Mac-Sonus Combo Savings

The promotion doesn't exactly put McIntosh speakers in a very favorable light, does it? o_O I wonder if this signals the end of the venerable speaker line from 2 Chambers Street...:idea:
 
I was going to say some things that I have thought about and have come to a different conclusion. Its summer and times are slow, and they are trying to Give S_F some recognition, I guess. I would rather they had kept their speaker department and build their own speakers. Sure they all needed to be updated, and I guess this was the easy way out. It just proves Mac is no longer at the helm of its ship. Let's keep our fingers crossed. If they had included the 2.1K speaker I wonder if that would have helped. Its built by S-F after all.
 
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Honestly, I don't think these companies can do it all. Sonus Faber is owned by the same parent company as is Audio Research and Sumiko. S-F makes great speakers and that is all they do.

Got that but I'm not sure the Mc/S-F connection is generally known. Even so, it's still rather odd for a manufacturer to integrate products from a competing manufacturer in a sales promotion with those of its own. Might be a different story if McIntosh was out of loudspeaker manufacturing altogether.

I do suspect this gentle "nudge" by Mc towards non-Mc speakers doesn't bode well for the the future of McIntosh-produced speakers. I could be wrong but this is my interpretation.
 
All of their recent marketing moves (especially the two new products that they introduced last month) seem to be pointless and self-defeating. Even the McIntosh fans on this board gave a big "who cares" to those two products. This seems to be more of the same for a company that's going to kind of evaporate just as Oppo and Shure have done over the past couple of months...
 
Lets face it only us old timers that buy a CD once in a while. Most folks are out for connivence and with the communication companies installing new transmitters and receptors on light poles and power poles to increase bandwidth and speed to allow streaming in realtime for 4k and possibly 8k. They may be trying to figure away to kill off Direct TV and Dish and the need for DVD players is almost null and void, too. So except for TT and LP's its all streaming . I can imagine in 20 years Broadcast TV will be obsolete, radio already is. With Apple Airplay and Androids version in 2018 autos, Only talk radio needs AM. FM isn't needed either. So Mac has to go digital, and deal the best they can with the new forms of communication.
 
All of their recent marketing moves (especially the two new products that they introduced last month) seem to be pointless and self-defeating. Even the McIntosh fans on this board gave a big "who cares" to those two products. This seems to be more of the same for a company that's going to kind of evaporate just as Oppo and Shure have done over the past couple of months...
If I was McIntosh, I wouldn't pay much attention to the opinions expressed here as most of us aren't in the market for new speakers anyway. Heck, I've owned three pair of McIntosh speakers (two pairs of XR-5s and my XRT22s) and the most current pair is three decades old. Mc would have closed up shop waiting on me to buy a new pair speakers . . .

I've heard a few pair of the S-F speakers and they're just not my cup of tea. But then again, I seem to be in the minority as most really like them.
 
Let's face it your XRT 22's are pretty special speakers. Only XRT 30 and 290s may out class it. I know XRT 26, 1K and 2K don't. I have a looks problem with all of Macs linear arrays excepting the XR 290. I don't mean to defame your 22's they are great speakers, but just wouldn't have been accepted in my house hold by my better half. She was use to large speakers having owned some herself and sold some while working at hifi shops. Things like large Altecs JBL's klipsch horns didn't phase her in the least. But not only did she not like the looks of IK and 2k she couldn't stand the sound. She thought 290s were acceptable. And that was a very high rating from her upon first listening. She did like Snell's A7 Phantom. You'd blush at how she described some speakers, Her favorites to hate were any JBL with a ring radiator, Bose, Magneplanar, Tannoy, KEF, Quad, and a hole host of New England speakers. She did like KLH 9's but said they needed some woofers. She would listen to XR-7's 19's and 22's, In fact she rather liked the 22's she just wasn't fond of the looks. I asked her about placing them behind some oriental screens and her eyes lit up. She was into oriental art. I thought about stepping down to XRT 28's when we first talked about going to HT but there wasn't really a matching center channel. So I stuck with what I had and found speakers in smaller sizes using the same drivers for the center rear and sides. I wish i could be fond of the DD series JBL they are not that bad and they do make complementary center channels. But I still prefer line arrays over horns. So Like you until Mac decides to let Roger design them a new series of speakers, we will just enjoy what we have. I have 3 favorite Mac dealers and I communicate with them from time to time and when something comes along thats great I at least here from two of them personally or all three by personal e-mail. But that hasn't happened lately. They were all after me when theMX 151 first came out and they new I was looking to up grade my phono sound so I got emails when the MP 100 arrived. None sell the TT's I'm looking at. But went one to Munich High end show and said I would appreciate the SME the most. But if he becomes a Clear audio dealer I'll see if he changes his tune. He does quite a business with Mac TT's. I found a dealer that sells both SME and Clear audio So I may have to make a trip.
 
I would like to seriously listen to the XRT2.1K’s to see how close the SF guys came to heritage McIntosh Line Arrays sound.

Owning the XR290s, XRT20’s and XR19s it is hard to imagine giving up the line source array benefits of clarity and dynamics. But always willing to listen to other flavors.

I am going to be in Denver for Eagles reboot with Vince Gill along with Jimmy Buffet at the end of the month. While there dropping by Boulder to the PS audio factory to listening to their IRS V listening room to hear what Arnie Nudell’s Dipole line arrays offer comparred to Roger Russell’s best forward radiating line arrays. The opportunity will show me the PS Audio’s FPGA Direct Stream DAC and BHK amps. Supposedly they are getting closer to a speaker Finalization that employs Armie’s last speaker design he was developing before passing. Not ready to give up my big honkin McIntosh amps and speakers. Being open minded is a plus as is hearing different gear.

Anybody know of McIntosh Dealer in Denver carrying the SF and McIntosh stuff. Would love to hear MC611s and MC1.25KW amps.
 
Back when Gordon was running the company Listen up and he came to understanding that they would agree to dis agree. The last time I was at the main store on Pearl st in Denver they didn't have anything I really liked. They weren't a good Mac store then either. I think that was 2013. I prefer to nose around at LMC in Phoenix, but I'm not fond of them either. There was a Store near San Diego I liked, the store in my Home Town in Santa Rosa closed down, The people in Downtown San Francisco are great as our the folks in Portland, and San Antonio. The little store in Eugene was friendly and of course Audio Classics has always been my favorite. There are a few stores near Palm Springs, Dallas and Houston I cruise through from time to time, too.
 
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Back when Gordon was running the company Listen up and he came to understanding that they would agree to dis agree. The last time I was at the main store on Pearl st in Denver they didn't have anything I really liked. They weren't a good Mac store then either. I think that was 2013. I prefer to nose around at LMC in Phoenix, but I'm not fond of them either. There was a Store near San Diego I liked, the store in my Home Town in Santa Rosa closed down, The people in Downtown San Francisco are great as our the folks in Portland, and San Antonio. The little store in Eugene was friendly and of course Audio Classics has always been my favorite. There are a few stores near Palm Springs, Dallas and Houston I cruise through from time to time, too.

Do you remember Howard Sound in Denver - pre-1972-ish?

I have some fond memories associated with the store at Pearl and Exhibition Streets in Denver. First for pizza. The pizza joint there in the early '70s had a great stereo with some humongous Aztec (Local) speakers in the main dinning room, TT, R-to-R and McIntosh tubes (probably an MC275) running the whole thing from behind the counter in the small waiting room. So when you walked in the door, you saw the glowing Mc tubes up behind the counter in the little waiting room. Oh and the pizza was really great.

Soon after ('72 or '73), I was back in that same store spaced (now the brand new ListenUp) buying a new pair of B&O 5700 speakers.

Later in the '90s (I'd long since moved to CA), I went back into that store and the first thing I see is an MC 275 not more than 10 feet from where the pizza place had theirs. Told that the sales guy there who actually remembered the pizza place - called Straight Johnsons.

However, I've not been back since (as I don't live there) so I'm not sure what's up at ListenUp now. Seems like since 1972 they've really built up the place from one stereo shop to large business with several shops, home theater installations and pro audio stuff.

So, to be clear, I'm not recommending or un-recommending the current ListenUp, just noting that they (per their website) carry both Mc and Sonus and have stores in Denver and now Boulder.

I'm not sure about the state of "high-end" audio stores in the Denver area now or if any other dealers carry those brands.
 
I would like to seriously listen to the XRT2.1K’s to see how close the SF guys came to heritage McIntosh Line Arrays sound.

Owning the XR290s, XRT20’s and XR19s it is hard to imagine giving up the line source array benefits of clarity and dynamics. But always willing to listen to other flavors.

I am going to be in Denver for Eagles reboot with Vince Gill along with Jimmy Buffet at the end of the month. While there dropping by Boulder to the PS audio factory to listening to their IRS V listening room to hear what Arnie Nudell’s Dipole line arrays offer comparred to Roger Russell’s best forward radiating line arrays. The opportunity will show me the PS Audio’s FPGA Direct Stream DAC and BHK amps. Supposedly they are getting closer to a speaker Finalization that employs Armie’s last speaker design he was developing before passing. Not ready to give up my big honkin McIntosh amps and speakers. Being open minded is a plus as is hearing different gear.

Anybody know of McIntosh Dealer in Denver carrying the SF and McIntosh stuff. Would love to hear MC611s and MC1.25KW amps.
You definitely want to stop at this shop as well ... https://www.homeaudiosound.com/
 
You definitely want to stop at this shop as well ... https://www.homeaudiosound.com/
Yes thanks a place to hear a pair of XRT26 and JBL Everests in same store. A rare opportunity.

Looking at spec sheets the everest DD6700 even with the dual 15 inch woofer does not get down below 31 Hz. A different approach and probably not noticeable by most. My wife decided to listen and watch a Phantom of the Opera DVD. The opening scene where the chandelier falls and the organ starts was beyond phenomenal impact with using McIntosh’s line arrays that hit 16Hz indeed another XR290 wow moment. As was every song thereafter. Even though and old movie it delivered. It would be achance to see if the everest is the great center channel as @twiiii has mentioned previously.
 
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The promotion doesn't exactly put McIntosh speakers in a very favorable light, does it? o_O I wonder if this signals the end of the venerable speaker line from 2 Chambers Street...:idea:
The easiest way to figure this out is to determine if Mcintosh has engineers for speaker design with the retirement of Carl Van Gelder. I know he helped design the XRT2.1k but who is there now? From the Sonus Faber interview, they didn't really know how to design line arrays. Sonus Faber makes excellent speakers but they don't cover enough range for my use. My speaker are for both home theater and music. Also, I haven't found anything at the price point that image better than my XR200s. I feel that's really the strong point of the speaker.

I like this video
 
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