Why the hate for mcintosh amps?

People love to hate everything these days.
That's why. 
For me - sound quality + appearance + value = McIntosh. 
I started my McIntosh journey about a decade ago and I haven't looked back. 

I fell in love with McIntosh equipment the 1st time I heard them back in 1974.  I wasn't able to afford anything until 2004.  I will never buy any other amplifier.  The look great, they sound great, and they hold their value.

local tech owns a bunch of vintage mac gear. his system sounds (and looks) exquisite. i've never owned any and probably won't - i've had the opportunity to purchase some of the stuff but even putting the price to the side, the vintage merry go round just isn't for me anymore.

local dealer has the new big boy macs set up all pretty in their hifi room and they look very cool and "serious", but at the end of the day i don't make doctor money, and if i did, there are other brands i'm more interested in. but i'm with you, i don't get the hate - definitely a rolex/harley vibe attached to the brand but all of them are iconic for a reason

I have read that having a McIntosh repaired can be a crap shoot. Sometimes it will come back with shoddy work being done depending on who benched it. But to be fair that could happen with other brands. I also think that when a brand is purchased by a larger conglomerate profit is the goal not the sound quality, I also like to speak with ownership when I have a problem that is why I have PS Audio and Pass Labs gear. When it comes to service after the purchase I would challenge anyone to name two other companies in the industry that do a better job.

McIntosh must be doing something right. I reckon they sell more high end audio equipment than any other manufacturer out there. I collect wine as another hobby - this reminds me of the wine boards where the “cognoscenti” will trash a successful wine producer for nothing more than the wine being successful and more mass produced than some obscure label. Buy what you like and like what you buy!