's opinions of the person's choice or their opinion of their choice of gear.
The nice thing about Mac. I've never "SOLD" a piece, someone always offered to buy it first. BTW I don't sell my gear to someone because he has money. He/she better have a story to 'WHY" he/she want's my Macs. Money doesn't buy my gear a good attitude does. I'll take it with me before I sell it to a dummy.
Mcintosh will be in heaven, even I know that..
Mr Mike you don't have treat people "UNFAIRLY" to treat them poorly. It's pretty obvious with the "Ladies and Jackass opinion" statement..
Oh yea you got my business, but don't worry it's only MidFi.. LOL Funny Guy. You don't need Midfi business, do you? I'll take my 45-50 pieces of MidFi and look somewhere else, I guess.
WoW this thread is like "ctrl-alt-delete" for my post.
Come to think of it a LOT of my post are being disappeared
I gotta find a new place to hang my hat..
Canada? You guys got any room up there? I'll bring my own money and job how's that? I can learn to understand French, speaking it, I don't think so.. You guys got a "Statue of Liberty" somewhere? I love maple syrup. Moose not so much..
I like Canadian and Australian actors too.. I want to start a Vanilla and Truffle Trade and call it the "Something".
They got the corner on Canadian Bacon too. I wonder why?
Canadian Bacon, Truffle, Vanilla and Canadian Goose eggs, (they got the corner on that one too.) Come to think of it Canada sounds pretty good except for the snow.
Maybe I could hunt up Master M and we could go on Tour.
"Embedding you System" I'll bring pictures of the Rabbit and Dog..
Say they got crawdads up there?
I'll bring my Mcintosh gear with me (on TOPIC)
Now why would they "ctrl-alt-delete" this post. :-)
No ones feelings got hurt, but there is a point where empathy can.
Mr/Mrs @vuch comes out of no where and you think insulting Mac owners by joining in is a wise move?
As a guy that owns Sansui, Marantz, WE, Mcintosh, VTL, ARC, AR, Cary, Rogue, Pass, Threshold, Sony, Classy, BAT, Dodd, HH Scott, Heath, Fisher, Pioneer, Ampzilla, Krell, ML, First Watt, HK, Victrola, RCA, Philco, Accuphase, Manley Boulder, DIY and a few more I'm pretty sure "inadequate" anything is NOT the issue.
Mr. Mike made statements that a lot of other folks haven't experienced with Mcintosh. Mac is a lot of things but BAD or MidFi just isn't one of the things they are.
I wish Mr Mike well and all of his customers. I guess insulting folks is one way to pick up certain kinds of customers.
I saw a guy kicking at a dog that was trying to get in the police car with him. The police gave me the dog. I kept him for 12 more years. Hoop the dog. He'll be the third one to lick my face when I get to heaven.
21K for this set 7 weeks ago. MX110z, MC225, MC240, MC275. This is the the picture I used. He is in Mexico City, BIG Mac guy.
They ALL are untouched. One set of power valves and 2 12AX7s Telefunken were replaced. He knew NOT to replace the caps in the 225 and replace ALL the caps in the 240. 275 there are a few bumblebees. He'll spend another 5K to do it correctly.
That MC225 is almost perfect. I have another one the power cord end was cut off in 1970 and placed in a box. The guy bought it played it for 20 days, died and his wife cut the end off so the kids wouldn't plug it in. It was 20 days old when I got it 20 years later. She went to heaven. Kids found the box.. Gave me the 225 and 500.00 for fixing a tractor. I was happy. I just broke that one in. I found the box in my stuff.
Mac is fun. :-) 24K cases for MC60. I got to get that done. Who does stuff like that? MAC people.. Better than a gold plated toilet. AY?
Thankyou acresverde, I’ll take it as a complement. I have a pair. They are so well done they have a high jewelers rating on the finish.. I like um..
MC240s how many people can say they have heard a tricked out MC240. If Samra would come out of the underground I'd send him a pair just to have around. I haven't ever heard anything like them with small planars or ribbons. It's the weird transformer thing they do with 6L6s and they way he (Mike) re-voices them. They are great stock. The problem is the yellow cap crowd screw the sound up. PIO only.. No polly pukes they kill the sound..
Mr Mike you'll notice I give almost as good as I get. BUT I never met a person I didn't like. Some of the things they do is a different story. I'm no different. That speaker is the last place a dog I had for 16 years loved to hang out. Toy Fox Terrier his favorite spot the Sub section.. I never had the heart to finish the thing. 6 years now. Maybe next year..
My early years with Holt (CAT), Deere, Maxim Crain, Drilling rigs in the gulf (water welder) Pile Driving, mining, tunnel work then foundational drilling, Tieback machines. Klemm Bohrtechnik (German). Where is that Roller and a chauffeur my hands hurt, thinking about it. :-)
There was a reason for me and Mac. My Dad was a WE, Mcintosh, JBL, Thoren guy.
Ask me if I would buy any new gear? I am looking for a second Cary V12R in red though. How old is that? It is my favorite amp of all time.. Dodd did some nifty stuff too.. Mac is Mac. It's like John Deere or Liebherr to me.. :-) I know very little about their newer stuff. I just got rid of a pickup load of Thoren, Dual, and Empire TTs 25 pieces. I'm downsizing. Yes I kept my original Zero 100s. No I didn't pay for it. It was a gift. Works perfect. I'm a mechanic it takes one to keep it tuned up.. LOL What a pretty pile of crap.
I like ugly girls too. Ugly guys too, come to think of it. I like dogs better than both.
Honest works for me.. I'm a grumpy ol fart until I see the neighbor lady. She's a peach for sure.
I'm no party pooper. Who cares what others think, they have the right to be wrong and ashamed, and all about the same thing. Mcintosh is, like JELLO, there is always room for Mac. :-)
Well I'll tell you what laoman and tsushima1 IF I post the cases next to my dog will that satisfy you or are you going to continue. Will you promise to leave and NEVER come back?
Heck Mike is fine you two though. He has a purpose, what the heck are you two REALLY about?
At this point I'm pretty sure you can get away with anything an AG. Look at the pair of you. Admin/Moderator put up with you two. Insulting folks, making fun because your not in front of me.. We all know that's true. Your both are rather sad.. BUT I still have my 24k cases and you don't. There is a fact.. I would have told you who to contact but, I'd doubt they would have anything to do with you. You're both quit the nasty little pair.
Remind me of hemorrhoids. You know you get them from workin' your A$$ off not your mouth..
Have either of you said anything constructive? ONE SINGLE THING? Please point me there. Insult my country, insult my gold cases, what else are you going to stoop to. My dog, then the rabbit? I THINK NOT. I draw the line at the rabbit, The dog can whip the pair of you at the same time. She's 14 lbs..
Funny guys..
Admin quit erasing my post and shutting down threads. I don't like it. That's all you need to know. I don't like it at all.. Please stop. Your bothering me. Your on this earth to make me happy, no one else.. I wish you would figure that out..
Thankyou for you hard work..
BTW I want to me Emperor. First order of business. The two funny guys, bring um here, go get a young calf, we'll see if they are really up to it..:-) I'll take the video.
Little man, Little man, swat SPLAT! I've farted better men than you. I don't sell equipment I give it away. Especially if I like someone. Your OFF my Christmas list, coal in your stocking and a extra stocking for that nasty LITTLE mouth of your.
As for your obsession with MY orifice, I'll pass. Please pay attention to your own orifice, you smelly LITTLE thing. Swat Splat! Orifice BOY!!
Sphincter say what? ROMP! A twin brother!
A man's gear "MCINTOSH". The only thing you should be ashamed of is if you don't own Mcintosh. At least there is a fix for that.. I'm a Sansui, Marantz and Western Electric amp fan too. Own them all less the WEs I sold.
laoman you and your opinion are like "SWAT SPLAT" mosquitoes. WORTHLESS!
You’d buy from America if you were allowed to. Personally I wouldn’t sell to you, but I would SWAT SPLAT, take a shower and wash you down the DRAIN.
Mad itty bitty man.. Swat spat! SWAT SPLAT! PEST
You may leave now.. Your ignorance is not appreciated nor are you. You're Excused!
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