It’s iconically great-sounding gear and THAT’S the reason its value is comparatively inflation-proof. Like Nak’s analog cassette decks, it’s the target at which other brands (Sunfire, PL, Carver, Pioneer SPEC, Superscope Marantz, etc) have paid the ultimate compliment by similarly voicing (and designing) their gear. Essentially, they gave the rest of the industry something at which to "plink away". These other manufacturer’s best efforts are similarly collectible now, but along with a few other first-gen designers (Avery Fisher, Saul Marantz’ first designs, et al) "no them-no whomever else-you fill in the blank" that has come along since, is pretty close to being an inarguably self-evident truth. These other (also esteemed) manufacturers exploited the economies of scale. To momentarily argue the flip side of that narrative, the appearance/ergonomics and, deadweight-metric-tonnage build quality is at least 50% of the attraction for most buyers. That annoys McPurists and I’m one of them. But whether it’s the icing or the cake under the icing is for each of us to decide for ourselves.
McIntosh - is it that great?
I'm just curious if McIntosh gear is all that great. How does their older power amps compare to new products from other high end manufactures? Are there any products I should stay away from. I like the idea of owning vintage McIntosh stuff. Most of their stuff seems pricy. Is it because it's that good or do people just like to collect their products. thanks for you opinions--Matt