Budget Gateway Reissue?

Chris - I love the romance of everything you just spelled out. However, the crop of talented techs continues to dwindle as they retire or die off. The interest in pursuing a career in repairing consumer electronics is hampered by the disposable nature of 95% of it as well as the general dis-interest in taking any job that doesn’t pay $100k a year while you text and surf the ‘net on the employers time.
 
Yea, and I thought I would start in HIFI back in 1977 part time to meet girls, now that would have been a fools errand!

I spent 10-15 minutes talking to the national and a few more talking to the regional for Mac a few Thurs. ago.....they re clamoring to find ways to lower the median age of Mac owners.

I do not think they understand or know the "romance" of the parent or grand parent, uncle, neighbor, passing on the interest or appreciation of a fine McIntosh system. The certainly is a tradition and history there.

They are spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to catch "fire in a bottle" of quick young new owner sales...I think they are ignoring the lessons of the past and because of the warranty and other service backlog upsetting the owners they have.

I was talking a number of years ago to a VP of a local bank.....he told me it cost his section $1750.00 of advertising and promotion to gain a new customer.....to replace the multitudes that would bail on them for a $20.00 overdraft charge.

Sometimes your best promotion is right in front of you.
 
With the amount of debt some kids are coming out of school with I believe reality will hit eventually...

If you are going to train people you need projects for them to get started with. projects that would expand floor traffic and add value added sales would seem to me to be a win win situation.

RR seems to still be sharp and active. Maybe he would like to lend a hand or at least some wisdom to take a fifty year belated 2nd swing at a C26II preamp upgrade program.
 
Refurb doesnt help the factory, unless they tool up to provide improved replacements for the more volatile bits, and are prepared to provide replacement transformers for every model ever produced.
 
Transformers? That would be like Mercedes stopping their certification of preowned because of tires.

McIntosh parts already tries to offer parts for many of the "more volatile bits".... see volume control posts.

Service training, possible new replacement boards, added value to trade ins, more floor traffic exposure to new product that adds the current features, many are attracted to the used price but are known to step up to new.
 
Transformers could be helpful to restore otherwise recoverable examples with defective or missing trafos. Not getting your tire anlogy on them. Tho' essential, tires are an inevitable expendable, like tubes. Trafos are essential functional infrastructure, like the drivetrain.
 
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Instead of rereleasing throwback units how about a factory engineered?, restoration program, with factory certified updates, modern redesigns of known problem areas, digital controlled volume controls for example, maybe even new boards.

The key part would be to have this work done locally at the local dealer. Make it a profitable program for the dealer, get added traffic into the store front and train the personnel to be able to take the warranty service burden off of beleaguered Landon at the factory.

That would certainly be interesting. Maybe build on some of the experience of some of the better known rebuilders and then introduce new options as you mentioned.
 
IE power transformers are commodities still made by a number of suppliers or rebuilt by a number of companies that will build you a custom one if you so desire.

Output autoformers would need to be supplied by Mac but since the still have the same machine and as of a few years ago person building them that could be overcame......since they hardly fail anyway.

Looking for any reissues without a large backlog of collector price inflation would be especially doubtful.

However, how many grandfathers for example might try to steer their grandchild with the first real paycheck burning a hole in their pocket towards a restored piece of Americana vs. a throwaway quick fix purchase.
 
IE power transformers are commodities still made by a number of suppliers or rebuilt by a number of companies that will build you a custom one if you so desire.

Output autoformers would need to be supplied by Mac but since the still have the same machine and as of a few years ago person building them that could be overcame......since they hardly fail anyway.

Looking for any reissues without a large backlog of collector price inflation would be especially doubtful.

However, how many grandfathers for example might try to steer their grandchild with the first real paycheck burning a hole in their pocket towards a restored piece of Americana vs. a throwaway quick fix purchase.
Parts and maintanance programs would fall into the same goodwill low profit category as Dave O'brian's clinic roadshows. Finding the appropriate demographic by making them aware of the product line appeal thru venue exposure and authorative contemporary endorsement is always going to be the challenge.
 
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