Is McIntosh a stepping stone into HI/FI?

I think Mac gear is there indeed. It may not be the top pick of all, but that makes it a horse race. Value wise, compared to other top flight brands, it even fairs well in the bang for the buck department. It sounds great, is well constructed and is a joy to use and behold.

I think it is a two way street. I have seen people move from the brands mentioned to McIntosh and some that have had McIntosh and continued on to other brands. McIntosh offers a good sound to my ears and also a very good quality build for the money. I will someday when money permit try other amps, but the one thing I like is that I will not take it in the shorts on re-sale. McIntosh seems to have a good foothold inthe used marketplace. I am sure there are many brands that sound better, but in a bang for buck on sound, quality and service, I am in no hurry to change horses mid-stream.

All of the above comments are correct. I would not say that McIntosh products are a stepping stone into audio. Their products are expensive, look great and many people love their sound (and the high resale value). I owned the McIntosh MA6900 Integrated amplifier for a while (and their matching CD player). The problem was I borrowed an Ayre AX-7e Integrated amplifier and felt it sounded much better in my system than the McIntosh did. I sold all the McIntosh equipment and purchased the Ayre CX-7eMP CD Player to match my Ayre amplifier. I am using the Sonus Faber Auditor M speaker. As was stated above, this hobby has people switching gear all the time. People go from McIntosh to other brands and other brands back to McIntosh.

The better question to ask is what combination of audio products sound the best to you in your listening room. If the answer is McIntosh, you have your answer. If it is another brand(like the one mentioned above), that is also okay. This is your decision to make based on your ears listening to your music in your living room. I suggest you select several recordings you like and go listen to the equipment that is within your budget. Of course, the many comments on this web site may help you narrow the list but you still have to decide for your situation. I hope this helps.

I think the new 452 and 601s are quite a big step up from prior versions. And build quality is just unmatched that price.

It may not be everyones choice, but it is great gear and definitely high end. I think even thier entry level stuff is expensive and other than the modular unit, probably prohibitively expensive to use as a strating point, unless you have the means and don't want to start at the beginning.