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

@jjss49 My apologies....

What are you talking about laoman? It doesn't need to be in any quotes at all. Putting the word done in italics is perfectly fine.

I think it is clear laoman just despises Americans and our great iconic brands.

I'm not sure that anyone can conclude that any brand of audio equipment is all bad, or all good. It appears to me, that how great a particular amp or set of speakers sounds, is not absolute with all amps or speakers.

It seems that how good any amp sounds, depends on how well it mates and synergizes electronically with a particular set of speakers, compared to others. How the design, and how much current, or voltage, is produced by the amp, the damping factor, the impedance, etc., etc. compared to what is required by the design of the speakers is far more relevant to how one combination sounds compared to the range of alternatives, than the brands of those combinations.

It does not seem that one can generalize that one brand amp, or another, will sound great with all types and brands of speakers – because they don't. I've found that true with the variety of amps and speakers that I have had.

I recently decided to try Harbeth speakers – the 30.1's and the 40.2's – which I have. And, I found that several of the amps I had, did not seem to drive them to their potential – the Harbeths didn't have the dynamics and clarity, and the mids and bass were not as controlled as, I had heard them present with other amps – specifically, the Hegel amps. Or, the McIntosh MA252 or MA352, which are two newer amps by McIntosh, which are tube / SS hybrids. Both the Hegel amps and the MA252 / MA352 amps provide the utmost in bass control, dynamics and clarity with both the 30.1's and 40.2's. I got the Hegel HA590 integrated SS amp to drive them, which drive the Harbeths to their full potential. I would not have kept the Harbeths, had I not found the amps that can properly drive them.

It can be a long, frustrating and costly journey to find amps and speakers that match well and synergize to produce their optimum sound quality – which is why you might rely on the manufacturers to provide that guidance. Harbeth's designer makes clear that selected SS amps drive his speakers to their full potential – which is why he demos them with the Hegel amps. Which is also why I decided to get the Hegel H590 for them. But, I often think of how great they also sound with the McIntosh MA252 and MA352, and perhaps, in some aspects even better - that tube preamp stage may add a special aspect to their sound, that the Hegel amps may not.

Why I was so impressed with the Harbeths:

Keith Don’t Go, Harbeth 30.1 + Hegel H300 - YouTube

Harbeth 30.1 & McIntosh MA-252 #1 - YouTube

Just my recent relevant experience.

@bassdude

excellent, thoughtful post

i too have found over the years that it is a smart move to determine what amplification is used by one’s favorite speaker maker for development and at demonstrations/shows, and then at least audition, if not outright emulate that setup

stewart tyler’s using arc vt series tube amps for voicing his proac response series

alan shaw using hegel 360/390 for his harbeths

spencer hughes and terry miles using quad 66 and audiolab 8200 monoblocks developing spendor classic spendors

more recently, clayton shaw using lta zotl tube amps for his spatial sapphires

wendell diller using bryston, now pass labs for his maggies

focal with naim, devore with line magnetic...and so on... not to say these are the only ones that work well, but it gives precious insight into what amps, or the nature of amps, that the makers themselves think will coax the best sound from their speakers