2. amps-preamps
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Why do some audiophiles beat up McIntosh?

I've been around audio my entire life. I'm 45 and I bought a decent Technics system when I was 12 with my paper route money. Genesis speakers built in New England which were actually pretty darned good. I would spin vinyl every single day to the point it drive my parents crazy. My buddies father had a McIntosh system that I was in love with and he was allowed to play it. It was haunting for me to hear his fathers system.

Fast forward 28 years later and I'm perplexed at the hatred I see posted online about McIntosh. Is it really that bad or is everyone upset that McIntosh is so successful? It doesn't make sense to me that the resale value is the best in the business yet audiophiles bash them. I personally have always loved their gear and sound. I don't own any, and probably never will. Still, I just don't get it. I've always admired McIntosh. Looks aside, I always enjoyed the music. Can someone tell me that they're junk or do you just not like the presentation?
donjr
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 
"what sound improvement benefit is there to be had by putting and output transformer on a solid state amp"

To make it sound more tubey maybe?
phd
1,320 posts
 
Mapman I used to own a more recent Mcintosh solid state amp with autoformers (output transformers) and in my opinion, what I found was the midrange and highs improved considerably when compared to direct coupled Mcintosh amp. However the bass seemed to be more loose.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

"02-26-15: Larryi
The output transformers are spun on a jig in a matter of seconds (compare with how quality transformers are meticulously hand wound); I also did not see anything that suggests that the windings included the complex interleaving that McIntosh was famous for in the past."

Yes I heard this also, if your going to have a transformer hanging off a solid state amp, god knows why,
it should at least be interleaved. They stoped doing those a long time ago, as it was so labour intensive.

Cheers George
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Phd, now comparing two identical amps with and without autoformers would be very interesting. I didn't know they made such animals.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
I'm with Georgelofi, for the life of me I can't imagine why they still put trannies are on their ss amps?
When Mac started, they provided a level of quality, durability and consistency that was somewhat unique for the era. They seem to have fallen behind in terms of innovation.
Every time I've heard Mac gear I found them to be lacking in dimensionality and transient response. Not my cup of tea. YMMV.
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