I guess my screen name says what I'm peeved about kind of. Anyway, this has got to be old hat but I'm so bloody tired of this. What? This. When someone has to knock the crap out of equipment that I love. Now, I don't know what $35,000 speakers sound like. I would hope pretty nice. But in my lowly middle class existence a couple grand is a lot of money for a set of speakers. What speakers? Bose 901s. Yep, I said it. I will admit, I haven't heard a lot of high end speakers. I am however a fairly mechanical kind of guy with an extensive musical background and I know a couple of things.
One is the fact of the stereo speaker "Sweet Spot". Unless you're going omni directional, or partially so, you're looking at being anchored to the said sweet spot. I don't like to just sit down and not move when music is playing. Sometimes, just not always. Imagine this. I actually like to dance around when the music inspires me.
So, hello Bose 901s. Yes I will say they have their limitations, but for room filling STEREO sound and completely ass kicking bass, they're hard to beat for the money.
I'm really not here to try and convince anyone on 901s. What I would like to do is the following. I want to say hey folks, if you think certain gear is garbage, don't buy it. You don't have to knock it every chance you get. Especially when the subject is not even remotely connected to Bose products. What the hell. I mean, who the hell are you to tell me that what I think sounds good is garbage? What if I told you your wife was really ugly? How would that go over? Not exactly the same thing but it's in the ball park. Beauty, as in the beauty of music, is in the ear or eye of the beholder.
I came to this site because I'm considering a Mcintosh amplifier. I'm after at least 250 watts a side for my own reasons. I want to know why they are worth so much money even used. What do I come across in the third or fourth post. "Bose are junk". Thanks buddy, and so that I can be almost as indirect as you were regarding Bose gear on a McIntosh post, your wife IS ugly. There I said it, and I'll feel better for about a second and a half for doing so.
I just hooked up a set of Bose 901s to a new Denon AVR with a separate amp for the 901s. 901s are really quite wonderful for home theatre. You can go completely sub woofer free and not sacrifice one single bit of bass. In fact, I have routinely scared folks off the couch when using 901s as front mains in a home theatre without a sub during an explosion scene.
I used them because I'm waiting for a driver tweak to come in from Ohm Walsh. Yeah I know, not expensive or elite enough either. I think they're fantastic though.
Anyway, back to McIntosh. What a surprise. I would like to see if a local dealer would allow a test try at home with a "demo" amp. I don't know how else to find out really. It's a lot of money. I'd rather buy new really, but is it worth it?
I saw a post recently wherein a guy was asking the same questions about McIntosh I am. The guy said what kind of speakers he had and wanted to know if folks thought McIntosh would be a good idea. Well, one poster said, "If you were using B&W diamond series speakers, I'd say get the McIntosh, otherwise stick with your Japanese amp." Well I looked up B&W top of the line speakers. At least at the top within the web page I cam across. I didn't find "Diamond Series". Either way, the speakers at the top of their page were $35,000. So if I'm reading everything correctly, what this poster was saying is that unless you're driving $35,000 speakers a McIntosh is just a waste of money. At least that's how I took it.
I must say it was rather off putting. Is it really impossible to expect VERY nice speakers for around five-thousand a pair? Wow! If so, I guess I'm destined for bargain basement OhmWalsh. And since I'm going off topic throughout MOST of this post, I'll say that the Ohm Walsh towers I bought not only supply an amazing presence that will fill your room with wonderful stereo sound, but they are also accurate and clear. Not the least bit muddy, and also have quite a bass kick. They are the first speakers I've owned that allowed me to listen loudly without any fatigue in the least. And personally, now here is my "Beauty in the ear of the listener" moment, I don't know how anyone can pay huge dollars for stereo speakers that don't sound good unless you're sitting directly in the center of the two. In fact, one poster I read quipped,"make sure you listen to these without any friends along, and if you do bring friends in, make sure they are also not too tall."
Really? Ten thousand dollars and they're no good if you move? O.K. Obviously I'm feeling kind of putt off that my trusty old 901s have been bashed yet again. And I've spent 95 percent of my post NOT talking about McIntosh.
I'm not looking to see if folks think McIntosh is "Better" than other amps. I'm looking to find out if there really is a difference between McIntosh and other potentially expensive, or not so expensive amps. I've seen several posts lately that would tell you you're fine even with "Pro" amps. Big power for not so big money is what they say. So far the only drawback I've seen is fan noise. Fan noise was so inconsequential with my old pro amp that's not an issue. I guess I was always of the belief that the better the amp, the more accurate the sound. Now I'm getting the idea that amps all color the sound by a good degree. I'm so confused.
