[Buster Sword]

Hey Guys
I been reading a bit on McIntosh Amps, and by the looks of things (very aesthetic to me) they sure look cool and have some reputation.
IE their receivers, power amps etc.

I wanted to know what you guys thought?
Right now i can't afford it. You need to spend at least 500 on Ebay, so in the store should cost a whole lot.

is there a relation to Marantz?

And esbach said that it has a full watt of power coming from his headphone jack made every midrange instrument pop forward on the a900s, very good for efficient cans he said.

 

[soundboy]

From what I know, McIntosh is one of the grand old brands of hi-fi. It used to be a rival of Marantz, but now both brands are owned by D&M Holdings, which also owns Denon, Rio, and Boston Acoustics.

 

[Buster Sword]

Thanks i think you led me to answer my other question on the forum as well

http://www.dm-holdings.com/eng/about/index.html

Its all Japanese ownership!
Nothing wrong with that, as Japan has been the pioneer of electronics of the world.

 

[m0nKeY bUsiNeSs]

I've heard a couple of their amps and they are indeed worthy of their name an reputation. They do sound really great and are high quality amps that can power just about anything. Although one might consider them overpriced (but that’s all kind of relative).
This was powering speakers by the way not headphones. I really don't have any experience listing to headphones on McIntosh equipment.

I’ve also heard some of there speakers and other electronics too, but since this is the amplification forum I won’t go into those unless you want me too.

Edit:
Oh and by the way the blue power meters look awesome. Most of the McIntosh equiptment looks really classy

 

[Buster Sword]

Please do. An Amplifier is worthless without a speaker, or a headphone.
Besides i love speakers. I am considering mcIntosh for the future.

 

[estim8d]

Mc owner here - awesome pre amp and amp. The solid state amps and pre's sound very tube like. In fact, that's what roger russel from Mc said was their intension. For an example checkout the MC240 TUBE and the MC250 which is solid state.

 

[saturnine]

I heard a 100% McIntosh car audio system a few years back, and it was my most memorable high-fi (speaker) experiance so far. Dunno about their current stuff though.

 

[gerG]

I got to spend some time with a lot of their gear a few years back at CES in Vegas. Very aesthetically pleasing gear, with big blue meters aplenty. The sound was, well, pretty ordinary. It certainly did not measure up to the visual impact of their gear.

I also got to sit in their custom BMW car demo setup, with a bazillion bucks worth of amps, and one of the responsible engineers in the passenger seat. Fun listen and discussion, but I would not have traded them cars based on sound. Their guy got mad at me when when I told him that, until I admitted that I configured my system with only me in mind, and used time delay to set up the image. He immediately changed demeanor and admitted that he would love to be able to use delay and optimize for one occupant. I am certain that they would have kicked my sorry butt if the constraints were changed

gerG

 

[daycart1]

Some of the old tube preamps have headphone jacks. I've never seen any discussion of how they sound....

 

[iomusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estim8d Mc owner here - awesome pre amp and amp. The solid state amps and pre's sound very tube like. In fact, that's what roger russel from Mc said was their intension. For an example checkout the MC240 TUBE and the MC250 which is solid state.

Cos they put the autoformer(output transformer) in the SS amps,that sound tube like! Mc is a great brand.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buster Sword Thanks i think you led me to answer my other question on the forum as well http://www.dm-holdings.com/eng/about/index.html Its all Japanese ownership! Nothing wrong with that, as Japan has been the pioneer of electronics of the world.

Before D&M Holdings, McIntosh was owned by Japanese car audio company Clarion. In its CD changers, McIntosh used OEM changer mechanisms from Nakamichi, the famed cassette deck manufacturer. This was mentioned in a review of a McIntosh CD changer in Stereophile.

 

[LFF]

Mc Owner here as well. I can sure say they deserve thier reputation. All their gear is built like tanks and the sound is very warm and pleasing. Moreover, they still service old equipment so buying used is a safe bet IMHO.

Good luck!

 

[amb]

McIntosh is one of the "love it or hate it" brands. No question about the solid build quality and retention of value, but when it comes to the sound, audiophiles are on both ends of the spectrum with very little common ground...

As for the styling, it's also a love it or hate it affair. While their retro looks work ok with the preamps and power amps, the digital readouts and light-touch pushbuttons on the CD/DVD players and others clash with the theme.

 

[Buster Sword]

Seems like a good product to me then

 

[elrod-tom]

It's a very good product...but there does seem to be a divergence of opinion about it. My experience with it is limited (an old roommate with a bunch of McIntosh gear, and a couple of buddies), but count me among the fans. Their solid state "big iron" power amps were a fixture at better college parties back in the day.