Do true audiophiles own Mcintosh gear

If you've ever been to CES and compared the MAC showroom against the other audiophile rooms, you definitely get that Mercedes Benz dealership feel at the MAC rooms (more like suites).

They are not trying to impress audiophiles with that setup. They are definitely trying to sell status.

I've got nothing against Mc's and their sound, but I do have a question. Would their sales suffer much if they no longer had all those pretty blue lights and VU meters?

I suspect that audiophiles would recognize their quality for what it is, but the folks looking for impressive and status gear to be admired by friends (not audiophiles) would pass. I like little black boxes with glowing tubes sticking out! :-)

This question seems to pop up every couple years. I guess Mac has been around so long that all kinds of opinions, myths, etc. have been perpetuated through the years. In this hobby a salesman or friend can say something to someone just starting out in the hobby and it be taken as an absolute and passed on.

Like many companies, Mac has had their good and not so good. As someone alluded above, Mac grew a great reputation in the yearly years of audio. But they had some lean years in the 80's and early 90's, this being my opinion. Since the late 90's I believe they have been producing some great products.

Like any hobby, you will have those that do not agree.

Anyone can look at my system and see I have Mac, but those claims made above that state I own it for status or to impress don't work for me.

Also, I have owned many other brands through the years, Levinson, BAT, Rowland, Pass, MF, I didn't just buy it because of some lore of old. But I do admit Newbee, I like the looks, including the blue meters. :)

I think taking away the lights, meters and glass panels would cause Mc to lose some of it's attraction. But the quality and sound would remain. It's a package that sells and changing it could cause many to look elsewhere.

Whom, interesting thread.

What is the true definition of a true audiophile?

Myself it's all about music and trying to recreate the ultimate sound within my space. No piece of gear is perfect nor the best and every persons individual tastes will differ, that's why there is so much gear available. I don't care what the brand name is but I do have concerns of reliability of the product I choose.

A high end dealer where I'm located always has Mac. 1201's, 501's, pre C1000, da1000 and usually a server (300 or latest 750 as a source) in their main room with Lev., Krell, Cary and others comparing. Every time I seem to drop by the Mac gear is playing and the others are sitting not being used, why?

To me right now I have lived with the Mac. 501's and 300 Server and have to say they are marvelous products, are they the best? What is the best? Are they reliable? Yes. Do they have a pleasing look? Yes. What I can say is I just turn them on and forget about them and enjoy what they can provide which is music.

I have tried allot comparing costing two, three times the price and still have them in my system.

I just bought a pair of Pass X-600.5 to compare, almost double the price of the Mac 501's and I'm also looking at getting the Cat JL2 Sig. which again is allot more. I personally find matching gear is very important, so far I have been very successful mostly using tube pre's with solid state amps. It's like a recipe, you have to try different ingredients to ultimately get the end result you are after but in the end someone could still say you are either lacking some salt or there is too much.