Why do no audio enthusiasts use McIntosh?

I have had alot of Mac equipement ( MC 75, MC2300 , MC 2155, C28 , C11 , MX-117) And let me tell you the Mcintosh is really a tube lover. Even now in their solid state electronics they use output transformer instead of having the transistor driving the speaker directly wich result of some sort of tube sound but limited with the output transformer ( tried the Mc 2300 300W/ch on B&W Matrix 801 and the amp meter was always near the 300 watt output when my little Marantz 250 125W/ch had not problem at all driving the B&W even louder) But when it come to OLD mcintosh tubed stuff they are really special my setup was the folowing : C-11 tube preamp , MC75 tube amp pair driving old JBL L100 century. And let me tell you the their was someting magic in the music, I can't describe what but it was one of the best sound I've heard even now (MY curent system: YBA 2HCDT AMP , YBA 2 preamp , JMLAB mini utopia speaker, all wired in transparent reference. Also keep in mid that Mcintosh are not ment to be played LOUD when you listen to a MC at low volume they are great but when you push them a little bit the sound become fuzzy and all the instrument merge to made a big noise.

I think the name of the problem is "justification." When you dump a pile of money into your dream system it must sound good because you are then past the point of no return and can't go back - you can go forward by "upgrading" (I hate that word because eventually the playing levels out with only miniscule bumps) however, wherein it all starts over. It is easy to fall in this trap but to realize it is the first step. I always thought of people who continually search for the better system as not having spent enough money on it yet! My final two cents....

A Mac Amp is one of the best I have seen and hear of. As I own a range of tube gear as well as solid state and a tuner MR78. The reason it is not on a high end unit list is that the sound does not match the other amps etc. Krell, Mark Levinson,Audio Research etc.It has a veil that that some how has no definition.As for solid state amps they are the best in terms of built. The Mac parts inside is not what you will find in say Audio Research(Mili Spec.)But they are built that they over exceed their specs.They have a good resale value compared to the others in the State as well in the Far East(Singapore). It has the same reputation as say a Rolex to other more expensive watches money can buy.
And the man on the street will take a Rolex then any thing else, Period. I had one time gave up all my Mac equipment. But by the end of the day I regret pathing it. That I had to buy them back again.Look around where would you find a forty year old equipment where you still get spare parts for it.It may sound good but not in the High end calibre. But
heck! who sits down for say two or four hours listening. A Sony will do if you are working round the house.
A Mcintosh Fan and Owner.
Joseph Lazaro
Singapore.

Well, most people on this site do, in fact, listen to music for extended periods. As for your coincidence, it is not. Third, you should not compare old mac to new, for numerous reasons, mostly having to do with musicality relative to the competion at their respective times. If you want to buy a SS amp with drive, with very good workmanship (read: craftmanship), want very decent reliability and resale, then, please, oh please, look at Pass XL series or the Lamm 1.1 hybrids.

Actually, we have been quite impressed with the latest generation of Mac amps. For the most part, they are extremely good and as for reliability, they are still better than many of the other high end units out there. Having had tons and tons of amps come thru over the past many years, the Mac amps have always struck me as extremely musical and involving. Maybe not the most accurate, but very very enjoyable. Also, I find Mac owners are amongs the very rare breed in audio...happy!

Kevin
The Sound Broker