McIntosh - is it that great?

Back in the late 70's/early 80's I worked in the high end audio business and always loved the McIntosh equipment we sold, but thought I'd never be able to afford to own it.

Fast forward a few decades and I enjoy a McIntosh tube preamp and solid state power amp, which pair very well with the other equipment I own.

I do have a stack of PS Audio equipment, as I enjoy the SQ of their DirectStream DAC and their power conditioning equipment, it also pairs well with the McIntosh separates.

I've heard other setups driving the Focal speakers I own and (IMO) the McIntosh amp I own drives them better.

ejr1953,

nice system there. I use a MC462 (with two JL e112 subs) on a pair of Thiels and I imagine the Sopra 2 is a perfect match. I am looking to pick up a pair of used Sopra 2s or Revel 228be/328be sometime this year. The revels match well with Mac gear too.

To the original poster. Yes I think Mac gear is worth it, if you don’t mind spending money on looks (I don’t to a point). It sounds nice, is built well and looks nice. It has pride of ownership which is part of highend. 

It’s iconically great-sounding gear and THAT’S the reason its value is comparatively inflation-proof. Like Nak’s analog cassette decks, it’s the target at which other brands (Sunfire, PL, Carver, Pioneer SPEC, Superscope Marantz, etc) have paid the ultimate compliment by similarly voicing (and designing) their gear. Essentially, they gave the rest of the industry something at which to "plink away". These other manufacturer’s best efforts are similarly collectible now, but along with a few other first-gen designers (Avery Fisher, Saul Marantz’ first designs, et al) "no them-no whomever else-you fill in the blank" that has come along since, is pretty close to being an inarguably self-evident truth. These other (also esteemed) manufacturers exploited the economies of scale. To momentarily argue the flip side of that narrative, the appearance/ergonomics and, deadweight-metric-tonnage build quality is at least 50% of the attraction for most buyers. That annoys McPurists and I’m one of them. But whether it’s the icing or the cake under the icing is for each of us to decide for ourselves.

I will speak to the MHA50 DAC/ Amp for headphones. Answer is absolutely not. There are much better options. Why?

1. Dual DAC isn't always better, but in this case you can immediately tell the single DAC doesn't provide the staging required for the beauty of something like Grado cans. It's there, but not on par w/ the quality of the headphones.

2. The connector tolerances are poor, and others have complained that their 3.5mm jack doesn't fit right. My microUSB jack never fit right, and I had to tape wires and stabilize the unit to get a connection. Very poor for $750.

3. My unit's battery expanded and cracked the glass cover, breaking the touch-sensitive volume control I already hated. Now it doesn't work, and cold-start levels aren't usable. See above - so now it's taped and rubber-banded together but barely emits any sound (in hard to drive cans) so it's useless. Though I wouldn't toy with a defective battery, and this may be charging logic as I kept my connected for ...a year straight (listening 12+ hours/ day at work believe it or not).

4. Service - it wasn't the $300 they wanted to repair my unit, it was the attitude. I have other McIntosh gear and it's solid, but the principle was enough to drive me away. I'll shop other vendors henceforth.

McIntosh power is hard to match. Their amplifiers are absolute in this regard, though the definition, staging, front/ back (usually back-ish) and shape aren't for everyone. You do have to match speakers fairly closely, IMHO, and I had a nice match (old Cantons made in W. Germany, that's how old - and an old non-tube amp) so it was nice, but the mids sounded somewhat pronounced and over-pushed, despite being back in the staging. The low-end power, bass, smoothness, tightness...that's classic McIntosh to me so wire up a monoblock to a sub and go that route, then find something with the finesse you want from the speakers you prefer. It may not be a McIntosh...speakers first, then amp IMHO.

But avoid the MHA50 unless you want to start a fire or replace the battery after a year of use - for almost half the cost of the unit (and surely a 12-week turnaround - no priority for a cheap unit for sure).