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

"real audiophiles...know it doesn’t sound that good"...

Sounds like some people want to gatekeep what a "real audiophile" is when the term is based on sound preference. To push that exclusivity is pointless because all you have are a bunch of farts chasing what their own idea of "good sound" is while arguing a point that isn't really wrong or right. It is a stupid statement so I wouldn't even bother with entertaining the OCD guy's input because it is like saying what is the best guitar, car, recording console etc...

From observation, Macs appear overpriced to folks who can't afford it much of the time which I find baffling since that drives much of the vitriol against a brand that holds its value well AND sounds good.

However Macintosh does appeal to a certain demographic; my friends and I call it the Harley Davidson of hi fi.

Good luck having a Harley go without servicing as long as a Mac does. The comparison is one i've heard before but not accurate given the build and reliability of Macs.

I don’t get the McIntosh hate.... I can’t understand why people say McIntosh sounds flat, or like someone put a wet blanket over their speakers.

Some people have hearing that is less sensitive than they'd like to admit. Couple that with the subjective nature of sound quality - you've got a recipe for an argument topic that has NO end.

 I happened to hear a system with Mcintosh separates by complete chance. I sat down and ended up getting lost in the music and after 30 minutes the owner came up behind me and squeezed my trapezius muscles (neck/shoulder) to find they were both relaxed and my jaw was not clenched. 

You absolutely nailed the point of music. If I want to be blown away by an intense music experience, I'll go to a live show. If I want a purely analytical representation of music, I'll go the studio where I work and visit the mastering suite down the hall. Between sitting behind the console and sitting in on mastering sessions to check mixes, music being analytical to hear everything is not the point for me because I just want to relax with the music, not hear someone's hair grow through the speakers and celebrate that as a metric in audio quality.

@stereo5

I think that maybe I was unclear in the meaning of my comment earlier. I was actually talking about folks who have a problem with pcb’s in hifi gear, and think that point to point wiring is better.  That belief is silly, and I think those folks have never lived in the world of current day electronics and technology, where pcb’s are essential to world class manufacturing and mass production at scale with top flight quality control.