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Mcintosh MC901

Just 2.5" under a yard deep(!) I wonder what equipment furniture will be able to accommodate these for the all important visual access to the meters. I'm not convinced about the advantages of passive bi-amplification (or indeed any multi amplification except in pro applications) but a nice solution for those who are and who have the means.

Vaguely reminds me of the Altec 770A dual crossover amplifier with 30/60 watts.

altec_lansing_770a_electronic_crossover_biamplifier.jpg
Available as an option for Barcelona and 9846 owners ...
 
Was the choice on the Altec 500/800 HZ or did it also include 1200 hz.

500/800 Hz selectable. No 1,200 Hz according to the manual.

The 770A was available separately as well as being built in to the self-amplified version of the Barcelona. Not to derail but a pair of self-amplified Barcelonas just came up for sale locally along with a McIntosh MX113 they had been used with. Price though...:crazy:
 
For Millionaires. Kooky, but cool! Agreed, a smaller version would've been more useful I think. Designed and aimed at a special niche.
 
I know I am in the distinct minority here, but audio products like this make my eyes gloss over. To be sure McIntosh probably has customers lined up to buy these amps. It won’t be me. Perhaps this is why I no longer subscribe to the audio rags. Too many products that I would never buy and are overpriced in my opinion.
 
And yet in a blind-fold ABX test, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference with an amplifier costing $16,000 less than the MC901 monoblocks :biggrin:. If you’ve got a bag of money and want some kewl blue meterz and light bulbz, then go for it, but I wouldn’t.
I like them. As others have stated, I hope they make a less powerful version. I would have to wait for the used market to come-around though and that's just a matter of time.

So, your here just to tell us too many things in the 'high-end' audio equipment world are too expensive? By the way, I don't think your in the "distinct minority" here. It's just people know and understand what "some" equipment cost and don't let their eyes get "glossed over".
Not that they’re “expensive” per se, but rather unnecessary. It’s no different than buying a gold-plated toilet seat. The same results can be had with something cheaper, long lasting, good looking or not.
 
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And yet in a blind-fold ABX test, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference with an amplifier costing $16,000 less than the MC901 monoblocks :biggrin:. If you’ve got a bag of money and want some kewl blue meterz and light bulbz, then go for it, but I wouldn’t.

Not that they’re “expensive” per se, but rather unnecessary. It’s no different than buying a gold-plated toilet seat. The same results can be had with something cheaper, long lasting, good looking or not.
Well there you have it folks.
 
I like them. As others have stated, I hope they make a less powerful version. I would have to wait for the used market to come-around though and that's just a matter of time.





So, your here just to tell us too many things in the 'high-end' audio equipment world are too expensive? By the way, I don't think your in the "distinct minority" here. It's just people know and understand what "some" equipment cost and don't let their eyes get "glossed over"
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Let us know when your pair arrives.
 
A view from the other side of the cash register...

Can you imagine all the thousands of wasted man hours demoing these white elephant to all the lookee lous, in this case the listener lous.

To maybe sell one pair a year a typical sales person would be wasting hours of real opportunity to meet his car payment, house payment or whatever while hoping to make the BiG sale in some future quarter.

And of coarse all these JGH want to bees will insist on a take it home demo.....

4 turns a year is the traditional metric to determine if a unit can be displayed, other than maybe a dozen big city dealers this product would not pass the smell test with any accredited CPA let alone the local banker.

I can come up with more but it would seem to me Mac's management is off it's rocker with a direction like this........
 
I have the feeling many of these amplifiers will be destined for the Far East and other parts of the world. Not necessarily the US.
 
A view from the other side of the cash register...

Can you imagine all the thousands of wasted man hours demoing these white elephant to all the lookee lous, in this case the listener lous.

To maybe sell one pair a year a typical sales person would be wasting hours of real opportunity to meet his car payment, house payment or whatever while hoping to make the BiG sale in some future quarter.

And of coarse all these JGH want to bees will insist on a take it home demo.....

4 turns a year is the traditional metric to determine if a unit can be displayed, other than maybe a dozen big city dealers this product would not pass the smell test with any accredited CPA let alone the local banker.

I can come up with more but it would seem to me Mac's management is off it's rocker with a direction like this........
Oh I don't know - dealers in SoCal, Texas, AZ, and Florida will likely have success with them. I bet they sell 50prs to dealers in fairly short order. If I were a dealer, I'd buy two pair so I could satisfy a New In Box request same day - strike while the iron was hot.

I like these kinds of products.

Edited 'cuz I had one too many zeroes on 50! Lol ...
 
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There is a Market for High end audio. These amps are aimed at the folks buying Wilson Chronosonic XVX’s or Egglestonworks Savoy SE’s. They are competing with D’agastino Progression or Momentum Monoblocks. I know it may seem strange around here to fathom these things. But folks are buying high end gear. I swear it’s true.
 
Has anyone else read the book by Trout and Ries titled "Marketing Warfare" or the essays they published in Twice magazine back back in the 80s?

In essense a view of marketing from the viewpoint of SunTzu writings "the Art of War", it could be argued that some of the recent moves of McIntosh's management is too much in the vein of the book "A Bridge to Far" instead of "The Bridge at Regemen" ( the books not the lame movies)

I will also point out that Gow's second purchase order for XRT-20s came out of my purchase order pad back in 1979, Jon McQuire gave him the first. Soon after there was a heated exchange in the back office between myself, the shop owner and our controller and it was soon quite apparent whose ass was certainly on the burner to justify the considerable investment.

I just do not see the justification for such a product as most dealers are trying to find ways to engage with a guerrilla marketing campaign against the big kahunas such as Amazon and other mail order outlets.
 
Oh I don't know - dealers in SoCal, Texas, AZ, and Florida will likely have success with them. I bet they sell 500prs to dealers in fairly short order. If I were a dealer, I'd buy two pair so I could satisfy a New In Box request same day - strike while the iron was hot.

I like these kinds of products.

They only sold 96 or so pairs of MC3500s back in the day........and I know that Fran, who I spoke to weekly, still had one pair securely anchoring a corner of her stock room in 1979. This was a decade after they were first introduced.

Ten maybe 15 pair, floor planned for 6 months and then blown out as demos.......my guess.

A few pair sent out for review to get some ego strokes......
 
They only sold 96 or so pairs of MC3500s back in the day........and I know that Fran, who I spoke to weekly, still had one pair securely anchoring a corner of her stock room in 1979. This was a decade after they were first introduced.

Ten maybe 15 pair, floor planned for 6 months and then blown out as demos.......my guess.

A few pair sent out for review to get some ego strokes......
Oh lordy - 500prs!! Lol ... that should have read 50 pairs!!

That's an interesting tidbit about the MC3500s indeed ... wow! You should've bought them and squirreled them away.
 
Fran did many a favor for us and we for her........getting sold and delivered two of the last 3 pairs of ML2 mediterannians should have qualified for a medal.
 
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I'm not going to read up on that amp, nor anyone else opinion on it.

Mac has really lost direction with what they are putting out lately. That amp is so ugly you could give me one for free and I still wouldn't use it. In fact I'm getting down right embarrass for them and how they are tarnishing their rep.
 
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