Seeking Honest Opinions: Your Experience with McIntosh Audio Gear

I've owned the C2600 Pre-amp and MC 302 Amplifier and I enjoyed listening to music at home more than ever (at that point) 

1. Sound Quality: It sounded good.  I enjoyed the sound immensely and the difference between McIntosh sound and others to me is a bit of transparency - in comparison to my Moon gear it's less detailed and dynamic.  Note, I never thought anything was missing until I was evaluating purchasing a MC 462 as an upgrade.
2. Build Quality and Design: I never had an issue with quality and if you like their design it's definitely something folks appreciate/enjoy.
3. Value for Money: Yes, specifically after experiencing resale.  I pushed my budget to acquire and I sold the gear for 85% of what I paid for it.  
4. Customer Service and Support: I only had one interaction with customer service because I bought a demo unit.  They initially refused my warranty - their email message provided me a phone number.  I called them, they answered, we spoke about my situation and the person did some more research and then let me know my warranty registration was accepted.
5. Overall Experience: I recommend you listen to as much stuff as you can and you buy what you like.  I won't recommend McIntosh but I won't recommend you buy anything you don't enjoy listening too!

McIntosh reignited my love for music - and as far as I'm concerned that makes them alright with me.  I moved away from the brand and I'm sure I was replaced with another happy customer.

Honestly, I’ve heard Mac gear at dealers too many times to count over the years and have heard it sound just fine but never seems to fully grab me. But that’s just me. It holds value very well compared to many others it seems so that is a big thing. As are the looks which I do tend to like.

The three things I know about McIntosh gear:

1 It holds its resale value incredibly well.

2 Their components tend to be built to last a long time.

3 I'm not a fan of the McIntosh "house sound".*

 If I wanted to try McIntosh gear, but wasn't sure if I'd like it, I'd buy used. Then it can be sold with little to no loss, maybe even at a profit if you got a good deal.

* #3 should have no bearing on anyone's decision, except mine.

I’ve owned my 1962 McIntosh MR65B FM tuner for close to 20 years. The MR65B is the first all tube stereo tuner manufactured by McIntosh. It’s all tube, built like a tank, sounds great, and IMO the MR65B is very nice looking. Mine also has the original walnut cabinet.

McIntosh has always been sold as a high end audio product line and is presently owned by a private equity firm (according to Wikipedia).

The first "real" Hi-Fi system that rocked my audio world was powered by McIntosh. That was 45 years ago. Blue meters were on my bucket list for my home system for the next 40.

My interest in audio developed into a career that spanned 40+ years and, yes, we became a "Mac" dealer somewhere around 1982. I would classify the Mac experience as a dealer as one of the group of vendors I could count on one hand being in the "never let us down" category. This includes the customer/end user.

I got my wish in 2016 when I sold my business. When presenting a list of current inventory to the prospective new owner, I made it a point to tell them they can have anything they want -- EXCEPT the Mac stack on display. The separates I had at home that esthetically reassembled a mix of military surplus and vintage laboratory instruments were replaced with those beautiful faceplates and bouncing blue meters.

As one would expect, we had the opportunity for "shoot outs" on many occasions with "similarly-priced" gear. I would say overall that the Mac gear held it’s own. The inner Hi-Fi nerd in me classified the sonics of the Mac gear as "not quite as revealing" as some world-class gear.

Okay, I know the next comment is going to make some heads explode. But here goes: I found that audiophlle fuses can make a significant sound quality improvement in Mac gear (that utilize fuses). The sound becomes more "analytical", revealing, more detailed, and brings instruments and voices more into focus. For me, the sound nudges a bit closer to the agility I have experienced in other renouned high end brands. For Mac owners, with the fuse upgrade, you may find yourself in the room with a more transparent, revealing, and rewarding musical experience. For non-Mac owners who love the brand, esthetics, and build quality, but Mac doesn’t quite get you there sonically, a couple hundred buck investment may result in Mac checking ALL of your audiophile boxes.

I’ll also say that McIntosh has done an admirable job of staying relevant for many decades. It’s a balancing act that few have navigated successfully.