Was in the biz back in the day, sold SME, Ariston, Dynavector, Accustat, H-K, Hafler, Crown, Rogers & more. Had a ton of it all in my home, and auditioned Threshold, Krell, Levinson, Logan, Snell, Magnepan, Grace, AKG, Empire, Conrad Johnson, Koetsu, Revox, B&O... List is endless. Boils down to perceived value and what your ears like.
Today, almost all my stuff is McIntosh with a few leftovers that can't readily be replaced for less than what I consider to be stupid money. From my perspective, you can spend a lot more money, but you can't get significantly better than Mc. It does what it does, well and without hassle. Are compromises made? Sure, but then everything in life is a compromise and the ones McIntosh makes work for me.
Today, almost all my stuff is McIntosh with a few leftovers that can't readily be replaced for less than what I consider to be stupid money. From my perspective, you can spend a lot more money, but you can't get significantly better than Mc. It does what it does, well and without hassle. Are compromises made? Sure, but then everything in life is a compromise and the ones McIntosh makes work for me.