Why No McIntosh Recommendations?

No one is saying McIntosh is bad. Each time I have owned a Mac, it has been a reasonably pleasant experience (except for their digital gear or with the materially underperforming USB implementations they keep repeating). The 2275 tube integrated was an underperformer, the 6900 was as well. The preamplifiers and amplifiers, for the money, when compared retail against retail aren't bad. The 275 is eye candy and when compared with other tube amps of similar price isn't a terrible value, especially when you consider resale.

HOWEVER, set down $20k of Mac gear next to $20k of Dartzeel or Nagra or Pass Labs on the solid state side of things or next to Audio Research or Shindo or Leben tube gear (pick your flavor) and you may have a different opinion...or not. That's what's cool about this hobby, we each get to pick. 

Lots of happy B&W and Wilson and Maggie owners with Mac gear. Congrats. Much like classic cars, classic Mac was amazing when compared to many other offerings back in the day when they were developing their brand. There is so much great equipment being made today and contrary to the obits, high performance audio is doing pretty well. There is enough room for all manufacturers and consumers to find happiness.

I really don’t think Mac equipment is actually expensive for what you get. It’s good value for money IMHO (even if bought brand new).

stevecutler,
Thank you for your wise and even-handed comments. When the lights are out, and the music is playing, each amp will have its own sound, and given modern distortion figures are reasonable, they will all be acceptable although different, just like flavors of ice cream. However, over the years, a lot of nose-in-the-air audiophiles and pseudo engineers have enjoyed making McIntosh a target of their derision. 

They love to point to the "outdated " autoformers, the supposed pedestrian quality of their internal components etc., and then call them overpriced even though they cost a fraction of what the most elite high end brands cost. Then they try to shame owners by saying that they are only attracted by the blue meters and glitzy looks, which are in fact far less attractive (to me anyway) than many other more and less costly brands. There are certainly reasonable listeners who have given Mac a fair listen and found that their gear is simply not their taste sonically, but there are many others who bash them as a pastime and really aren't familiar with any of their gear.
Comparing them to Harley Davidson motorcycles and saying that they are outdated status symbols for doctors and lawyers are just stale and meaningless labels. 
You are apparently an electronics technician who spends your time repairing amplifiers, and you may not be familiar with the boutique snobbery surrounding certain brands of capacitors and resistors. In the audiophile world, if you're not using these parts, you can't be a member of the club. You look at it more rationally, as a tech who knows when something is built to do its job and does that job reliably.
Good for you Steve. You have my respect.
John     

@clearthink


Please don't use the old argument that "it must be financial envy why others don't choose to worship what you worship" line of dialogue. Many on this site can afford whatever they want to afford and they vote with their checkbooks. While I don't presently own any Mac gear, I might again in the future, who knows. I love the look, even though unlike many on Audiogon, my gear is tucked away out of sight so I guess I don't subscribe to building audio shrines. I buy for sound and right now, McIntosh sound doesn't align with my tastes but I'm only one person.

I also don't own any Bryston but its cool that McIntosh/Overture used some of their equipment. And yes, the Sonus Faber and Audio Research influence should really help McIntosh R&D going forward. I have high hopes. Listen, everybody has this beautiful freedom to like what they like and buy what they want to buy.

You see recommendation from users. McIntosh users don't have time to tell people how good the gears they own are. More importantly, McIntosh gears are expensive that keep 99% of people away.  I listen Cassette tapes, Cds and other digital sources from Nakamichi Dragon, Oppo UDP205, Mac MX160, Mac MC452 and a pair of Focal Electra 1038 Be. The quality of sound is warm, crystal clear and near flawless. There are better gears on the market, but I don't need them. If you want to know about McInotsh, go to a local dealer and experience it yourself. To know the quality of sound, you need to listen to it.