Around the time the Revel Salon 2 speakers came out, (2009) I was looking for a speaker and auditioned them, and thought they sounded good. On the second Audition, the store had them playing on whatever was the current Macintosh tube amps at the time. It sounded nothing like the first audition and asked the salesman to try another amp as it didn’t sound very good. I don’t remember what amp he switched it to, but the speakers now sounded good, as it had previously. That was my first and only experience with Macintosh. Up to that point my completely uneducated opinion was that they were more of a lifestyle product than an audiophile one.
A friend recently told me he would be inheriting his late dad’s Macintosh amp, which I remembered seeing briefly years ago and loved the looks. Excited for him, I asked if it was tube or solid state. When he told me unfortunately it was solid state, the conversation deflated around us.
I think they had put money into fixing it a few years ago as well, so I imagine it could be 30 or 40 years old. Not sure it that makes it better than current.
The friend has his original JBL 4311’s which I always wanted as kid but couldn’t afford. (Which he obviously could, hence the Dad owning Macintosh). I imagine when he has them paired it will make a great looking system.
There were several speakers I wanted as a teenager but could’t afford or convince my dad to buy, including a pair of infinity 2.5’s that tortured me every time I walked into the mall and passed them in the store window, as if they were mocking me. I also wanted Bose 901’s at the time, which were out of my reach as well.
Shortly after hearing those Salon 2’s close to a dozen years ago, I extracted my revenge as an adult, thanks to Andrew Jones, a vapor deposition chamber and the element that occupies number 4 on the periodic table.
