Mcintosh Has Been Sold

[damacman]

Guys, it's important to realize that you, this community, and the audiophile community represent such a very finite audience. It's easy to say, "McIntosh should do this" when you're on the outside looking in. Before you do, answer the following question - would YOU want to start a high end audio company in the age of "I'll buy it online from this guy out of state because I can get it at cost and not pay tax" . . . ? I know I wouldn't.

McIntosh, like many other companies, is bound by an old model - factory employed salespeople manage rep firms who hand select dealers in the marketplace to offer the brand to consumers in the market. Said dealers need to be profitable re-selling gear to pay their overhead and eek out a profit. That means they can't choose to offer brands that are sold on the internet that do not offer them profit opportunities.

We live in the age that the consumer is more interested in cutting out all of the middle men so that they can buy the gear cheaper. Brands like McIntosh have difficult choices ahead to ensure their survival.

 

[Brian]

Believe or not, there are some persons on a budget that would rather have a solid Mc product even if it means doing without meters. If there were no such persons willing to live without meters, there would be no MC275 sales. I actually have never met a customer who decided to buy a Mc because it had blue meters or, any other color. Also, not sure I agree the MC275 is a reason people plop down money for some other Mc product but, if it is true, it shoots down item 1) mentioned as it does not have meters.

 

[c_dk]

According to Berner's site:

Between 1965 and 1985 McIntosh built and their dealers sold over 40,000 receivers (MAC1500/1700/1900/4100), and over 44,000 mid size amps (MC240/MC2105/MC2205/MC2255).

I believe that is 80 units a week at a dealer cost in todays money of what about $1800.00 ea.....3000.00 retail

These were products that we EXPECTED to sell every week....we paid our car payments and house payments with the commissions earned. You did not HOPE to sell them, they were viable value added products that still command high resell prices.

The products did not follow the crowd and depend on "amp of the month review status" for sales but the continuous exposure in hundreds of local showrooms throughout all the country....not just the big cities.

 

[mhardy6647]

McIntosh could do worse than to re-introduce a "legacy version" of the PP 7591 MC-225 (probably my personal favorite Mac product) - or the MC-30 and/or MC-60 (runners up for me).

 

[c_dk]

More legacy dreaming....like that will get a bunch of salespeople excited to sell the brand to the customers wanting multi channel.

 

[gogofast]

Mac has been owned by others than the Mac family for quite a while.

I have been informed that no matter who owns Mac, they are required to keep production in the Upstate NY factory, as well as keep the decisions within a close knit group that have been with Mac for years. Otherwise, no sale.

I only hope that I have been informed correctly.

I don't have any Mac products, but would love to some day.

Cheers

ok, that's a relief. so we're not gonna see a bpc with mcintosh name on it at walmart?

 

[sKiZo]

Nah ... JC Penny is their exclusive distributer now ...

 

[smartin53]

Hey they can sell their stuff at the dollar store for all I care as long as the stuff stays the same quality

 

[bg3009]

It's no surprise that people ignore the group here as being small and niche. But by focusing on real technical innovation and fidelity, McIntosh had built up healthy foundations that carried it for more then 20 years since the first purchase by Clarion. But now, I am constantly seeing nothing but hot air in the form of marketing through many channels to try to push their products. One fact everyone in the board has failed to see, on the pursuit of numbers is the glaring fact that by focusing on their core values, McIntosh produced products that have become cash cows for decades. The profits automatically followed and there was no need for marketing. This has been the same mantra for so many companies in their heydays such as Merck and HP. And they again are a classic example of what happens when you lose sight of your core business. Slapping metal sides and blue meters on with no real technical innovation is only going to go a short distance. Smart people who are smart with their money aren't going to fall for this bull.

Ok enough rant. Now I am back to listening to my MR77 with its unique RIMO filters.

 

[mcintoshmagic]

It's no surprise that people ignore the group here as being small and niche. But by focusing on real technical innovation and fidelity, McIntosh had built up healthy foundations that carried it for more then 20 years since the first purchase by Clarion. But now, I am constantly seeing nothing but hot air in the form of marketing through many channels to try to push their products. One fact everyone in the board has failed to see, on the pursuit of numbers is the glaring fact that by focusing on their core values, McIntosh produced products that have become cash cows for decades. The profits automatically followed and there was no need for marketing. This has been the same mantra for so many companies in their heydays such as Merck and HP. And they again are a classic example of what happens when you lose sight of your core business. Slapping metal sides and blue meters on with no real technical innovation is only going to go a short distance. Smart people who are smart with their money aren't going to fall for this bull.

Ok enough rant. Now I am back to listening to my MR77 with its unique RIMO filters.

But now we can get Power Control cables from McIntosh that are gold plated! GOLD!

 

[mcintoshmagic]

It's no surprise that people ignore the group here as being small and niche. But by focusing on real technical innovation and fidelity, McIntosh had built up healthy foundations that carried it for more then 20 years since the first purchase by Clarion. But now, I am constantly seeing nothing but hot air in the form of marketing through many channels to try to push their products. One fact everyone in the board has failed to see, on the pursuit of numbers is the glaring fact that by focusing on their core values, McIntosh produced products that have become cash cows for decades. The profits automatically followed and there was no need for marketing. This has been the same mantra for so many companies in their heydays such as Merck and HP. And they again are a classic example of what happens when you lose sight of your core business. Slapping metal sides and blue meters on with no real technical innovation is only going to go a short distance. Smart people who are smart with their money aren't going to fall for this bull.

Ok enough rant. Now I am back to listening to my MR77 with its unique RIMO filters.

At least with the McClock you can view it as an advertising piece or merchandise but with the McAire you have something that sets out to represent the McIntosh sound. It would appear it doesn't even have a McIntosh made amplifier inside so I definitely see your point. That's where the line is. I think it's a good idea to embrace things like AirPlay wireless streaming but it should just be an additional "input" on various products along with the CD, Phono, AUX, inputs etc. No need for a dedicated product, especially if they are going to go about it like this. I get the feeling the McAire guts are made overseas and then shipped to McIntosh for assembly.

• Made in USA
• Assembled in the USA with US and Imported Parts
• Designed in Binghampton, NY. Made in China

The second has already happened with the McAire so how long before the third? I'm hoping that never happens. I do have a good feeling the new owners will not let it. I feel the McAire may have been a result of the D&M relationship though McIntosh CEO Charlie Randall did seem very bullish on the McAire in a recent interview so who knows? They already have the MXA60 mini system which is a real McIntosh throughout so why not add AirPlay (and HD Radio) to it instead? Yes, it's more expensive than the McAire but only the McFaithful are going to buy either of these things anyway.

 

[jlovda]

• Made in USA
• Assembled in the USA with US and Imported Parts
• Designed in Binghampton, NY. Made in China

Mcintosh has been making products under line item 2 above for at least 30 years. My C34V had (before recapping) Rubycon Japanese capacitors. I don't know how you can make any piece of electronics that doesn't have Far East components.

 

[W9TR]

I'm suprised at the overall negative tone of this thread. It appears that Audio Research, SonusFaber, Wadia, Boston Acoustics, and Sumiko have thrived under Fine Sounds SpA management.

McIntosh will now be part of a stable of great specialty brands. Hopefully they will be able to share technology, distribution, and marketing horsepower so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I wish the entire McIntosh team all the best, and Godspeed.

Tom

 

[Mike Gibson]

I'm suprised at the overall negative tone of this thread. It appears that Audio Research, SonusFaber, Wadia, Boston Acoustics, and Sumiko have thrived under Fine Sounds SpA management.

McIntosh will now be part of a stable of great specialty brands. Hopefully they will be able to share technology, distribution, and marketing horsepower so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I wish the entire McIntosh team all the best, and Godspeed.

Tom

No kidding, it's almost comical to see folks ready to write them off yet again. I personally wish them the very best. I'm just a vintage hanger on since my disposable income amounts to a few CD's or LP's a month. I started with the brand in 1971 and will continue to stick with it. The only piece I own that has not appreciated is a HT preamp but I knew that going in when I bought it for 2 channel use.

 

[mcintoshmagic]

Mcintosh has been making products under line item 2 above for at least 30 years. My C34V had (before recapping) Rubycon Japanese capacitors. I don't know how you can make any piece of electronics that doesn't have Far East components.

That's not what I meant. There is a big difference in making something in the US with foreign parts and simply having a the guts of it made overseas and shipped to the US for final assembly. Not sure exactly where the McAire fits but I was pointing out that it says "Assembled in the USA with US and Imported Parts" on the back rather than "Made in the USA" as with all my other Mac gear, new and old. So there must be a higher percentage of foreign parts in the McAire to account for this but above all else, when they start using outside sources for their amps rather than buiding their own something is very wrong. Is McIntosh not known primarily for their amps? This isn't a capacitor or a cd drive we are talking about. The amplifier is McIntosh. This is the line they shouldn't cross.

 

[mcintoshmagic]

I'm suprised at the overall negative tone of this thread. It appears that Audio Research, SonusFaber, Wadia, Boston Acoustics, and Sumiko have thrived under Fine Sounds SpA management.

McIntosh will now be part of a stable of great specialty brands. Hopefully they will be able to share technology, distribution, and marketing horsepower so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I wish the entire McIntosh team all the best, and Godspeed.

Tom

I'm hoping the McAire is just a holdover from their relationship with D&M and if so I'm sure FineSounds will get them back on track.

 

[Brian]

You have to understand that McIntosh represents the last of the early American audio company, that group including Marantz, HH Scott, Fisher, Magnavox, Voice of Music, RCA, Motorola, Zenith, Sherwood, Harmon Kardon and many many others. It was the remaining icon of the American audio industry until sold to Clarion. The US companies you mention were not part of the scene back then are time line wise short lived as US owned companies.

I think the sole home audio representatives of this period are Grommes, Grado, and depending on opinion Phase Technology. There are still some early audio companies either no longer in the industry or are in the sound reinforcement/professional market.

I'm talking about US owned companies and where product is manufactured or substatially assembled.

 

[bg3009]

It's not so much about what they make. Docks are so common now and there are more recognizable brands out there. McIntosh has been on this black glass/green illumination/blue meter thing and keep marketing themselves as the "Wall of Sound" guys. And their Facebook tells about rock and roll and that's pretty much it.

My point, which I always try to make, is that as long as McIntosh was doing research and patenting technologies, they came out with great products that still stand tall. They made amps that drove underwater sonars and ran the PA system of an entire US Navy battleship! Everyone from Frank Sinatra to Howard Hughes to John Lennon was a McIntosh listener. McIntosh amps were even used to power vinyl cutter heads and as master mixing amps!

I would have been a happy person if this dock (which is what it really is) had something McIntosh in it. Like McIntosh has invented Airplay or something new and revolutionary. It is reality that components or subassemblies are going to come from the Far East. thats a fact and we have to live with. But what has Mcintosh been really doing over the last 10 years? The way they moved to shook with autoformers and power guard? Or LDHP woofers? Seriously guys, I already see the writing behind all this marketing hype and partying with champagne. When you keep regurgitating the same amps over and over again, lots of people sell out and move on. You'd think you are attracting new crowd, but they would never be like the people here. The people whom just don't buy McIntosh but build a legacy.

After only being able to afford used equipment, Dad and I finally got a brand new MCd7008 we just sat and looked at it, feeling the plastic, in stunned silence that we actually bought something new. Today, my boys along with my Dad still listen to McIntosh. The third generation of your customers who will unfortunately not see the great days we saw in the 70s and 80s. It shakes me to think what McIntosh will be doing when my kids grow up and are ready with their dollars.

Come on guys, snap out of it. Ignore us at your own folly. Screw the market research and build products that people the world over would buy. Don't degenerate into another me too company with multiple product lines and too many SKUs. Stop the reissues. Start afresh and engineer innovative products that people want to buy.

Please!

 

[dewickt]

Here is an interesting note, the answer to an email on when a parts order would be filled.

"While the company is in transition to the new buyers we are not able to authorize credit cards yet. We have packages sitting all over the place just waiting for release. I have no ETA at this time. Soon, we hope."

Sure hope the get order processing moving soon, this can effect my bottom line, I have several units waiting for parts...

 

[drknstrmyknight]

MT10 will become history

So you're the guy that bought the MT10!
(Kidding!)

They killed Snell, pushed the MXA60 onto showroom floors, are courting BestBuy, what next? A red Ferrari themed MP3 player?