In College 40 years ago a girl dumped me for another guy who had a part time job in a High End Audio store. My system at the time was Advent 3 Speakers, the cheapest Gerrard Tt and Pioneer Receivers available. This guy bragged about selling McIntosh and I thought why would anyone brag about selling Fruit?
One night I was fortified with a few beers and found myself outside his store. I barged in looking for trouble. The sounds of the music in the store immediately calmed the savage beast. I didn’t know recorded music could sound like that. And the wall full of equipment with those meters….My erstwhile rival played me a few things as the store closed. We didn’t exactly part as friends…I was being to much of a jerk for that to happen…but that was my introduction to high end audio.
McIntosh still makes great products, and I’ve owned a few, but they are synonymous with conspicuous consumption. I wiil never forget the scene in the movie The Departed when Matt Damon, playing a corrupt cop, shows off his wall of McIntosh components as “fruits” of his ill gotten gains. I hope they stay afloat, but in this recession, with retirement looming, I will probably never own one again