—Ninety Minutes with McIntosh and Other Components—
McIntosh has an aura around the brand that screams, “look everybody, I’m a rich and arrogant asshole!” I liken McIntosh buyers to people who buy $300,000 Lamborghinis when they live in New Jersey - or any other place where they get a lot of snow. The sound of a McIntosh amplifier is okay. At just over $18,000 (Canadian dollars), an audio salesperson was trying to get me set up with a McIntosh amp/pre-amp and the CD player to match (price for CD player unknown). I didn’t love or hate the look of the gear. At $18,000 on sale, they had better sound better than my Bryston amp/pre-amp. Unfortunately, they didn’t come close to the way my Bryston components drive my B & W 802s. More on that in a bit.
I looked over at a much less expensive set-up. I told my friend/salesperson I wanted to compare the heavyweight Rotel amp/pre-amp and Arcam CD player they had set up already to the McIntosh components. I had him hook up the McIntosh first, and then onto the Rotel/Arcam mix. He had the B &W 802 D4 Reference floor standers handy. I asked him if we could audition both sets of components on the B & W speakers. It was a miserably rainy day with little foot traffic, so he obliged my request. I own the same B & W speakers, so I am familiar with their plus and minus nuances. At around $18,000 Canadian, I have found the B & Ws to be well worth the money. I scored a fantastic deal on them two years ago. A special thanks to my friend who works at our city’s largest high-end audio dealer.
My friend was certain the McIntosh gear was going to knock me off my feet, leaving me impressed with the great sound. All I can say is that I would put my Bryston amp/pre-amp and CD player up against the McIntosh products any time. The sound went as loud as you would ever want, and the lower end sounded fantastic. The midrange and high end was lacking. I know it wasn’t the speakers, as owning a pair, I know the sound really well. Then my salesman friend hooked the B & W 802s up to the Rotel and Arcam set-up. At one quarter of the price, I can honestly say that this mix of components sounded excellent. The Rotel and Arcam components were all set up to use balanced cables. Both the Rotel and Arcam had decent DACs. If you are on a moderate budget, buy the Rotel amp/pre-amp for sure. I liked the sound of the Arcam CD player a lot. So, again, if you are budget conscious, I would consider the CD player too. I wish I had written down all of the models I auditioned. I didn’t, but the Rotel amp was huge with it’s matching pre-amp. It had to weigh close to 50 kgs. All I know is that there have to be a lot of happy Rotel and Arcam owners out there. In all fairness, someone buying the Rotel or Arcam components probably don’t have a good pair of B & W floorstanders. My audio dealer sells a lot of Monitor Audio speakers. He says there is an excellent money spent to sound achieved ratio (his words, not mine). I’m not sure what model they were, but for around $4500, the Monitor Audio speakers would be on my list if I needed a second stereo. If I had a mid-range budget, I would strongly consider buying a pair.
My overall conclusion to this 90 minute listening session is, components with the most well known names often don’t live up to their reputations.
