Is McIntosh a stepping stone into HI/FI?

A common misconception that a lot of people have IMO is that sound quality is directly related to price. While higher quality parts are more expensive and more often than not cost more, that's not the only thing that goes into the total cost. Mac does things without much regard to end cost...

They own their own factory in NY rather than contract out a design. That ain't cheap.
They pay their employees an honest wage for honest work. That ain't cheap.
They hand make everything they possibly can. That ain't cheap.
They stand behind their products by having an honest warranty that isn't full of loopholes. Ain't cheap either.
Their casing and front panels (along with everything else) are overbuilt to last a lifetime.
They can bring just about anything they've ever made back to at least factory specs, if not better.

None of that means anything if it doesn't sound great though. Mac isn't perfect, but it's no further from perfect than anything else in it's range IMO.
To my ears it's just as musical overall as anything else.

At one time McIntosh was highend. As the years go by you learn that more expensive doesn't necesarily mean better!

String, sorry been out fishing on a few canyon trips. Agreed that the Mac's I've heard have been less focused and more rounded.

Beautiful though but I prefer a slightly warmer speaker and the amp to be more neutral. I think many that go for McIntosh are trying to calm down the system, or just love the laid back sound true and true.

Regards,

b

I used to have season tickets to the Philharmonic. I sat in Row 11 dead center. That is very close to the sound you get with the mc275. Very close.

Not sure about the comment re the Cambridge Audio gear. The 840E preamp I have sounds much better to my ears than a lot Mac gear I have heard.

To me, Mac is like Mercedes. Great engineering, build quality, CS etc. and a high price point. But a performance car its not (save for a few very limited examples, which are highly modded).