Does Mc Intosh make reference gear

Disagree. Having bought my first system in the mid 70's and circulated the high end stores in my town constantly during that time, there was no sign of British products standing out and above American products in the stores.
During the mid and late 70's, it was America and Japan putting out the best products on the market. One good example is Sansui. Their build and sound quality from that time period was remarkable. Another good example was Phase Linear which Bob Carver founded in 1968. Their amps and preamps in the 70's were great and back then McIntosh was at the top of their game. Your comment is a first on Gon giving the Brit's a commanding spot in the 70's is greatly
exaggerated.

Rok2id,

So what date is that exactly so I can celebrate it?

Elizabeth,

After reading your post What gear would you say is the equivalent of what Mc Intosh is making today?

"Well below reference." What a disingenuous comment. Reference is whatever a given manufacturer is willing to pay for or someone's ego insists it is. Everyone's hearing is unique to that individual and what one likes another may dislike. Note that Harry Pearson put a McIntosh C2300 in his "reference" system a year or two ago. Is that relevant? If so, why and under what conditions? Musicians, who produce the material the rest of us judge audio equipment with and should know, can't agree about the color of the sky at any given point in time, much less what something "should" sound like.

I've had a great variety high end gear over the last 35 years and have settled with a McIntosh pre and amp.
Reason: it sounds like music. Period. And, that's why I'm in this hobby.
I'm guessing that those who bash it have never heard it.