new look for McIntosh?

Wow, has this thread become a might testy. More surprising is such a statement as "Unless you are a dealer.... you my friend, are the one on the side lines.........." The customer is not on the sidelines by any means as he is the one at the end of the chain and possibly the most important link in it. Without him, there is no need for the business to exist as it does so only to serve him.

I do not know if Mc is sending photocopies of manuals or not, never researched but it would not be a surprise. I remembe when the MA6100 dealer units were issued, the manual was a photocopy as the final had not come out as of yet. Also, the Manual fir the KLH Nine, at the time one of the most expensive speakers available, the manual was a photocopy but, later you could write to KLH and if they had a printed manual they'd send it to you.

Today, I am surprised they even print manuals, why not just issue a CD or DVD showing the functions, etc. I may be old fashioned in liking the older looks better and not into ICs and opamps in my gear but I can not imagine anyone who could afford even the least expensive Mc piece not having a player.

John, I would caution you that years ago Mc dealers had a terrible customer reputation. A holyier than thou attitude. Customers dealt with them but, did not respect nor like them. Many in comments to Mc pointed out this and Mc finally had a cleaning of the house of the worst. Some of their larger dealers lost their franchise while others went through some extensive attitude adjustment. Happily, we were no one of those.
 
Well it is a new world out there. As a dealer I get a little testy with people think of the good old days and wonder why we canot go back. Or suggest that they know better, Certainly customers are in the mix. But they are not involved in the day to day operation of a company. The people in McIntosh are committed to the finest equipment and customer service they can provide. But new times call for new approaches to marketing. That is just the real world.
 
The idea was that if you can build a better product than Mcintosh then go for it and start your own company... They are reacting to customer AND dealer input. I am in the middle of the activity. Unless you are a dealer.... you my friend, are the one on the sidelines....................

So, what you say in the same paragraph, is that they do react to customer input, but in the end you say that as a customer that I am on the sidelines.

Again, makes no sense and implies the customer means nothing. Was this some kind of slip on your part?

Whatever you are trying to get across is not working. I never said that I knew better, nor am I living in the past. I am not asking Mc to make a 50th anniversary Mc2300, nor should I expect them to. I have seen shoddy manuals or no official manuals and this is the truth. I am not trying to win this the way you are, nor am I trying to get 'testy' as you say. I just expect certain standards as do many others. I guess as a dealer you are just a 'yes man' to Mc. I would rather stay a customer, on the sidelines as you say, and voice my real opinion.
 
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The people in McIntosh are committed to the finest equipment and customer service they can provide. But new times call for new approaches to marketing. That is just the real world.


The world has changed since I became a McIntosh owner and so has my appreciation for their products and services.


Steve
 
So, what you say in the same paragraph, is that they do react to customer input, but in the end you say that as a customer that I am on the sidelines.

Again, makes no sense and implies the customer means nothing. Was this some kind of slip on your part?

Whatever you are trying to get across is not working. I never said that I knew better, nor am I living in the past. I am not asking Mc to make a 50th anniversary Mc2300, nor should I expect them to. I have seen shoddy manuals or no official manuals and this is the truth. I am not trying to win this the way you are, nor am I trying to get 'testy' as you say. I just expect certain standards as do many others. I guess as a dealer you are just a 'yes man' to Mc. I would rather stay a customer, on the sidelines as you say, and voice my real opinion.

Thank you for degrading me by calling me a "yes man" without knowing a thing about me. Buy what you want and set your standards. As a customer you certainly have that right but you have no idea what goes on beyond your limited view. And THAT is MY real opinion.
 
Guys you all seem to be beating a dead horse here. There are many ways to look at an audio company like McIntosh. The consumer has one perspective as the end user, the dealer has another and looks to a supplier to be a business partner, then there is the manufacturer who wants to build products that are popular so the factory workforce stays employed and the company thrives so as to continue to serve the existing customer base.
The consumer has the least experience with product in that they only use so many pieces at a time. Conversely, the consumer is the end user and diligent research and feedback are constantly needed to plan future products that both appeal to the customer and maintain the feel, flavor, performance and essence of McIntosh.
The dealer may have extensive experience with the product since they may have sold it for decades and are successful. The factory has the most experience with product since it engineers and builds all of it and deals with customers on a world wide basis.
Whenever a new product is introduced there is always some amount of push back on the web blogs. This is the nature of the web. Any change is usually criticized without knowing of why the change was made. The regulatory environment that an audio company operates in is unknown to both the consumer and the dealer for the most part.
When new model prototypes are shown at non-consumer trade shows complete information is not available as these are trade events. Once the new model final product is released then this turns as the improved design will win over.
In the debate on this thread I guess everyone is right as you are all coming from a different place experience wise. Please keep this in mind.

Thanks,
Ron-C
 
another new pic for you guys
314865_10150493799137575_329223937574_11474216_895318972_n.jpg
 
Happy to know Mc is growing with their new products. Hope MC205&MC207 will still be around.

Would like to appeal for a new Mc Receiver like the MHT (of the late 90's?). There aren't luxury receivers in the market that's worth mentioning today. What could be interesting is also to have a product range that will screw bose out of their own market. So, and all-in-one entertainment system that does HT and 2-channel, with sat speakers and woofers, in a small package. Mc deserves to rule anything AV. Or even through a subsidiary company by Mc.

Folks who know nuts about AV think Bose is high-end. B&O also. sigh.

Long live Mc.

enit.
 
Ron, thanks for that reply, hopefully it will settle down some of the contributors in the thread.
ron-c does an excellent job representing McIntosh (his employer). However, once he is retired, it will be interesting to read his 'expose' (where's that damned accent aigu) of life at McIntosh under the 'old guard', Clarion and D&M.

Would like to appeal for a new Mc Receiver...........
What is wrong with the MA6600 with TM2 module (HD/FM/AM)? Makes the MA6600 a 200wpc receiver, which is not only their most powerful ever, but uses their latest 'ThermalTrak' output transistor design and receives HD radio along with FM/AM, and to top it off, is the only McIntosh receiver to have ever included autoformers and balanced inputs. What more could you ask for?
 
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The scheme in which a known manufacturer of higher end products offering a more affordable line of similar product in order to capture a greater market percentage is hardly anything new. Auto manufacturers have done it. McIntosh did it with Stereotech. To my knowledge, most of these attempts were not a success. The reasons for this are as numerous as they are varied. Without casting any judgement, I would simply say that it will be interesting to see how well these new McIntosh products fare in the marketplace- assuming what you say is true that McIntosh will soon be offering a more economical line- with or without a new look.

When I bought my first new McIntosh they offered quality lower priced equipment like the C712 and the MC7100 late design. I started with some small Klipsch speakers and ended up with a very nice sounding system for about $3500. The dealer had a one year full value trade in program. So I saved my money and upgraded the speakers and amps finally landing on the Chorus II's and the MC300. I kept the C712 because I could not hear enough difference to justify an upgrade. That pre-amp got a lot of bad press but I found it to be a very good pre with a remote.

My point is if I had not gotten started with the lower priced McIntosh equipment I would have just kept my Luxman system and been just fine with it. The other point is there was not a sacrifice in the build quality of the lower priced equipment. The MC7100 looked as good under the hood as the MC300. Obviously the MC7100 had to use a toroidal transformer because of the slimline design. I am sure other electrical components may not have been the best available.

What is really going to affect their sales is the elimination of dealers in smaller towns. That coupled with there refusal to let dealers sell new equipment and ship it to customers who really don't want to drive long distances to carry it out of the dealers shop.

Already McIntosh has lost one new equipment sale to me, a C2300 and will soon lose another new equipment sale to me an MC275. My next purchase will be a CD player. Once again McIntosh will lose a new equipment sale.

Soon I will be setting up a surround sound system and will use McIntosh equipment. Since I can no longer drive a couple of miles to a dealer that was cut off a few years ago, I will rely on Audio Classics and mcintoshaudio dot com to buy good quality used McIntosh equipment. The only thing I lose is the higher price and two years of warranty coverage.
 
another new pic for you guys
314865_10150493799137575_329223937574_11474216_895318972_n.jpg

The funny thing about this picture is that it looks good because the MC275 is not hooked up. If it were you would have a tangle of cables all over the place. Why can't McIntosh design a new tube amp similar to this with connectors on the back where they belong?
 
Looking at the whole thing in various perspective, I can only gather Mc is trying to garner some affluent customers who mostly have garish tastes. Serious tube listeners will have to look elsewhere in Mc's present and past line-ups for their next flings. While most of us are letting out steam in here, Mc is going to put their thoughts to where the money is. With the Management and the rich customers. That's business sense and it is a step in the right direction for them. Money-wise.

'I don't want the labor pains; I just want the baby' Al Pacino said in Ocean's 13. The labor pains have been had 50 years ago. What we see here is a step-child. This ticks all the boxes for Mc because it then satisfies everyone. Now they are drawing on the development that the original team had made - the discoveries, the patents, the green lighting, the Name. But they leave nothing in place for the next 50 years. No more patents, no more innovations (green lighting don't count), nothing. When you visit RR's site of the halcyon days of McIntosh, the company went from strength to strength. 'Since the Clarion take over, McIntosh has not filed any more patents' laments RR. The industry is full of examples as to what happens with such companies - Garrard, Dual, Grundig, Telefunken, Nordmende and so on. The complacency in Mc's board room might think that D&M is there to see that such a fate does not fall on Mc. But what good are you when you have spent all that so carefully was built up by the masters? When you have re-issued and pimped and commemorated everyone and everything? You are no longer the jewel in the crown any more. You simply reflect off the glitter from other jewels- you no longer radiate your own Aura anymore.

I am sure these questions resonate in the minds of many people here. But Mc isn't going to talk to us or ask us.
 
But what good are you when you have spent all that so carefully was built up by the masters? When you have re-issued and pimped and commemorated everyone and everything? You are no longer the jewel in the crown any more. You simply reflect off the glitter from other jewels- you no longer radiate your own Aura anymore.

Right on. This hits home. After reading this, I started to take some more stock in my own views. I may be making Mc out to be more than it really is today. Deep down I am just taking offense to the current clowns running the Mc big top.

Maybe they are not the jewel in the crown anymore. And this is sad to think they are becoming or are a 'has been' company. Ah, well, at least I met Ron Evans and talk to Roger Russell. These people are Mc to me, and represent the best of American innovation. People I look up to. Oh, yea, and a present employee Chuck Hinton is the man too.

Time to ride my unicycle over to the nearest dealer to pick up that Mc275...hope they still have room for me on the list...
 
I think maybe Mac is just becoming less unique than they used to be
although they still make some very nice stuff .
 
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