McIntosh -- good for show, not for sound, says dealer

I use to own MC601 mono blocks and matching preamp C52 with klipsch speakers never ever sounds good or no synergy at all I sold them bought Parasound A21+ and P6 and here we go everything sounds right 

my wife love the looks on Macintosh and she always giving me a compliments with Parasound she don’t care 🤷‍♀️ 

since then I own a lot of power amps  JC1, JC5,SIMAUDIO MOON, CLASSE CA2300 Plinius 103 and more but anthem STR amp I use to own also sound dead code with my speakers 

matching right amp to right speakers is super important 

@hilde45 + 1

“jjss49”

Interesting summary of manufacturers recommendations of speaker / amp combos.

We prolly need a registry that summarizes the manufacturers’ recommended speaker / amp combos.  
 

My experience is that McIntosh makes some great sounding, relatively high value products, and some that are mediocre and overpriced "lifestyle" products.  I really liked my MC452.  Direct coupled MA352 not so much.   MHA100 went back in the box within hours.

MC452 was $7500.. FOR 450 WATTS.  By comparison the Pass Labs X350.5 was $11,550.  I don't see that as a ripoff. 

Maybe if the MC452 sounded like a Denon receiver, but it had authority, detail, dimensionality, and that unique McIntosh autoformer tone that I've never heard replicated from another manufacturer.  Not as nuanced and refined as some competitors and pricier amps I've owned (PS Audio's Paul McGowan described Mc as a bit "heavy-handed", which I think is accurate), but really enjoyable and very musical nevertheless.  I now have a system that I feel strikes the right balance I've been searching for with an Allnic preamp and Luxman power, but sometimes I take a step back and find my listening habits too fickle and analytical whereas with the McIntosh I could easily get lost in the music.

@eugene81 

with the McIntosh I could easily get lost in the music.

Ding ding ding! That's the criteria the video guy hauls out as the ultimate test of an audio system. The fact that McIntosh does that for you -- and I assume many others, here -- is about as good a refutation as one could hope for. The only reply the video guy could make is, "Well, you don't know what really good sound is like." To which the only answer is, "Go home."