[W9TR]

Is McIntosh the most popular hifi brand? No, if popularity is measured by sales turnover. The #1 spot would go to Denon, or Yamaha, or Bose, or Beats.

The automobile is where most people listen, so add Harman to the list - they are No 1 in OEM car audio by a large margin.

McIntosh is at once fairly popular and definitely more polarizing than any other brand of audio gear.

I think the Cadillac analogy is a good one. Arguably the CTS V-Sport gives up nothing to a BMW 5 Series. Everything, that is, except the BMW meatball. But it is a Cadillac, and they are for rich old people who don’t know any better, just like McIntosh is for rich doctors and lawyers who don’t know anything about good sound.

McIntosh has made their fair share of Eldorados and Cimmarons so there is that.

High end audio is niche market that loves high touch and is driven by the personalities of the people who run the companies involved. Joe Grado (rip), Paul McGowan, Nelson Pass, Ken Shindo (rip), Charley Hansen (rip), Dr. William Conrad and Dr. Lewis Johnson, Mark Levinson, Dan D’Agostino, David Wilson (rip), James Bongiorno (rip), Roy Gandy, Jim Thiel (rip), Harry Weisfeld, Ivor Tiefenbrun, the list goes on.

You can draw your own conclusions about the longevity of some of these folks.....


McIntosh is an anomaly that has survived for three or four generations, multiple corporate parents, and some really good and really bad owners.

Sorry for the ramble. I guess I am trying to say that McIntosh is a unique enterprise that has stood the test of time.