Why do some audiophiles beat up McIntosh?

Nothing against McIntosh here. Had a MD7007 CD player that sounded pretty darn good, and I have an MR 78 tuner that sounds exceptional.

Harley's underperform? I think not. What are you comparing them to, crotch rockets? I don't think Harley owners give a hoot about going any faster. Had a '92 Low Rider, more fun going 40 mph on that bike then any of my crotch rockets I had at 80 mph

"I have been into audio for more than 50 years & have never had a single piece of Mac equipment in any of my systems."

Paladin,
Since you admit that you have never owned a piece, how would you be qualified to make a blanket judgement on their equipment?
I sell Rolex every day, as well as Audemars Piguet and Breguet. As far as exclusivity and design value is concerned, the latter two beat Rolex hands down, but in the end, they all tell time, and as we also know, a Seiko quartz is more accurate than any of them.

To expound on the matter, I was once told by a jeweler that there are only two manufacturers of digital quartz movements. You can pay 800.00 if you choose, or you can pay 2.00. Either way you get the same movement. SOTA tech is just that, no less.

However, Rolex has it's place and it is in fact on top with the best. Just take a look at any movement. You don't have to be an expert to tell. They're beautiful.

I've owned an MX113 tuner/pre in good shape and was not impressed though.

Frank McIntosh and Gordon Gow both died around 1990 and '91
and were partner's since their first amp they designed together in 1949, the 50W-1. Since their death the company has been bought and sold several time's. Their peak glory day's were during the 1950's and 60's. One example why their quality is not up to the very best is their standard copper glass circuit board's in all their component's. You won't find exotic, very expensive, fluorocarbon resin or teflon or polysulfon circuit board's which have much greater and lower noise level's, as well as the very best caps, transistor's, and resistor's on the market typically found in products such as FM Acoustics, Accuphase, Luxman,
and the absolutely spectacular components from Tidal Audio and what is critically considered the world's finest solid state preamp from Robert Koda, the K-10. A masterpiece. McIntosh make's a good product but it is not the ultimate high end since they have alway's provided a product that appeal's to upper middle class income's.

Because most MAC is sold to rich docs and dentists who use it to play Frank Sinatra which makes us poorer audiopiles both jealous and disgusted. A perfect storm of righteous indignation.