• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Owning McIntosh over the other big dogs, what's it like?

canuckaudiog

canuckaudiog

On a quest for high fidelity
Hey AK,

I was just wondering a little more about the McIntosh brand of vintage equipment and wanted to hear those who own it, their thoughts on it.

In my mind, my perception is kind of like this.. brand wise, I put these guys together:

Pioneer
Marantz
Sansui
(and some others but these are the main 3 in my mind)

And then for some reason, I feel like McIntosh is in a class of its own. Those of you that own McIntosh, what are your impressions of it as a brand over the other guys? I am personally a big Sansui fan because of their nice warm sound. But then again not a lot own McIntosh and I haven't been able to hear the impressions of say McIntosh vs. a similar Sansui. Are they in the same class, does McIntosh beat it?

Main reason I ask is maybe I should start sourcing out McIntosh gear and set my sights on that.. but like I say I have no experience with it as a brand, so help me out you McIntosh owners :)
 
Register to hide this ad
Understand upfront that I believe that modern amps, when operating within their design limits, sound pretty much alike. So it may surprise some that I bought a McIntosh Integrated amp. ..My reasons:

- Build quality. The unique feel of the knobs, switches, metal-work, glass-panel, etc.. is unmistakeable. Like those who buy an expensive watch even though they know it's no better at time-keeping, I enjoy the stellar fit/finish of this beautiful McIntosh amp every time I use it.

- Wattage Meters: Though perhaps not 100% accurate and dismissed by some audiophiles as needless, I love being able to refer to the meters to make sure that I'm well below the danger zone with respect to my speakers. ..That said, I have yet to move them past 30 watts and at that level it is crazy loud.

- Bass/ Treble/ Balance/ Mono controls are eschewed by purist designs but are included with every Mac pre-amp and integrated amp I've ever seen. I can't fathom how any music-lover could abide owning gear that doesn't have this. ..The often made claim that these features negatively affect the sound, even when they are not in use, is pure audiophile quackery. ..When zero'd or off, they do NO harm, but when listening to a poorly recorded song (or a song with gimmicky stereo imaging) they can make the music soooo much more enjoyable.

- Heritage. I absolutely love the fact that Mac gear has been made for so long and through all the years a common aesthetic has been preserved. To me, the black glass face, silver-edged knobs, and backlit green lettering is striking without being gaudy.

- Hand-built in the USA. I don't bash products for being "Made In China"; indeed, I own tons of foreign built stuff and make no apologies for it. …That said, it's nice to own something built here in the US just 3 hours from my home.
 
Quality hardware but it has a certain sound signature.

Generally, when I was a regular member of the Sansui group here, the Mcers were always coming by to hang out, and and seemed worried that Sansui stuff sounded 2x as good at 1/10th the twice.

We always tried to console them though that, gosh, Sansui vintage wasn't that inexpensive.
 
Just a couple other qualities to add to ODS's analysis:

Longevity/Durability- McIntosh gear can easily be the last you'll ever need to buy because it lasts- actually making it more economical in the long term.

Serviceability- Numerous sources of product support including Mc itself for most any McIntosh unit ever made.

Resale Value- If & when you need to trade-up or sell, McIntosh gear retains a higher percentage of original cost than that of most any major electronics manufacturer. Again, this translates to long run economy.
 
I don't know what all this talk about McIntosh longevity is about. When I got my MC60 amplifiers, one of the tubes was bad.
And the amp was only 53 years old!

True story. Seriously though, I think the previous posters have done a pretty good job describing what I guess could be called "the McIntosh difference". They're fun to own and play with, and historically have proven to be a better than average investment.
 
Let me give you a more anecdotal and very recent impression:

A few months back I had in my possession a Pioneer SPEC-1 & 2 and, prior to that, a Perreaux 2150B & SM-3. Granted, the Pioneer was ~ 37 years old, and the Perreaux set ~ 27 years, both broke down after several weeks of mild use, while paired with my Focal Chorus 807v bookshelf speakers. Now, in terms of sound quality, both sets of units were bass-heavy and dark, and a general bore to listen to. I could live with them, had they functioned, but I quickly realized I wasn't about to sink my small bank account in the deep, treacherous sea of vintage restoration. After selling both pairs of equipment, I happened upon a classic AK "score": the famed McIntosh MC 2505 - for pocket change. Headed home and right off the bat I was amazed as, when I plugged this 42 year old behemoth in, it lit up, the meters bounced, and the amp balanced out the bright Focals as it immediately began belting smooth, strong & clear sound. I didn't even need, or use, a Pre. Over forty years old, and this McIntosh had the sound signature and endurance to floor the competition and fill my room with lush sound. The kind of sound that makes your knees weak, and your mind wander, and your body sink far into your sofa. Truthfully, I am in my early twenties, but I don't see my audio or amplifier configuration changing anytime soon.


*An interesting note: In my 12' x 15' room, set up in the way you may see, below, in my signature, the MC 2505 rarely breaks milliwatts to fill my room with sound; the measured 50-watt output is out of the question, since 10 have my paint peeling and dog howling.
 
Without a doubt, Sansui, back in its heyday made some mighty darn fine equipment in regards to amplifiers, and recievers, both stereo, and quad. I've owned quite a few.

I wouldn't call much of them warm, quite the contrary, they offered highly detailed, dynamic sound, deep wonderful bass response, useable tone controls, and features, pretty decent tuner sections, and IMO, I would say Sansui was one that very closely approached what McIntosh achieved during that heyday 70's era.

Of course that era, where Sansui made such tank like build quality gear is gone.

And although McIntosh has traded hands over the years, they still IMO make some of the highest quality equipment, and retains high value for the money spent.

The two MC-2105 Amps I bought new in 1974, are still kicking somewhere, as I sold them a few months back. Neither ever failed, not even had a lamp burn out in either unit all those years.

Only about 12 years ago, I had re-lamped both Units, due to the fact I had decided to go inside, do a good cleaning, and dusting, and since I was going to be in there for a clean-up, decided to swap all lamps for new as only a safeguard.

Otherwise, the only other service I did to them was just normal maintainence that one should do with any-all gear, such as cleaning the RCA Jacks, and Terminal Strips with Kontak Cleaner, cleaning the Glass Faces, and Waxing-Polishing the Walnut Cabs.

Right now, I'm actually running a mint Sansui QRX-7001 out to two JBL 4430 Studio Monitors as a temporary crutch, until I again decide to again buy another, more modern Mac Amplifier.

My heart is set on a current model MC-452 Amp. Now, if I can only scrape the needed funds together! That Amp should carry me till the grave, and that is my intentions, to buy the "last amp I'll ever own".

The Sansui is not at all shamed being in my current system temporarily, it sounds very nice, not much is missing versus the MC-2105, except for wattage rating, and as well, it is another Unit that has never seen a repair shop in its lifetime.

Both are testaments to how gear should be made.

The run time of those two mac Amps is something I couldn't even guess? Literally tens of thousands of hours of run time. Mark
 
Last edited:
good gear all -but McIntosh equipment is just built to an almost unbelievable standard of durability-if the U.S.M.C. built audio equipment they would probably out source to mac for the parts.
 
Thanks for all the input guys, I much appreciate it.

Seems like the going theme is "built like a brick **** house" as in, these units never break down. A testament to their build quality it would seem. As a consumer that's quite reassuring.

I think the reason I mentioned Sansui is because, like markd51 said, they approached what McIntosh did with their equipment. Well, OK, maybe not the same type of build quality considering how well vintage McIntosh gear is working today. But I digress, I see something like the AU-20000 and it makes me think of similar things to a McIntosh amp. Same looks, similar sound characteristics, etc. So that's what ultimately has lead me to think, maybe I would like McIntosh the most?

Well I've got one Sansui amp to buy, because around these parts McIntosh is non-existent.. but I am going to set my sights for one in the future because it sounds like that is the way to go for me!

Thanks again for the input, it was fun and interesting to read your accounts of the brand.
 
Something else to consider, the early generation solid state and tube amps can actually be worked on by an owner. I have rebuilt 2 MC2100s, an MC2105 and recently a 49 year old MC40. The 40 is a true "Frankenamp," 95% of the components got replaced. When I received it, it had bumblebee guts splattered all over inside. It now has magnificent sound with a pair of Mullard KT66s driving it.
 
I have owned Sansui, JVC, Pionner, Kenwood,tried a NAM Audio, had a Sudgen .... all great stuff in general but when I landed a Mac 6100 ( which is a cheapo lets be honest)... it was a slap in the face. No colored sound, no need to add bass or treble ( unless the recording is bad) just wonderful sound. Sure there is a bit of snobism owning one and lots of bashers who declare "'my modern 10WPC amp is sooo much better than your "mac") but I don`t care . Its my ears that love it. If I find better.. I will have no problem selling it ( for the price I got it for or more )but I don`t see it happening ( NB I have not yet been able to hear the famous Leben.... but at 10 times the price I paid for my mac is it 10 times better???).

I listened to some high end amps in a hifi store a few months ago and they were excellent ( clear sounding and precise ) but most were under 20 WPC and to my ears the pure sound was not there ( Sorry I can`t listen to Zep on a 15 wpc amp.) As there is no coloration the mac is great with classical, jazz and rock. My amp was serviced ( cleaned and verified by a mac tech) before I bought it. The shop said its good for 20 more years and if ever I want to sell its very easy to sell.
 
Last edited:
I have no real reason to visit your Sansui thread but since you are here.....

Back in my first weeks of being a part time sales guy at our local Playback in the fall of '77 I swear we had a burgundy chassis metered Sansui amp on the floor for a week or so. I can remember no preamp, it never got put into the "amp" display with the Phase Linears etc and soon was sent back to corporate. It was an anomaly but it did leave an impression since months later in Seattle it was either 2 of these amps or 2 Crowns that were driving stacked Dahlquist DQ10s while I was hanging out with the manager of the local hifi store awaiting my train back east.

Was there a Sansui amp like this back in the day?
 
dtmirr said:
Something else to consider, the early generation solid state and tube amps can actually be worked on by an owner. I have rebuilt 2 MC2100s, an MC2105 and recently a 49 year old MC40. The 40 is a true "Frankenamp," 95% of the components got replaced. When I received it, it had bumblebee guts splattered all over inside. It now has magnificent sound with a pair of Mullard KT66s driving it.
Click to expand...
Yes........... think this is key to the longevity and unique sound of the early McIntosh solid-state and tube amps. Simple, unique and elegant designs. Am running the reissue GLs in the MC30s and find them to be at least the equal of the RCA 6L6GCs they replaced.
 
What's it like? Well it doesn't suck! McIntosh is hard to beat. I also own Accuphase, Marantz, and Pioneer gear. All good stuff but it's not Mcintosh. I have never owned Sansui. I am sure Sansui is great stuff but I have a feeling I would still prefer McIntosh. The only vintage gear I have heard that I liked as much as Mcintosh was the Marantz 8b and model 7. As far as my own gear second place would go to Accupahse. I really like my Accuphase gear but my favorite is my McIntosh.
 
I'm waiting to hear what McIntosh can do for me. I have a beautiful MC2105 that I bought from an audio dealer in Portland and now all I need is the C29 preamp that I bought from Tom Manley to be delivered. In about four more weeks the two shall meet but until then my Fisher 500C still puts a smile on my face when I power it up. The Fisher won't be retired but the with the addition of the McIntosh I'll have the choice between tubes or solid state.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom