Interesting comment. I sold off my Bryston pre and power amp to buy Mac. The Bryston gear was excellent, but the Mac is just cooler
Is McIntosh worth it?
- Thread starter epoch5
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Interesting comment. I sold off my Bryston pre and power amp to buy Mac. The Bryston gear was excellent, but the Mac is just cooler
MudPuppy176
Active Member
Not merely cooler, Mactastic!
marantzfan
...
I have yet to own Mac, so I can't offer an opinion. I want to some day, but not if I do it, I want to go all the way not just a "budget" Mac system.
One thing I will say as an outside observer, is that Mac has enough "haters" for whatever reason? It's like the Yankees, Lakers or Cowboys. People either love them or yearn for their timel demise. Not sure why. Krell or Bryston or Levinson don't get that kind of hatred spewed on their names..:scratch2:
Nonetheless, someday when I FINALLY get a nice Mac system put together, I'll let you know. Till then, whats to hate?
One thing I will say as an outside observer, is that Mac has enough "haters" for whatever reason? It's like the Yankees, Lakers or Cowboys. People either love them or yearn for their timel demise. Not sure why. Krell or Bryston or Levinson don't get that kind of hatred spewed on their names..:scratch2:
Nonetheless, someday when I FINALLY get a nice Mac system put together, I'll let you know. Till then, whats to hate?
"You get what you pay for" In my nearly 65 years in this world has taught me to only buy the very best. Anything else is a waste of money since you will buy it again over and over..... To my ear, McIntosh is the best. To my eye, it's built the best. Down the road, parts and repair is also available from many sources, including the factory. How many manufacturers will have parts or will service something that is 30-40 years old? No one I know of except McIntosh. :thmbsp:
Older McIntosh gear can be a good value and sound just as good as anything else out there.
Clyde
Older McIntosh gear can be a good value and sound just as good as anything else out there.
Clyde
imready
it's good to be the king!
Van Alstine is another company that has been around for a while and offers great support and customer service for their gear. I wonder how they compare to Mac ? Personally, I doubt I would ever pay high price that Mac commands. If you do your homework, you can probably find gear you'd be satified with for less money. Many companies over the years have made some great pieces of equipment, sometimes they only got it right once. Guys that have traded their equipment a lot could tell you what to look for,that wouldn't be me but I've been lucky enough to meet one or two. I doubt that I could hear enough difference to justify the expense of Mac but if I could get the right price on one I'd probably buy it just the same.
The Harley thing is definately a bad anology, don't you remember the Harley bikes built by AMF ? I believe Mac has probably had higher biuld quality more consistantly than Harley , but I'm sure like all manufactures, some Mac models of similiar price are better than others.
As far as cigars go , any good african cameroon wrapper will make your lips tingle. The owner of largest retailer/wholesaler in the world has stated many times that there are plenty of cigars rolled outside of cuba that are better than today's cuban cigars. He ought to know and he tells it like it is. That may have not always been the case.
I just had to use "homework" in my post. It's been such a popular word in this tread and you can use one word to encompass damn near everything without actually saying anything. Do your homework!
The Harley thing is definately a bad anology, don't you remember the Harley bikes built by AMF ? I believe Mac has probably had higher biuld quality more consistantly than Harley , but I'm sure like all manufactures, some Mac models of similiar price are better than others.
As far as cigars go , any good african cameroon wrapper will make your lips tingle. The owner of largest retailer/wholesaler in the world has stated many times that there are plenty of cigars rolled outside of cuba that are better than today's cuban cigars. He ought to know and he tells it like it is. That may have not always been the case.
I just had to use "homework" in my post. It's been such a popular word in this tread and you can use one word to encompass damn near everything without actually saying anything. Do your homework!
First a disclaimer - I've never had a chance to really listen to Mcintosh carefully, though I've heard it playing a number of times at some local audio stores. That said, I can think of one area where Mac has produced gear that is definitely NOT better, regardless of price, and that is in newer technologies/formats.
The other day I wandered into the local Magnolia Hi-Fi (I never shop there, just stop by occasionally to see what they've got as they're right next to the supermarket). On a floor display near the counter was a Mc system set up with a small Toshiba TV and some other brand of speakers. One of the Mc components was a $6,500 music server with a CD player built in.
I asked about this and it turns out that:
1) This unit has just a 750 Gig drive;
2) Cannot connect to other servers (say your iTunes library on your PC).
3) You have to burn all the music to it using the built in CD player.
4) It can't be accessed via http, so cannot be controlled with anything other than the Mc remote, and that has no screen so you have to be looking at a monitor to see your playlist.
Compare this to a Sonos, Slimdevices, Control 4, Net Streams, or Roku/Firefly and you find that the Mc delivers a fraction of the functionality for several times the price.
After some prodding, the sales guy admitted that this piece was really aimed at the "loaded" consumer who already has a bunch of Mc gear and wants a music server with the looks to match the rest of his components. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but it's a far cry from demanding a price premium in return for higher quality and functionality.
Just my two cents.
Thor
The other day I wandered into the local Magnolia Hi-Fi (I never shop there, just stop by occasionally to see what they've got as they're right next to the supermarket). On a floor display near the counter was a Mc system set up with a small Toshiba TV and some other brand of speakers. One of the Mc components was a $6,500 music server with a CD player built in.
I asked about this and it turns out that:
1) This unit has just a 750 Gig drive;
2) Cannot connect to other servers (say your iTunes library on your PC).
3) You have to burn all the music to it using the built in CD player.
4) It can't be accessed via http, so cannot be controlled with anything other than the Mc remote, and that has no screen so you have to be looking at a monitor to see your playlist.
Compare this to a Sonos, Slimdevices, Control 4, Net Streams, or Roku/Firefly and you find that the Mc delivers a fraction of the functionality for several times the price.
After some prodding, the sales guy admitted that this piece was really aimed at the "loaded" consumer who already has a bunch of Mc gear and wants a music server with the looks to match the rest of his components. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but it's a far cry from demanding a price premium in return for higher quality and functionality.
Just my two cents.
Thor
Nikko75
Listener and Music Lover
You have summed everything I was about to say. In my unbiased experience I perferred Bryston because of the sound, warranty, price, and they have established themselves as a studio standard. MacIntosh is Excellent too though at a high price.
70salesguy
Only 99 easy payments!
Don't understand the comparison
I don't understand this comment.
Last year, I needed to rebuild the carburetor on my 77 FXE (after 30 years), and I went down to my local H-D dealer and ordered a complete carburetor rebuild kit. It came in 3 days later.
The year before that I needed a replacement rubber grommet for my chainguard, went to the local H-D dealer and ordered it, it was there in 3 days (the part costs $1.00).
BTW, all of these parts are the original 30 year old parts that came on the motorcycle new!
A few weeks ago I went to the dealer to pick up a front brake switch. They had them in stock.
In the 30 years that I have had my FXE, I have never had a problem getting a part for it!
I don't understand this comment.
Last year, I needed to rebuild the carburetor on my 77 FXE (after 30 years), and I went down to my local H-D dealer and ordered a complete carburetor rebuild kit. It came in 3 days later.
The year before that I needed a replacement rubber grommet for my chainguard, went to the local H-D dealer and ordered it, it was there in 3 days (the part costs $1.00).
BTW, all of these parts are the original 30 year old parts that came on the motorcycle new!
A few weeks ago I went to the dealer to pick up a front brake switch. They had them in stock.
In the 30 years that I have had my FXE, I have never had a problem getting a part for it!
Goodwill_HiFi
Super Member
Just the other day a dedicated Harley guy I know was complaining about no Harley dealer within 75 miles having that parts he needed for a 2002 (I think) Road King. He was after the throttle cables. He said that the last time he ordered parts it took awhile, or was back ordered or something. I was surprised.
DeafbyKhorns
Active Member
Have owned just about every piece of tube Mac equipment way before Ebay drove the prices up. Great sound, especially on my khorns however, I prefer the Bryston gear for my main setup now (75% HT,25% Music). I did rebuild a MC240 once with todays parts and the sound was awesome, a mix of old technology with improved parts, probably shouldn't of sold that piece because it is still one of my favorites. Hand matched every part way below 1% tolerances. I have now reached audio nirvana on my two channel system after 25 yrs of trading equipment (100's of pieces) which for my taste is a mix of solid state and retro.
Bottom line, if I was in the early stages buying the Mac equipment again, I would pay todays prices. You can always get your investment back with vintage tube McIntosh equipment.
Bottom line, if I was in the early stages buying the Mac equipment again, I would pay todays prices. You can always get your investment back with vintage tube McIntosh equipment.
In the 30 years that I have had my FXE, I have never had a problem getting a part for it!
Obviously, you are shopping at the wrong dealer, SG!
MrZero63
Well-Known Member
auralfixaton
Hung up on better sound!
Mac Worth
I think its cool that Mac stuff can get fixed as long as one owns it as it seems the manufacturer has the parts from all time and great support from what others have said in this thread.
'Could be wrong though.
I think its cool that Mac stuff can get fixed as long as one owns it as it seems the manufacturer has the parts from all time and great support from what others have said in this thread.
'Could be wrong though.
I'm sure everything this man says is true. I'm also sure that you can get 90% there for a fraction of the money, if you work at it. I'm sitting here right now, listening to a mid-70s Harman Kardon A-402. In its 30+ years of service it has been serviced twice - one simple cleaning, and a second time, a few months ago, that included the replacement of a couple of caps. And after that replacement, it tested up to specs. Are those specs as high as a '79 Mac receiver? Of course not. But they're probably pretty close to its audible limits, and I have a total of about $500 - including the service - invested in it over the course of 30 years, and it sounds really good.
Buying something as respected, bullet-proof and unquestionably exceptional as a McIntosh is, of course, about sound. But there is quite a bit of insurance in there, as well. If you don't have the money to pay for the coverage, you need, instead, to do the homework. And perhaps settle just a bit.
MHO. YMMV.
Tim
titanstats
Go Habs Go!
Still have an A402 somewhere in storage, and probably always will. It was one of the items that got me into this hobby. It got retired when the filter caps died one day -- I've heard they are difficult/near impossible to replace. I'll keep it though -- it was a killer little integrated.
Not too hard to find
On audigon, I found a new 402 amp for $3750, it may have been less, I can't remember, from a dealer who was trying to close out his fiscal year. I have had dealers offer me substantial discounts on trade-ins that were much more than the value of my used equipment. I had an email contact from a guy who promised me any mac gear at a substantial discount, but honestly I never did take him up on the offer. Was it last summer McIntosh had an amp trade-in deal? I paid $1700 for a pristine MC300, used, and I think my local dealer offered me $3000 for it against a new amp.
On audigon, I found a new 402 amp for $3750, it may have been less, I can't remember, from a dealer who was trying to close out his fiscal year. I have had dealers offer me substantial discounts on trade-ins that were much more than the value of my used equipment. I had an email contact from a guy who promised me any mac gear at a substantial discount, but honestly I never did take him up on the offer. Was it last summer McIntosh had an amp trade-in deal? I paid $1700 for a pristine MC300, used, and I think my local dealer offered me $3000 for it against a new amp.
I remember more about the 402 for $3750. I was surfing audigon and had put "McIntosh" in the search box. I scrolled down the list of Macs for sale and noticed the cheapest 402. I opened up the ad and it was a dealer. I mapquested his zip code and learned he was in a city close to where I have family. I called him and he was good for the price. But. I remember now he stated that I might have a problem with the warranty, if I made a claim and Mac saw that I was from another state. The dealer had no problem, though, selling the amp for $3750 to my cousin for my benefit.
Local dealers have on two occasions stated that they would make me a deal I could not pass up. Each time, the deal involved new equipment and a trade-in.
BTW, this entire post has passed lightly over what type of equipment is in the "worth it" equation. Are we talking new at MSRP, or used at whatever the market will bear? Personally, I will not pay MSRP for any stereo equipment, if I can get it for less in near perfect, but used condition.
On the theoretical level, for discussion only, is Mac equipment worth it for the MSRP compared to other equipment when new? Well, this is America where the customer is always right. How many years has McIntosh been proving that their equipment is "worth it?" The fact that McIntosh has been charging and getting MSRP for decade-after-decade makes the question a no-brainer. But again, from the buyer's perspective, only for those willing to pay the price. In the end, it is an individual decision. But from the sellers perspective, who does McIntosh have to answer to regarding the "worth it" challenge? They proved their worth. They can laugh at that challenge--all the way to the bank.
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