2. amps-preamps
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Why do some audiophiles beat up McIntosh?

I've been around audio my entire life. I'm 45 and I bought a decent Technics system when I was 12 with my paper route money. Genesis speakers built in New England which were actually pretty darned good. I would spin vinyl every single day to the point it drive my parents crazy. My buddies father had a McIntosh system that I was in love with and he was allowed to play it. It was haunting for me to hear his fathers system.

Fast forward 28 years later and I'm perplexed at the hatred I see posted online about McIntosh. Is it really that bad or is everyone upset that McIntosh is so successful? It doesn't make sense to me that the resale value is the best in the business yet audiophiles bash them. I personally have always loved their gear and sound. I don't own any, and probably never will. Still, I just don't get it. I've always admired McIntosh. Looks aside, I always enjoyed the music. Can someone tell me that they're junk or do you just not like the presentation?
donjr

Showing 6 responses by georgehifi

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

As not many would understand Pops.

Source:
My own heavily modded CDP switchable input receiver from PM200 HDCD chip to DF1704
PCM1704K (selected) 24bit R2R ladder Multibit dacs.
Very special zero feed back direct coupled active I/V stage, and pure class A zero feedback output buffer.

Preamp:
Of course one of my passive Lightspeed Attenuator

Amplifiers:
Two x ME-850 stereo bi-polar solid state amps 40kg each.
Real tested measurements were
140w-8ohm
260w-4ohm
490w-2ohm
910w-1ohm
The one ME for the ESL panels, is heavily biased into Class A

http://www.me-au.com/me850data1.jpg

http://www.me-au.com/me850data2.jpg

Speakers:
Two latest aluminium vapour deposited Martin Logan Monolith esl panels, almost identical to the new Neolith panel. My own 3rd order hi-pass passive xover at 150hz
Two ACI SV12 bass units best (bass units ever) in 4cu-ft sealed enclosures discrete active 4th order low-pass xover at 150hz.

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

Hey Sid42: Careful, you've been known to bash the transformer coupled ones as well. These are the only ones I and others believe need to be "bashed".

Quote Sid42
"7200 was/is the best amp they've made, and with no autoformers.. In my experience, all the autofromer models had a "flabby, not tight" bass. The 7200's bass is deep and tight." Quote

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

"02-26-15: Roxy54
Georgelofi and Tbg,
Please tell the rest of us which pieces you have owned and used in your own systems that that led you to these conclusions."

I'll turn that around and ask you to explain in technical terms, what sound improvement benefit is there to be had by putting and output transformer on a solid state amp?

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
"02-27-15: Roxy54
I asked YOU what Mac gear you had used in your system that led you to your conclusions. Still waiting for an answer."

How about back in the 70's a pair old school MC275 monoblocks, when they made reasonably good amps, running stacked els57's.

Now you answer, what advantage technically for the sound does putting an output transformer on the rear end of a solid state amp do?
I can think of only one thing that it makes a poorly designed, maybe unstable solid state amp, more reliable and stable.


Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

"02-26-15: Larryi
The output transformers are spun on a jig in a matter of seconds (compare with how quality transformers are meticulously hand wound); I also did not see anything that suggests that the windings included the complex interleaving that McIntosh was famous for in the past."

Yes I heard this also, if your going to have a transformer hanging off a solid state amp, god knows why,
it should at least be interleaved. They stoped doing those a long time ago, as it was so labour intensive.

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

Yes the big blue power meters are a bit Arnold Schwarzenegger'ish.

But to use transistors all the way through on many of their big power amps, and then to whack an output transformer at the end is just nutz, to me anyway.

Cheers George
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