Mcintosh - Love Em' or Hate Em' ......Why?

Sean, so knowledgable and informative as always, thanks.

I still have a pair of MC-60's that have been modified with upgraded parts and were good enough for my ears that I ran them for 10 years straight without nary a thought of any change. Ignorance is bliss, right?

I still love them because they always represented to me what reproduced music could sound like. This is a dated statement, from the late 60's early 70's to be exact. I feel MAC represents solid engineering with a history of technical support that has never been equaled and should be be a model for the rest of the industry. Their workshops are legendary. There is more to reproduced audio than just SOTA sound. I know for certain that my MC-60 are no longer Class A Recommended Components (Stereophile 1964 along with the Marantz 9's) but they are a classic product that are still musically satisfying and will probably survive my grandkids.

I personally love what this company represents, value, good engineering and customer support. They still understand the value of customer loyalty. If most of the rest of American Industry could say the same. Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned but these things are very important to me. Thumbs Up to MAC!

I have owned McIntosh gear since 1984. My current system consists of 2 MC7150 amps, C42 pre-amp, MVP831 dvd, MCD7008 cd changer, MR78 tuner modified, MQ101 equalizer to go with my ML2C speakers modified with Mac tweeter towers, + Sonus Faber Grand Piano's. I'm addicted to Mac. The sound, look, quality, engineering, and the company itself. Audiophiles go one way or the other with their opinions of Mac gear. That's perfectly fine with me. The products and company work for me. Their durablity is also is remarkable, which to me is very important. I've heard to many horror stories about guy's spending a good deal on a component only to have it being fixed a short time later. My problems with their products since 1984 have been minimal.

I, too, used to think -- McIntosh?? But since being exposed to a friend's Mac equipment, I changed my opinion. His MC2000 tube amp is quite good, although I still like my VT100 MkII better. My friend also had a MC 352, huge solid state amp, with the autotransformers. I liked the sound, rich and big, a little soft on the high end. But, hey, no amp's perfect.

I don't know about the transformer argument. Most tube amps have transformers, and they can sound more transparent and clear than solid state.

Hate the sound, love the looks.
They are great for weight traning and boat anchors however.

I am probably the "Latest" McIntosh owner posting here -
just moved up to McIntosh from Adcom in the past six months - and I love the sound of my system & so does just
about everyone else who listens!
I have an MC150 Amp, a C712 Pre, MR-73 Tuner (which my
local Mac repair service restored to it's original glory!)
and drive Thiel 3.5 speakers. My CD is the new Music Hall
MMF-25 and everything - even DVDs sound just wonderful.
I am enjoying a very smooth, detailed sound which I can
listen to for hours on end.
Perhaps of equal importance - I'm more interested in
the music I'm playing than the equipment I'm playing it
on!