Why do no audio enthusiasts use McIntosh?

A few months ago I was bitten by the Mac bug. It's hard to understand, but as you do some research you start to get pulled in and the next thing you know you want to sell all to build a Mac system and, I don't want to be too negative here, you sound like all the rest of the die hard Mac owners talking of Mac's "over engineering and build quality...".

I believe you can build a Mac system that sounds wonderful, but I don't think Mac has a corner on the market for engineering and build quality, in fact I recently owned a Mac C42 and it is a nice piece, but as far as the smoothness of the controls and their use, IMO, they were not up to the level of the Levinson I used.

So, I suppose the point of my post is to give my point to two views I see.

1) The original poster questioned why there are no audio enthusiests who use Mac, I believe there are. Mac is one of the players in the high-end arena. Like many manufacturers, they have some great products and some maybe not so great.

2) Those that are die hard Mac users, the Mac bug has bitten so hard it has brought blindness! I am talking from experience here. I was reading the comments of those who have used the same amp and pre for 20-30 years and wouldn't change, Mac is so musical, Mac's unique looks, etc. Next thing you know, there is no other brand.

As to the young man that just purchased the MC352 and C42, that was the exact combo I was looking to, and from my research this is a nice setup, enjoy them.

We all could be blessed by buying pieces that we were just so happy with that we didn't want to change them and enjoyed them for 20+ years!

The Mcinstosh stuff is ok, but not nearly as dead-solid reliable and overbuilt as everyone here seems to think. I have seen and talked to first hand a repair tech here in the Northeast, who works full time servicing equipment, all high-end stuff. At least 1/2 of the stuff he gets that is broken is Mc stuff. From his discussions, he finds it really not all that reliable at all, and build quality to be nothing special.

Just because Mc products haven't changed style with the times (e.g., love it or hate it looks... most of it I dont' care for personally), doesnt' mean they are built the same as they were, or even all that well in general. Vintage looks = vintage looks. Nothing more to be inferred there. I am friends with a couple of Mc Dealers, and have seen/used/listened to the equipment extensively. The only product I really liked and would consider buying was the MC275 reissue amp. Everything else has been tubby and loose sounding (the tube amps). The solid-state amps (MC600, etc.) are better, but still not a match for the Levinson, Classe, etc. that I compared with. Overall, the Mc 'house-sound' is dark, and flabby in the bass. Tube choices could be better too, most of them are ho-hum kt88s and kt90s, not what I'd prefer personally. (more of an El34 person myself).

Agreed that the bug bites some people to induce deafness/blindness to other, obviously superior, choices. People buy Mc for several reasons, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to own. There is occasional speculation on their stuff too, notably the MC275 reissue and the Mc2000, both of which havent' really held their value or appreciated as expected. (to wit: the blowout prices of them here on Agon on occasion.)

Mc owners remind me of the typical mid-life-crisis Corvette owners. It's the closest analogy I can come up with.

FWIW,
-Ed

To my recollection the Japanese rate their audio equipment not by cost or by design, but by passion. How much enthusiasm and enjoyment is experienced from such components is the measure. Clearly this is not the whole requirement for rating audio components but a major part of the process. With this in mind, it is understandable why people love their McItoshs.

I have been to the dealer in Binghamton you are referring to, I was wondering if I missed something, I guess not. I have a very respectable system(60k+, only 20 years old-me not the system), I have heard lots of gear, and I thought that it(Mc) looked cool and some of it had high prices, but Ed’s last comment makes a lot of sense. I have worked on too many Vette’s and they are one of the worst cars on the road-IMO- though tons of people swear by them, uncanny! They fit into my favorite audio category(I need to come up with some sort of real name for this ‘problem’ a lot of gear has),The it’s like being hit up side the head with a pillow case full of dimes-sound. breathe taking, you can only imagine. ~Tim

I must not of seen the light, I would take a C5!