I never gave McIntosh a chance, hearing for years they sounded poor for doctors and lawyers, etc. Well, I heard a system in a store one day and I said this sounds great, live almost, he said it is our McIntosh system. My jaw dropped, long story short I have McIntosh longer than Levinson, Rowland, ARC, Luxman, and to this day my system just makes music so enjoyable. Seems you always kick the big dog, on top of sonics they are soooo reliable and hold their value.