McIntosh -- good for show, not for sound, says dealer

I cannot imagine this has not been mentioned, as I skimmed through the 1st page and came here. The definition of an audiophile is : An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a live, musical event / performance. This is at the heart of the matter. There is no mention of brand, or even price, in these definitions. If you care about the " sound ", you are an audiophile. Mac, to me, has a sound. So does Pass. I bring up Pass, because on another thread, someone did not " care for " the Pass sound. It ALL has a sound, and....our individual ears, all " want " a sound. Some have found it, with whatever gear they have, and others, are still on the search. Whatever makes you happy and, engages you to the musical performances we are listening to. There are many ways / pathways of getting there. Enjoy what you like.

McIntosh has just announced the replacement of the MA 8900 with the MA 8950. The new model has 50% greater dynamic headroom, similar to what they have done with their other newer models such as the MC462, MC611 and the MC 1.25. I would be curious how the 8950 would compare to the Luxman 590 AXii.

@laoman No that is not what I was saying at ll. Just that with the majority being in North America hence the passion for McIntosh gear either way, and the popularity of the brand in this forum.

@thecarpathian Spelling police LOL. Sure glad I do not own one cause I sure can't spell it.

In early 2017 I purchased a Nuforce STA 200, based on a mag review. After owning it for a month, with 24 / music running through it, I sold quite a number of power amps, locally, from my collection. A Mac 2105, with the wood case, was one of them. Compared to the Nuforce, it was muddy, spitty, edgy, closed in, and distracted me from my enjoyment of the music. Of course, I never had it serviced, although I did replace the speaker barrier strips with nice 5 ways ( that was not easy ), and replacing the power cord with a 12 gauge I made from HD stock ( very easy ). Cap replacement needed ? This comparison in my system, and many others, had me sell many amps from my collection. An audiophile acquaintance nearby owns a 452, and he LOVES it. I personally prefer dc coupled designs....