McIntosh, your experience?

@twoleftears , the answers are yes, yes, and YES!

twoleftears

If you have an audio company where all the original principals retired, others have come and gone, and which has changed hands and become part of some multinational conglomerate...is it the same company?

No, it isn’t the same company.

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man." (Heralitus)

But you can evaluate a company for its adherence to design principles, innovation, use of institutional knowledge, customer service, and so on. By those metrics, McIntosh remains true to its roots. Whether that satisfies you is another matter entirely.

Many storied companies have flourished long after its founders have passed, e.g. Leica, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Tiffany.

I agree with @kren0006’s post above. You really need to audition the McIntosh products at your dealer and compare them against comparatively priced products. You then need to let your ears and budget decide what to buy. 

As you obviously already know, everyone has a different opinion on McIntosh products. They either like them or not.

Reading products reviews, Audiogon posts, etc. are interesting but a McIntosh listening session is the best way to decide what to purchase. This applies to McIntosh products and any other audio product.

I’ve owned Pioneer, Yamaha, NAD, Counterpoint, ARC, Pass Labs, and presently have all Mcintosh. The Mac stuff sounds great, looks great, is well built and dependable. It also holds it’s value better than most and I hear the service is very good. I’ve had mine for years and have never needed a repair. The Pass Labs stuff is very good also, and their customer service is fantastic.
ARC makes good sounding equipment but in my experience it blows up a lot.

I have owned several pieces of McIntosh equipment. To quote a previous responder, "...it’s good dependable gear from a good dependable company." Is it as good as Burmester or mbl? I don’t know, because I can’t afford to buy those two brands for a test. I don’t think you will go wrong with any McIntosh products. Try to audition them before purchase, and trust your ears. Resale will be better than most brands when it comes to that.