Well this thread surely took an edified diversion.
Would it really take a lot of time for McIntosh to belt this stuff out? I notice the online ads tend not to have it in stock, so maybe it is in the production phase.
Hey it’s an empty box with faceplate that doesn’t include the meters so maybe they can crank them. And they clearly are going after the type of customer that will pay for a deluxe version of a classic vinyl album selling for $1K when they already own the album in 13 other formats. As a corporate decision, it makes sense to separate those types from some more of their cash, no different from a shoe company selling a tee shirt with their logo emblazoned for $100