McIntosh -- good for show, not for sound, says dealer

McIntosh isn’t the only brand Mikey’s trashed. Audio Research and Magico are a couple of other brands he isn’t impressed with. His beef comes from when a company sells out to corporate buyers and take an iconic name and start watering down the brand to maximize corporate profits. It’s happened with a lot of brands including Marantz.

Mikey’s passionate about great sonics, that’s where his heart is. As a guy searching to improve the sonics of my system, I respect that about him.

Jay from Jay’s Audio Lab said flat out that Mikey’s system is the Formula One race car of HiFi rigs. Jay was really impressed and he’s had all of the ultra high end gear!

I bought Magico A3 speakers because I’d never heard anything like them. The sonics were overwhelming. However, so far I don’t think they’ve sounded as good in my listening room as they did during the demonstration at the high end store. I’m on my second amp within a year since buying them.

Mikey has already helped me with getting my system to sound better with my current amp. I’m upgrading my amp and preamp, going with NAT Audio gear from him. He brings tremendous value and only cares about helping people get the best sonics as they can. Anybody that can’t appreciate that has issues with hurt feelings.

@kingbarbuda, word.

@hilde45, Mikey doesn't script his videos. He doesn't monetize them either. He knows he's out there and is an acquired taste. I mean he calls himself OCD HiFi guy and makes fun of himself.

One thing that comes across very strongly is his passion for sonics. That's backed up by the system he's put together and his listening room. Geez, he converted his garage into a listening room! That's commitment! 

His passion extends to calling out iconic brands he feels once had amazing gear but have sold out to corporations that take the good name of a brand and start to sell gear designed to increase profits instead of staying true to quality made gear. He's been in the industry a long time and looks inside the box to see what kind of quality goes into a component. That's exactly what Kevin Deal does but Kevin dances around and gives hints on what brands he's talking about.

I think his beef with Magico is that they're very expensive. I know he said that he thinks they're made to look pretty. I didn't buy the A3's for looks. I thought my old Infinity RS4b's were a much better looking speaker. I bought the A3's for sonics.

Turning people against one another is one way of looking at what he says. I look at it like that's his opinion. Saying he's turning people against one another feeds into permanent disagreement and division. That's your opinion of what's happening, it doesn't make it true. I'm not willing to cancel him for his opinion or claim he's dividing people. Accepting that other people have differing opinions is how society can become healthier. Not accepting other peoples opinions and claiming they are divisive and flat out wrong is what's wrong with our society today and it seems to be getting worse. 

I have many good friends on the opposite side of the political and religious isle because I recognize that their opinions are different from mine but I still value their friendship because we have other passions that align. We just have to be respectful of each others strongly held opinions. When that happens everyone can get along and share the good information that each of us has.

But his next move is to start herding people into the camp of looks (effectively calling them non-audiophiles) by dint of brand association. It becomes an "us" vs. "them" strategy that names names. That kind of tribalism -- he calls his fans/customers a "tribe" -- is reminiscent of the worst instincts we have. It turns us against one another in politics, religion, orientation, and more. Don’t we have enough of that?

@hilde45, I apologize for using the "C" word! That's where my mind went after reading your comment. 

Regarding desperation, that's a state of mind that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I've been there many times in life before. My way to combat those feelings is to try to and be grateful and embrace humility. 

@hilde45, peace!

@curiousjim, you said:

"ocdmikey is the same clown who lost out on distributing of Denafrips products and went on YouTube blasting the company and their products. Really appeared to be sour grapes."

Mikey didn’t loose Denafrips. He choose to drop them. His video clearly explains what happened. Denafrips didn’t honor the distribution agreement they had with Mikey. Also, they wanted Mikey to drop all of the other lines he represents and only carry them.

In the video Mikey explained that the way the Chinese company operates, there wasn’t any benefit to an American distributing company, only to the Chinese company. The price an end user pays is over priced due to where it’s manufactured.

Mikey told his side of the story of what happened. He said people can continue to buy the brand if they want. That’s not sour grapes. That’s explaining his decision to drop the brand and move on. If the company didn’t honor it’s agreement and then put unrealistic demands on Mikey as a provision of continuing to represent the brand, who could blame him for dropping them?

"Who actually buys from this man?" @roxy54, I do. I'll be replacing my PrimaLuna EVO400 Power Amplifier with NAT Audio Generator monoblocks. I'm also upgrading my Dyna PAS-3X preamplifier with a NAT Audio Symmetrical. Mikey assures me I'll be completely satisfied. I'm really looking forward to it! It'll be a fun road trip to pick up the gear, hang out, and listen to his AMAZING system!

I must admit that in the past, having a visually cool-looking system was one of my considerations but over the last couple of years, I've been focused on attaining the best sonics that I can.

I think having a local HiFi group has influenced and sped up that direction as well. One of the benefits I have is the ability to try other gear in my system and go to other local audiophiles' homes to listen to their rigs. Currently, we have 7 local guys who have nice systems, several of them with multiple systems. One guy has a system valued at 500k. He has VAC Statement amps, an AMG TT, Magico S7's, and other top gear and cables. I had my Magico A3s before we met and was heading towards improving the sonics of my system. After he hosted a monster 8-hour listening session at his home for several of us, I realized the next day that I wasn't getting everything out of my speakers that I could. 

That's when I consulted Mikey and things progressed from there. Implementing his advice, I rearranged my listening room and changed speaker placement and toe-in. Mikey's not into analog but I also tweaked the VTA of my tonearm and it was as if the sonic puzzle piece fell into place! It was like going to a chiropractor with a painful back and after he adjusts you the pain completely vanishes! The change in sonics was that stark compared to my old layout! Others have said that I don't need to do anything further now, and I would agree but I trust that the changes we are going to make will take my rig to a completely new level. 

No matter what anyone says about him, Mikey is an expert in HiFi. He's backed up that fact. In the latest video he put out, a guy said he's heard the PS Audio system with the Infinity towers and basically said there was no comparison to Mikey's rig.

I'm looking forward to benefiting from his HiFi experience and passion every time I put on an album!

@roxy54, I guess your dad never had good dogs.

@gilbertogon, nice post.

I agree with you about Mike’s integrity and honesty.

I spoke with a dealer who is located in Indiana on Sunday and he told me that he’s known Mike for a long time and has a lot of respect for him. He also said that I’m getting a great deal from Mike on the new to me NAT Audio gear and that it’s killer! He said he’d purchase the monoblocks again if given the chance.

I hadn’t been able to comment on Mikey’s opinion of McIntosh before because I had no experience with the brand.

That changed on Saturday. I went over to another audiophile home, who I kid you not, lives on McIntosh street! In his setup, he has a Marantz turntable with an Audio Technica cartridge, a 60’s McIntosh 225 tube amp, a vintage McIntosh SS preamp, a vintage McIntosh tuner, and vintage Klipsch Heresy speakers. The system sounded nice.

I’ll be looking forward to hearing it again soon. He wants me to help him dial in his turntable, which I am happy to do. His tuner is absolutely gorgeous!

@schw06, nice post!

I'll be driving to pick up some gear from Mikey soon. I'm not looking forward to the many hours-long drive. To be only 10 minutes away would be convenient! 

I concur with everything you said about Mikey. I've gotten to know him very well over the last couple of months and am really looking forward to hearing his system!

Any time you have the opportunity to hear another system I think it's a great experience in relation to your own to help figure out what you might seek or confirmation of things you like about your own system.

There is no doubt that Mikey has already helped to make my existing system sound much better with his advice. The new gear will take my rig to another level in sonics and I'm very excited about that! I've spoken with a couple of long-standing dealers/manufacturers that have also confirmed that Mike Powell has an outstanding reputation in the industry. They also confirmed that the NAT gear I'll be putting in will be a dramatic improvement in my rig!