McIntosh MA 6500 reliability etc....

McIntosh sets the standard for product quality, reliability, customer service and holding value over time. That, plus the involving musicality of their preamps, amps and integrated makes them a superb choice.

As others have said, McIntosh wrote the book. You can send McIntosh pretty much anything they've ever made, and they'll be able to bring it back up to original specs, if not better. Its not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Look at the Mac gear being sold here. See how well it retains its value. A lot of the stuff is far older that it seems. For info on anything Mac made, check out Roger-Russel.com. He's a former engineer.

A Mac dealer friend of mine had a customer whose house burned down. Everything was destroyed. My friend contacted McIntosh to see if the piece could be refurbished. McIntosh brought it back to original specs and cleaned it up and made it look brand new again. If that doesn't say enough about Mac, maybe this will...

They didn't charge him. It wasn't a piece anywhere near warantee. Mac told my friend 'We don't need his money. He's probably got too many other things to worry about.' It safe to say that they turned him into a customer for life. Obviously they're not going to fix everyone's stuff for free, but they're a great company who goes the extra mile.

Thanks Guys...a remarkable company for sure! How long do their products take to burn in?

My experience is burn in time for Mcintosh amps and preamps is zero. Sound great out of the crate (and they do basically come in a crate), sound the same months later - still great. And the rather ancient models I have heard sound great after 30 years. Don't be afraid to call McIntosh as to such questions - I have found them to be professional, knowledgable, and willing to answer questions or get back to you with questions involving technical matters. Furthemore, you don't get a hard sell from them - likely because their products sell themselves.

I have 8 pieces of McIntosh gear - only one was purchased new. Aside from McIntosh, you can send used equipment to audioclassics.com and they will bring it up to spec.

Audio Classics has the best customer service I've ever experienced.