While I have nothing bad to say from my very limited exposure to McIntosh speakers, I thought the LS360s sounded decent for the price, both of the McIntosh dealers in my immediate area have never stocked anything above LS360s. When I inquired as to why that would be when they do stock other brands at competitive prices and even above, their answer was, "there is no demand and no market for them and we would have a hard time selling them, however, we would be glad to order you anything you want". The few other high end dealers that stock incredible amount of high end gear, will usually just smirk and shake their heads in disapproval when McIntosh speakers are mentioned.
And so it goes, you ask about McIntosh speakers on other high end forums and out of 30 to 50 replies you get, maybe 1 will say something positive about them.
This prejudice against McIntosh is hard to overcome when people never have an opportunity to audition them for themselves and have to rely on opinions of an overwhelming "negative" majority out there. With the XRT1s for example, costing a whopping $35k, there would be very few people willing to commit to them unless of course they audition them in person and trust their own ears and stand their ground instead of being overcome by the inevitable negative comments should they ask opinions of others on most of the forums and start doubting their own ears. After all, the majority can't be wrong....
McIntosh gear falls much into the same "audiophile bad rap category", had it not been for the positive reviews in the recent years from the major mags out there and dedicated fan forums such as this one with the positive opinions and experiences spilling out into others, although still an uphill battle, I don't believe McIntosh would have the sales numbers it has been enjoying recently.
McIntosh needs to work with their dealers. There needs to be more exposure of McIntosh products to the audiophile community. If the dealers are hesitant to commit to stocking the upper end of McIntosh, McIntosh needs to "step up" and have if not a dedicated demo gear program with so many units dedicated to dealer demos then at least a "revolving demo inventory" that can be left on display at dealers for some time to get people to come in and listen for themselves and then moved to other dealers so they can do the same. Dealers also need to increase brand awareness if they are to increase their sales. Taking down info from potential customers such as address and/or a phone number and inviting those customers to come listen to the new products when they arrive does not take much of an effort but a post card or a simple call. I've been invited numerous times by the high end dealers in the area to come audition many different gear but I have never gotten any invitation from my McIntosh dealers, moreover, my McIntosh dealers are not even aware of the new McIntosh products themselves! A question about an MT10, XRT1s and MC2301s was met with raised eyebrows and a blank stare from both of my local McIntosh dealers. I had to order the MDA1000 and bought the MCD1000 sight unseen and unheard, relying on the satisfaction of the many members of this forum. My dealer said that was the first MDA1000 he has seen or sold and to call him and let him know what I thought. I don't live out in the boonies either. This is just sad.
How do you feel about this: Does your dealer stock adequate amount of McIntosh gear? Do they stock adequate variety of McIntosh speakers? Do they have a dedicated room where they can set up and let you audition McIntosh gear with McIntosh speakers and do them justice and a fair audition? Do you feel they can do better?
And so it goes, you ask about McIntosh speakers on other high end forums and out of 30 to 50 replies you get, maybe 1 will say something positive about them.
This prejudice against McIntosh is hard to overcome when people never have an opportunity to audition them for themselves and have to rely on opinions of an overwhelming "negative" majority out there. With the XRT1s for example, costing a whopping $35k, there would be very few people willing to commit to them unless of course they audition them in person and trust their own ears and stand their ground instead of being overcome by the inevitable negative comments should they ask opinions of others on most of the forums and start doubting their own ears. After all, the majority can't be wrong....
McIntosh gear falls much into the same "audiophile bad rap category", had it not been for the positive reviews in the recent years from the major mags out there and dedicated fan forums such as this one with the positive opinions and experiences spilling out into others, although still an uphill battle, I don't believe McIntosh would have the sales numbers it has been enjoying recently.
McIntosh needs to work with their dealers. There needs to be more exposure of McIntosh products to the audiophile community. If the dealers are hesitant to commit to stocking the upper end of McIntosh, McIntosh needs to "step up" and have if not a dedicated demo gear program with so many units dedicated to dealer demos then at least a "revolving demo inventory" that can be left on display at dealers for some time to get people to come in and listen for themselves and then moved to other dealers so they can do the same. Dealers also need to increase brand awareness if they are to increase their sales. Taking down info from potential customers such as address and/or a phone number and inviting those customers to come listen to the new products when they arrive does not take much of an effort but a post card or a simple call. I've been invited numerous times by the high end dealers in the area to come audition many different gear but I have never gotten any invitation from my McIntosh dealers, moreover, my McIntosh dealers are not even aware of the new McIntosh products themselves! A question about an MT10, XRT1s and MC2301s was met with raised eyebrows and a blank stare from both of my local McIntosh dealers. I had to order the MDA1000 and bought the MCD1000 sight unseen and unheard, relying on the satisfaction of the many members of this forum. My dealer said that was the first MDA1000 he has seen or sold and to call him and let him know what I thought. I don't live out in the boonies either. This is just sad.
How do you feel about this: Does your dealer stock adequate amount of McIntosh gear? Do they stock adequate variety of McIntosh speakers? Do they have a dedicated room where they can set up and let you audition McIntosh gear with McIntosh speakers and do them justice and a fair audition? Do you feel they can do better?
uke:
