Just how high end would you consider Mcintosh to be?

At least their pricing scheme is "high end"
They are exceptionally well built "boutique" components of very good, but not exceptional sound quality (considering the term "high-end"), at extraordinary prices.
Like most higher end products they have their individual quirks.
And most certainly do you pay for the brand name too.
You probably will find components of comparable SQ at lower prices from other manufacturers but they are not named "McIntosh"
Edited by gurkey - 12/13/12 at 7:37am

Sure McIntosh is High End. At 4 figues for an amp, they are High End. Looking at the build quality, craftmanship and power, there are High End. They are heirloom pieces that can be passed down. But they are just High End.

Because now you have to consider that there is a new class of high end, Uber-High End, where amps routinely go for 5 figures. I'm talking about Boulder, Ayon Tritons, etc. Some of these guys actually make McIntosh look affordable. Wow, maybe someday I will be able to get an amp with those sexy Blue Meters!

They're expensive, and "high end" is just marketeer gibberish for "expensive, so they're "high end."

Good stuff, though. For the most part. Their second-tier pre-pro is one of the few exceptions. Overpriced and underfeatured where it matters (in the room correction).

What features do you think it should have? Just curious. I have had that unmentioned pre-pro for about four months and am wondering what else I could get for the money.

As background, I was originally comparing to a Yamaha Aventage. What would you have purchased for that price point?

They ship with Audyssey MultEQ XT. For $6k MSRP if they were going to stick with Audyssey, they need to include not only\ Audyssey's latest-greatest (XT32) but also Audyssey's Pro kit and a license that allows the user (or installer) to set her/his own target curve, and, importantly, delete the stupid midrange notch Audyssey imposes to make incompetently designed speakers a little more listenable. Their first-tier pre-pro has a better room correction system, albeit one that's reputed to be finicky to to set up.

If i were determined to spend ~$6k for a pre-pro, I'd probably end up with the Anthem AVM50v or whatever they call their second-tier pre-pro. It has a superior room correction package (ARC), similar dynamic loudness compensation (Dolby Volume 'modeler') and so on.

Thanks. (Sorry for the delay -- the holiday season makes it hard to focus sometimes ) I agree with your assessment. I was expecting the Audyssey algorithm to make a dramatic difference, but I find that I turn it off most of the time. The dynamic loudness is more useful, but not perfect.

I guess my main frustration could be remedied if I had some time to just tinker with everything and get it adjusted to my space. I haven't had that but am hoping to do so over the holidays. I just recalled when I purchased my Yamaha amp after school and how it was almost "plug and play" in terms of enjoyment/excitement. It was when DVD was first released and the improvement over my pre-DVD system was noticeable. So now it's 15 years later and I have better components all around but the "wow" factor is just not there. Don't get me wrong, the McIntosh piece is a nice piece but not the cutting edge technology that I thought I was getting.

As I type, I realize I should explain this last statement. My system is still a work in progress and I am still trying to sort through the various sources and ways to optimize the picture and sound. For picture, I realize that the local cable provider is a weak link and hope to move to satellite shortly. I also had a Mc universal disc player in my system briefly and I could see the improvement in picture and sound over my other disc player. Once I get it back, we'll need to reconvene to see if I have anything to add.

Thanks for your take on this. It makes me want to check out the Anthem pieces now. Have a good holiday season.

Hi,

What about their 5.1 and 7.1 Amps? I'm looking to upgrade my Marantz MM7055.

Thanks