Hi I started working at McIntosh Labs in 1997 when Clarion bought them.I worked in the production department for 23 years.Around that time the VP of engineering Mr.Charles Randall became President of the company.He was A great guy to work for,he is heavily invested in the company.He is the CEO of McIntosh now. I only see them getting stronger in the High end industry.No worries !!!
Through all the ownership changes over the last few decades, McIntosh has remained McIntosh -- IMO we should all stand down from red alert. Bose is not about to ruin the longest running and most prestigious brand in high fidelity history -- and their vast financial and technical resources can be a significant benefit to a relatively small design/manufacturing operation like McIntosh.
That Spain audio unit looks like a cassette deck. Many cassette decks had 7 buttons to play, fast forward, rewind, etc. the tape. In this photo, it looks like the "Play" button is depressed.
I would love to have BOSE make new 201s and 301s. I know there are alot of bose hatters out in the world but i love the sound of the home speakers. Wherever you are in the room you are in the sweet spot. My current speakers are advents mated to a adcom gfa 5006 with a hafler se-100 preamp.
I’ve never owned a Bose system but it’s really a philosophical argument. I imagine it’s a system great for parties & entertainment, others just want to sit by themselves sip wine and take in the music. That is valid as well and requires something more analytical.
I picked up a pair of 201s at a Goodwill bin store (they were cheap). I have them in my garage and I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of sound out of these speakers. I was going to flip them, now I am going to keep them.
@@wwz1011 If you can keep them as they do not make new ones anymore. People who hate/dislike bose have never owned them. I love BOSE. Yes i have other stuff but i love the bose sound.
Voxx International used to be known as Audiovox. For those who remember, their products used to be found in retail and department stores. I am surprised at how they went from that to owning several audiophile brands.
Scott, I absolutely agree with you about McIntosh. I don’t buy the doom and gloom. It’s a bit of a Golden Goose. I thought it was more dangerous with the private equity firm ownership.
This, usually these equity firms pick the bones of companies dry. I think people will be surprised when Bose treats them with dignity. It’s not the same company from 50 years ago suing magazines & other shenanigans.
Indeed. We have to give them credit for staying relevant while so many other legacy brands are in the verge of disappearing. They MUST be doing something right.
Am convinced this will be a WONDERFUL happening for McIntosh. I have a several decade relationship with McIntosh as a service tech starting in 1972 at the Sound Mill in Mt Kisco NY. Am still doing it 50 years later ( mostly tube and early Solid State ) It is my hope that with private equity being shown the door, that McIntosh will once again be able to lead the industry in service and support.
Without the vultures looking for dividends - which generally increases the price of, or lowers the quality of the products - it's possible this could allow McIntosh to produce someone more affordable, albeit lower end, tube amps for "the rest of us".
I truly hope this is the case. You make a great argument that Bose understands the value, lineage and heritage of the Macintosh brand and product quality.
As always, I really enjoyed your audio history lesson. I have learned so much from you in past videos. I'm not worried about the Bose purchase either. They are too smart to destroy a legacy brand like McIntosh.
Scott, thanks for another great video. Really love seeing viewer systems, all of them! That Realistic receiver and Philips speaker is way to cool for words......
Great video as always! A list of reputable repair shops would be great! I need to find a place near the twin cities Minnesota to bring my Pioneer SX-950.
Change of ownership can mean things will pretty much stay the same, or it could mean cost cutting, new personnel (lesser ones often and less of them), it could mean the same standards or new standards (again lesser often, these days). For those worried about McIntosh quality degrading; don't worry until IF and when their top designers and repair techs leave, and the quality control guy who says it doesn't get the McIntosh badge and leave the door, until he says it leaves the door. McIntosh has a good reputation for after sales backup. I've always thought it weird that anyone would choose a brand (AND) paying a premium price because they are "good years after the sale if anything goes wrong." Are they planning on keeping it forever? Stereo equipment is closer to throw away shavers to most audiophiles it seems; with audiophiles always looking to upgrade & change gear. If McDonalds bought out a Gourmet steak house; how would that affect sales? The same thing might be happening here. Will buying McIntosh make people respect the Bose brand more? Maybe borrowing technology from McIntosh, which is considered higher tech? Who knows and maybe who cares. I've never owned any equipment from either except some McItosh woofer drivers. I remember back in the 1980s when Alpine bought Luxman. The champagne gold face plates changed to plain black, and some say the sound quality went down from cheapening of internal parts. I've owned several black face Luxman pieces and some of the pre buy out stuff too; and the later stuff still sounded like Luxman to me. I don't believe there ever was a time when Luxman made bad equipment. They were always good no matter who owned the company. Luxman seemed to disappear for a while and then came back as an ultra high end brand with retail prices in the many thousands instead of hundreds of dollars. That's where they lost most of us. For those of us who are expert tweakers and modders; we really don't ever need to upgrade to get our better sound quality kick. That's for people who don't know what they are doing. Instead of spending a few hundred hours really getting to know audio and how to do things; they spend thousands of hours working at a job to save up for expensive equipment. Some oddball older items include Quadrophonic headphones; the old Koss Phase 4+4 being one. Have always wanted to hear those. Quad phono cartridges whose high frequency response had to be extended to 50k to reproduce quad records properly. A speaker that burned hazardous plasma gas as it played. You could actually die from inhaling too much. Watson Labs speakers which used safer hexaflouride gas piped into their sealed woofer compartments. Amazing speakers for their day, and would still be even today I'm sure. The old Yamaha speakers shaped like a human ear. Really goid sounding cylindrical speakers from Jim Rogers (JR Labs) and Daniel Queen. Daniel Queen speakers must be among the rarest. Have never seen one since the 1980s. Carver preamps with the Sonic Holography circuit, which like Quad only caught on for a short time, despite some audio reviewers praising it as more difference between sonic holography & regular stereo, than stereo versus mono. Also there was the ADC Accutrac turntable which could be programmed to play any lp tracks in any order by sensing dead wax between the tracks of an lp. One of these turntables was featured in an old Columbo episode as part of the Modus Operandi. Columbo had to figure out how a member of the Genius Club did it, by using a programmable ADC Accutrac turntable and its unique operation as part of the very sneaky plan.
There are many mysteries that I encounter in my many experiments with audio. Here are some; 1. Why is it, that when you make a change that in turm gives you a 30% improvement in sound quality. Why does the improvement asound like a "whole new listening experience" when playing some recordings, but only a trivial improvement (if any) on other recordings, whose sound quality was pretty much on an even keel before the upgrade? 2. Why does an interconnect cable sound lackluster and not that interesting, but when you reverse which end goes from the source to amp, it sometimes all of a sudden sounds like it is trailing clouds of glory? 3. Why do tube amps usually sound warmer and more open 4. Why does solid state equipment's sound get a lot warmer when you skip the preamp and go directly into the power amp. It looks to me like the preamp section of integrated amps are the culprit that loses warmth, as I have experimented with integrateds which have pre in, main out jacks, that let you go straight into the power amp section. 5. Why does tape always seem to be the warmest sounding medium of all? Columbo concerned himself with life and death not audio. To some audiophiles, better sound quality is right up there with life and death; and many of the manufacturers who price the equipment, are all too aware of that. ..It's mind boggling how much money some will pay for somewhat better sound.
I went worked for several companies where they sold the business. First, the sellers definitely wanted out, they were done with it. The buyers sadly thought they could squeeze a lot of cost out of the business. They tended to be unrealistic about the business. So they continually churned through management teams in the attempt to deliver the savings they expected. So in the end, it was some good, and some bad.
I used Google AI on my phone to attempt to identify the image and it did fairly well though did not find an exact match. The closest I found was of a unit on eBay, as verbatim: 'Vintage USSR Soviet Vintage Stereo Amplifier Odysseus'. Given the nature of this research, it certainly would add an element of intrigue though I sepeculate!
Quadraphonic was amazing for a brief period of time before the 3 competing format wars imploded. I recall some spectacular Quad recordings by popular Rock bands, The Who, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Cars, Sweet, and others. If you were using a Vinyl 33 1/2 LP's format, it required the correct diamond tip on you phono cartridge, Audio Technica was one of the first available with the Shabita cut diamond. ( recommended for Quad ) There were other issues involving which encoding technique was used during the album master mix and pressing, some albums purported on the covers to be encoded with all types, ( a physical impossibility due to the analog technology and limitations used to cut the albums ) and then what type of decoder circuity your gear was equipped with. It is very easy to understand why it failed. In my opinion the best way to listen to Quad was tape, either Real to Real or 8 Track cartridges. "High End 8-Track Quad" decks did exist briefly. One of my High School friends had the top of the line Sanyo or Pioneer, ( I don't recall ) ( 1975 ) Quad Stereo for his Car given to him as a graduation gift. Several home decks were also available. In the end, I think that Quad is something I am grateful I had the chance to experience. McIntosh I'm sure they will survive BOSE. Thanks for another great video.
That one integrated radio in the bed is not Spanish made as far as I can remember. The ones we had here didn't have that kind of pushers for the waves, in fact there was not FM in Spain probably until the mid 70's however I might be wrong. Anyway there were not much of those even within more wealthy people and the most majority of people couldn't afford any stereo at all in the 60's, only a few I guess.
Seasons Greetings, My fellow music loving audiophiles. This is from the Black Man O.G. audiophile. On another channel I expressed displeasure about the McIntosh acquisition eventhough I don't own any of their gear. The bulk of my system is American components, Rogue Audio, Conrad-Johnson, Adcom, Sota, Grado, Vandersteen, Furman, Magnepan and audioquest. A Rotel cd player, NAD Tuner and Tascam cd player/recorder are the only foreign components. The acquisition kind of depressed me because I don't want more American brands to be sold off. These are great companies that keep Americans working and jobs here. I want high end audio to survive and the dealers to stay in business. 👍🙏 Hopefully McIntosh will thrive. Someone years ago once said if McIntosh is in trouble, then the entire high end audio industry is.
Welcome BMOGA. At this stage, all we can do is wait and see, unfortunately. At least McIntosh as a buyer, still unknown for all of the other brands like Marantz, Denon, Polk, etc.
The Bose , McIntosh News are great news. This means that these brands now have a stronger backbone and now could expand distribution and develop new products. Expect new products that attract new consumers which are badly needed for the hobby.
If it is a discount brand, the problem will be trying to determine a model number and get a picture. If Superscope, that should be identifiable. I was thinking it could be a "G".
When Audio Research was briefly owned by the same company that owned McIntosh, the AR brand evidently could not be what was hoped, and it was sold off and then AR had to find a white knight to continue to operate. My question is whether McIntosh, now sold off to its own white knight, will be left alone. McIntosh still has to be profitable as Bose is not a charity. Even though audiophiles have a love/hate relationship with McIntosh, the brand is still but a tiny slice of the audio electronics market, and with most young people today just going with headphones and skipping the old Hi-Fi route time will tell how many of these old audio companies will survive.
I imagine there will be some major discussions about the products of the future. Maybe Bose lends some of it's headphone tech to McIntosh for a high end line, for example. In the end, McIntosh has to be successful to continue operations unless they find some billionaire audiophile that will just hand them wads of cash to stay in business. I will go with the former that Bose will work with them to broaden their appeal but as a higher end brand.
Up to now I haven't been concerned about the future of McIntosh Labs, but this is as unthinkable as an open obscenity in a 1950s Disney movie. No good can come from it.
Bose acquiring McIntosh will not effect most people, especially me. I can't afford anything from either company. However, I don't like the idea of the deal, but I hope and pray that the current employees will only benefit from the change in ownership. I may be foolish for thinking I'd like working there and maybe I'll apply anyway. Can't hurt - right?
My only concern regarding the BOSE acquisition is the potential discontinuation of the legacy support due to restructuring for financial reasons... only time will tell
Completely agree. I hope they see the value, but there are no guarantees. I hope they know the value long term fans put on the brand and will continue coming back, as long as they do not abandon the support of older products.
Well, honestly, I think EVERY industry is currently looking hard at where costs are potentially going to go in the near future and they are making some hard forecast calls that are downward trending. The brands with strong market value will be grabbed, like McIntosh, while others (most?) may die on the vine as their balance sheets are just too bad. Hopefully they can weather the storm, but some may actually die and be resurrected later. Even Western Electric tubes came back after many decades, so we can never say never. :-)
Looks like the S in Soundesign on left side of logo. Another possibility is Symphonic. It's one word, I'm pretty sure. Also, those buttons could be for a tape control, which usually have 6, this has 7.
You think that is an "S"? I was kind of leaning to a "G", but then I was thinking it could be two letters intertwined. To me, it seems the letters above the buttons have little writing, so I was thinking it was numeric 1-7. Being so blurry, very hard to tell.
It would be nice if McIntosh could double their production in Binghamton while maintaining their exceptional quality. It would be a win/win for Binghamton and the additional people who could get some McIntosh gear.
@stereoniche I own the MA-252, which is theirs entry hybrid amp. It is truly fantastic. There are less than 200 people at McIntosh, and we all know NY could use extra jobs and increase production in the McIntosh way. If they have been at it 75 years, they must be doing something right. Just my 2 cents.
Original roots would be a building a Point-to-Point Amp. This is 2024 and the past purchases will be different with Bose. Bose should cancel Jeep (crap anyway) and go right into Porshe, which Bose is in and Logo the head unit with McIntosh with Bose speakers. Will we see circuit boards coming from Asia and what also creeps into the Mac brand.
Truth to be told, Bose has been degrading their products for years in terms of materials, built quality, etc. I remember those with a bunch of small drivers on the back nine zero something or whatever, I don't remember but those were made of good wood cabinets as far as I remember or some of the smaller ones the two tone ones with direct reflect soind with one tweeter in the upper corner which you could adjust, those were made of good wood as well and were decent sounding I think but after they started the acoustimass with the woofer and a bunch of small cubes, they went into cheap plastic, and the rest as they say is history.Their policy is to not allow the customer to compare their products with any others, etc so I don't know if they are going to respect the huge heritage of quality and sound of McIntosh and the incredible and legendary history the brand has, since being the force behind the Grateful Dead's wall of sound to this day, the looks, the sound and everything which made this brand great enough to carry the importance and prestige they've been having until this very day. I hope Bose owners will keep all in mind and leave the brand as it is in all of those things, you need decades and a bunch of smart guys to built such an historic brand, and only a very few years and a bunch of morons to destroy it.
In some things, but I think they have the skills and tech to make some very nice products. They are very well regarded for their headphones made for pilots, for example.
@stereoniche I agree with you that they have made some nice sounding electronics, I just think that they want too much money for them. I get the impression that they feel that simply because it's a Bose product, it deserves more money. I have purchased Bose products in the past, and I'm fairly happy with them. I have purchased other brand products for less money, and to me, the sound is comparable, if not better.
When has a corporation board of directors made a company better after its been purchased? Go look at Bose board of directors. Look at some of their company statements. Can you say "Bud Light".
@TheDanEdwards I do know some of their directors have degrees from MIT. And I also know some of their corporate statements come from extremely far left politics.
Luv bose haters my take is they hate that a $1400 dollar speaker when properly powered and set up sounds as good or better than their $30000 monstrous speakers.
Sonus Faber manufacturing their bottom line speakers in China - hot garbage. On the other hand, Wharferdale speakers are made in China to a very high standard.
Maintaining tube audio gear is getting tougher and tougher because the profession is dying. Maintenance of gear with tubes takes forever maintenance and farming it out cheaper rates. My guess is it will not get better . I don't see any positives in this action for those interested in sound quality. Mcintosh has not even released a press release I'm on the email list and I would get it
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Hi I started working at McIntosh Labs in 1997 when Clarion bought them.I worked in the production department for 23 years.Around that time the VP of engineering Mr.Charles Randall became President of the company.He was A great guy to work for,he is heavily invested in the company.He is the CEO of McIntosh now. I only see them getting stronger in the High end industry.No worries !!!
Thanks Jim!!! Hey, if you get a minute, can you please send me an email to stereoniche@gmail.com
Through all the ownership changes over the last few decades, McIntosh has remained McIntosh -- IMO we should all stand down from red alert. Bose is not about to ruin the longest running and most prestigious brand in high fidelity history -- and their vast financial and technical resources can be a significant benefit to a relatively small design/manufacturing operation like McIntosh.
I really hope you are right man, that would be pretty nice.
That Spain audio unit looks like a cassette deck. Many cassette decks had 7 buttons to play, fast forward, rewind, etc. the tape. In this photo, it looks like the "Play" button is depressed.
That Spanish radio was built into hotel bed headboards in the 1980's as part of the hotel audio system.
I would love to have BOSE make new 201s and 301s. I know there are alot of bose hatters out in the world but i love the sound of the home speakers. Wherever you are in the room you are in the sweet spot. My current speakers are advents mated to a adcom gfa 5006 with a hafler se-100 preamp.
I’ve never owned a Bose system but it’s really a philosophical argument. I imagine it’s a system great for parties & entertainment, others just want to sit by themselves sip wine and take in the music. That is valid as well and requires something more analytical.
I picked up a pair of 201s at a Goodwill bin store (they were cheap). I have them in my garage and I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of sound out of these speakers. I was going to flip them, now I am going to keep them.
@@wwz1011 If you can keep them as they do not make new ones anymore. People who hate/dislike bose have never owned them.
I love BOSE. Yes i have other stuff but i love the bose sound.
I've got a pair of 601 series lll that I love to death.
Voxx International used to be known as Audiovox. For those who remember, their products used to be found in retail and department stores. I am surprised at how they went from that to owning several audiophile brands.
Indeed, I do remember the Audiovox stuff, it was everywhere. Along with Sparko-matic. Ugh.
Scott, I absolutely agree with you about McIntosh. I don’t buy the doom and gloom. It’s a bit of a Golden Goose. I thought it was more dangerous with the private equity firm ownership.
This, usually these equity firms pick the bones of companies dry. I think people will be surprised when Bose treats them with dignity. It’s not the same company from 50 years ago suing magazines & other shenanigans.
Indeed. We have to give them credit for staying relevant while so many other legacy brands are in the verge of disappearing. They MUST be doing something right.
Am convinced this will be a WONDERFUL happening for McIntosh. I have a several decade relationship with McIntosh as a service tech starting in 1972 at the Sound Mill in Mt Kisco NY. Am still doing it 50 years later ( mostly tube and early Solid State ) It is my hope that with private equity being shown the door, that McIntosh will once again be able to lead the industry in service and support.
Without the vultures looking for dividends - which generally increases the price of, or lowers the quality of the products - it's possible this could allow McIntosh to produce someone more affordable, albeit lower end, tube amps for "the rest of us".
I truly hope this is the case. You make a great argument that Bose understands the value, lineage and heritage of the Macintosh brand and product quality.
As always, I really enjoyed your audio history lesson. I have learned so much from you in past videos. I'm not worried about the Bose purchase either. They are too smart to destroy a legacy brand like McIntosh.
Agree. I think they are too smart to damage the brand.
There goes mc intosh. It will be chinatosh soon
Scott, really outstanding job that you did on this video. Thanks much!
Scott, thanks for another great video. Really love seeing viewer systems, all of them! That Realistic receiver and Philips speaker is way to cool for words......
More to come!
Loved the video Scott. Keep them coming.
Great video as always! A list of reputable repair shops would be great! I need to find a place near the twin cities Minnesota to bring my Pioneer SX-950.
Have not received any recommendations up that way just yet.
Duality Repair 55129
McIntosh is done bose will ruin it.
Change of ownership can mean things will pretty much stay the same, or it could mean cost cutting, new personnel (lesser ones often and less of them), it could mean the same standards or new standards (again lesser often, these days). For those worried about McIntosh quality degrading; don't worry until IF and when their top designers and repair techs leave, and the quality control guy who says it doesn't get the McIntosh badge and leave the door, until he says it leaves the door. McIntosh has a good reputation for after sales backup. I've always thought it weird that anyone would choose a brand (AND) paying a premium price because they are "good years after the sale if anything goes wrong." Are they planning on keeping it forever? Stereo equipment is closer to throw away shavers to most audiophiles it seems; with audiophiles always looking to upgrade & change gear. If McDonalds bought out a Gourmet steak house; how would that affect sales? The same thing might be happening here. Will buying McIntosh make people respect the Bose brand more? Maybe borrowing technology from McIntosh, which is considered higher tech? Who knows and maybe who cares. I've never owned any equipment from either except some McItosh woofer drivers.
I remember back in the 1980s when Alpine bought Luxman. The champagne gold face plates changed to plain black, and some say the sound quality went down from cheapening of internal parts. I've owned several black face Luxman pieces and some of the pre buy out stuff too; and the later stuff still sounded like Luxman to me. I don't believe there ever was a time when Luxman made bad equipment. They were always good no matter who owned the company. Luxman seemed to disappear for a while and then came back as an ultra high end brand with retail prices in the many thousands instead of hundreds of dollars. That's where they lost most of us.
For those of us who are expert tweakers and modders; we really don't ever need to upgrade to get our better sound quality kick. That's for people who don't know what they are doing. Instead of spending a few hundred hours really getting to know audio and how to do things; they spend thousands of hours working at a job to save up for expensive equipment.
Some oddball older items include Quadrophonic headphones; the old Koss Phase 4+4 being one. Have always wanted to hear those. Quad phono cartridges whose high frequency response had to be extended to 50k to reproduce quad records properly. A speaker that burned hazardous plasma gas as it played. You could actually die from inhaling too much. Watson Labs speakers which used safer hexaflouride gas piped into their sealed woofer compartments. Amazing speakers for their day, and would still be even today I'm sure. The old Yamaha speakers shaped like a human ear. Really goid sounding cylindrical speakers from Jim Rogers (JR Labs) and Daniel Queen. Daniel Queen speakers must be among the rarest. Have never seen one since the 1980s. Carver preamps with the Sonic Holography circuit, which like Quad only caught on for a short time, despite some audio reviewers praising it as more difference between sonic holography & regular stereo, than stereo versus mono. Also there was the ADC Accutrac turntable which could be programmed to play any lp tracks in any order by sensing dead wax between the tracks of an lp. One of these turntables was featured in an old Columbo episode as part of the Modus Operandi. Columbo had to figure out how a member of the Genius Club did it, by using a programmable ADC Accutrac turntable and its unique operation as part of the very sneaky plan.
I wish Columbo would help us figure out that mystery picture! :-)
There are many mysteries that I encounter in my many experiments with audio. Here are some;
1. Why is it, that when you make a change that in turm gives you a 30% improvement in sound quality. Why does the improvement asound like a "whole new listening experience" when playing some recordings, but only a trivial improvement (if any) on other recordings, whose sound quality was pretty much on an even keel before the upgrade?
2. Why does an interconnect cable sound lackluster and not that interesting, but when you reverse which end goes from the source to amp, it sometimes all of a sudden sounds like it is trailing clouds of glory?
3. Why do tube amps usually sound warmer and more open
4. Why does solid state equipment's sound get a lot warmer when you skip the preamp and go directly into the power amp. It looks to me like the preamp section of integrated amps are the culprit that loses warmth, as I have experimented with integrateds which have pre in, main out jacks, that let you go straight into the power amp section.
5. Why does tape always seem to be the warmest sounding medium of all?
Columbo concerned himself with life and death not audio. To some audiophiles, better sound quality is right up there with life and death; and many of the manufacturers who price the equipment, are all too aware of that. ..It's mind boggling how much money some will pay for somewhat better sound.
I went worked for several companies where they sold the business. First, the sellers definitely wanted out, they were done with it. The buyers sadly thought they could squeeze a lot of cost out of the business. They tended to be unrealistic about the business. So they continually churned through management teams in the attempt to deliver the savings they expected. So in the end, it was some good, and some bad.
I used Google AI on my phone to attempt to identify the image and it did fairly well though did not find an exact match. The closest I found was of a unit on eBay, as verbatim: 'Vintage USSR Soviet Vintage Stereo Amplifier Odysseus'. Given the nature of this research, it certainly would add an element of intrigue though I sepeculate!
Quadraphonic was amazing for a brief period of time before the 3 competing format wars imploded. I recall some spectacular Quad recordings by popular Rock bands, The Who, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Cars, Sweet, and others. If you were using a Vinyl 33 1/2 LP's format, it required the correct diamond tip on you phono cartridge, Audio Technica was one of the first available with the Shabita cut diamond. ( recommended for Quad ) There were other issues involving which encoding technique was used during the album master mix and pressing, some albums purported on the covers to be encoded with all types, ( a physical impossibility due to the analog technology and limitations used to cut the albums ) and then what type of decoder circuity your gear was equipped with. It is very easy to understand why it failed. In my opinion the best way to listen to Quad was tape, either Real to Real or 8 Track cartridges. "High End 8-Track Quad" decks did exist briefly. One of my High School friends had the top of the line Sanyo or Pioneer, ( I don't recall ) ( 1975 ) Quad Stereo for his Car given to him as a graduation gift. Several home decks were also available. In the end, I think that Quad is something I am grateful I had the chance to experience. McIntosh I'm sure they will survive BOSE. Thanks for another great video.
Samsung owns Harmon International, which includes audio brands like JBL, Mark Levinson, and Revel.
Yes indeed. Let's hope their balance sheet is solid. JBL seems to be putting out nice product at the moment trying to meet the needs of the market.
That one integrated radio in the bed is not Spanish made as far as I can remember. The ones we had here didn't have that kind of pushers for the waves, in fact there was not FM in Spain probably until the mid 70's however I might be wrong. Anyway there were not much of those even within more wealthy people and the most majority of people couldn't afford any stereo at all in the 60's, only a few I guess.
Seasons Greetings, My fellow music loving audiophiles. This is from the Black Man O.G. audiophile. On another channel I expressed displeasure about the McIntosh acquisition eventhough I don't own any of their gear. The bulk of my system is American components, Rogue Audio, Conrad-Johnson, Adcom, Sota, Grado, Vandersteen, Furman, Magnepan and audioquest. A Rotel cd player, NAD Tuner and Tascam cd player/recorder are the only foreign components. The acquisition kind of depressed me because I don't want more American brands to be sold off. These are great companies that keep Americans working and jobs here. I want high end audio to survive and the dealers to stay in business. 👍🙏 Hopefully McIntosh will thrive. Someone years ago once said if McIntosh is in trouble, then the entire high end audio industry is.
❤ Maggie's 😊
Welcome BMOGA. At this stage, all we can do is wait and see, unfortunately. At least McIntosh as a buyer, still unknown for all of the other brands like Marantz, Denon, Polk, etc.
The Audio Clinic is the best repair shop in the Netherlands
The Bose , McIntosh News are great news. This means that these brands now have a stronger backbone and now could expand distribution and develop new products. Expect new products that attract new consumers which are badly needed for the hobby.
Bedside radio looks like Sound Design logo?
Mabe Superscope...
If it is a discount brand, the problem will be trying to determine a model number and get a picture. If Superscope, that should be identifiable. I was thinking it could be a "G".
When Audio Research was briefly owned by the same company that owned McIntosh, the AR brand evidently could not be what was hoped, and it was sold off and then AR had to find a white knight to continue to operate. My question is whether McIntosh, now sold off to its own white knight, will be left alone. McIntosh still has to be profitable as Bose is not a charity. Even though audiophiles have a love/hate relationship with McIntosh, the brand is still but a tiny slice of the audio electronics market, and with most young people today just going with headphones and skipping the old Hi-Fi route time will tell how many of these old audio companies will survive.
I imagine there will be some major discussions about the products of the future. Maybe Bose lends some of it's headphone tech to McIntosh for a high end line, for example. In the end, McIntosh has to be successful to continue operations unless they find some billionaire audiophile that will just hand them wads of cash to stay in business. I will go with the former that Bose will work with them to broaden their appeal but as a higher end brand.
Up to now I haven't been concerned about the future of McIntosh Labs,
but this is as unthinkable as an open obscenity in a 1950s Disney movie.
No good can come from it.
Well, perhaps just keeping them as a going concern is the positive take on it, for now at least.
Had a 4 channel Hitachi combo 8 track phono that sounded fantastic connected to the speakers of 2 console stereos lol 😂
Bose acquiring McIntosh will not effect most people, especially me. I can't afford anything from either company. However, I don't like the idea of the deal, but I hope and pray that the current employees will only benefit from the change in ownership. I may be foolish for thinking I'd like working there and maybe I'll apply anyway. Can't hurt - right?
My only concern regarding the BOSE acquisition is the potential discontinuation of the legacy support due to restructuring for financial reasons... only time will tell
Completely agree. I hope they see the value, but there are no guarantees. I hope they know the value long term fans put on the brand and will continue coming back, as long as they do not abandon the support of older products.
Scott, you totally called this with your last video.
Well, honestly, I think EVERY industry is currently looking hard at where costs are potentially going to go in the near future and they are making some hard forecast calls that are downward trending. The brands with strong market value will be grabbed, like McIntosh, while others (most?) may die on the vine as their balance sheets are just too bad. Hopefully they can weather the storm, but some may actually die and be resurrected later. Even Western Electric tubes came back after many decades, so we can never say never. :-)
Looks like the S in Soundesign on left side of logo. Another possibility is Symphonic. It's one word, I'm pretty sure. Also, those buttons could be for a tape control, which usually have 6, this has 7.
You think that is an "S"? I was kind of leaning to a "G", but then I was thinking it could be two letters intertwined. To me, it seems the letters above the buttons have little writing, so I was thinking it was numeric 1-7. Being so blurry, very hard to tell.
@@stereoniche To me, the "S" looks more like a sine wave, so maybe it's a stylized "S"?
It would be nice if McIntosh could double their production in Binghamton while maintaining their exceptional quality. It would be a win/win for Binghamton and the additional people who could get some McIntosh gear.
Well, they will need to increase sales in order to fund that production increase or do you already know they have a lot on back order?
@stereoniche I own the MA-252, which is theirs entry hybrid amp. It is truly fantastic. There are less than 200 people at McIntosh, and we all know NY could use extra jobs and increase production in the McIntosh way. If they have been at it 75 years, they must be doing something right. Just my 2 cents.
Looks more like an intercom. 🤔
It doesn't make sense to you and I, but neither does the sheeit called Bose !
Bose 1801 s just went up in value
Do you remember their quad 901 setups? Maybe the video mentions it. Haven't seen video yet.
@ yes it was at a place called Pacific stereo back in the 70s.
Like when Alpine bought Marantz. Welcome to a facsimile of sound. The turnover of owners is getting more frequent each time.
Original roots would be a building a Point-to-Point Amp. This is 2024 and the past purchases will be different with Bose. Bose should cancel Jeep (crap anyway) and go right into Porshe, which Bose is in and Logo the head unit with McIntosh with Bose speakers. Will we see circuit boards coming from Asia and what also creeps into the Mac brand.
I have to ask who even knew McIntosh was for sale..
Truth to be told, Bose has been degrading their products for years in terms of materials, built quality, etc. I remember those with a bunch of small drivers on the back nine zero something or whatever, I don't remember but those were made of good wood cabinets as far as I remember or some of the smaller ones the two tone ones with direct reflect soind with one tweeter in the upper corner which you could adjust, those were made of good wood as well and were decent sounding I think but after they started the acoustimass with the woofer and a bunch of small cubes, they went into cheap plastic, and the rest as they say is history.Their policy is to not allow the customer to compare their products with any others, etc so I don't know if they are going to respect the huge heritage of quality and sound of McIntosh and the incredible and legendary history the brand has, since being the force behind the Grateful Dead's wall of sound to this day, the looks, the sound and everything which made this brand great enough to carry the importance and prestige they've been having until this very day. I hope Bose owners will keep all in mind and leave the brand as it is in all of those things, you need decades and a bunch of smart guys to built such an historic brand, and only a very few years and a bunch of morons to destroy it.
In my opinion, Bose produces a decent sound. It's just for the same price, and much better gear can be obtained.
In some things, but I think they have the skills and tech to make some very nice products. They are very well regarded for their headphones made for pilots, for example.
@stereoniche I agree with you that they have made some nice sounding electronics, I just think that they want too much money for them. I get the impression that they feel that simply because it's a Bose product, it deserves more money. I have purchased Bose products in the past, and I'm fairly happy with them. I have purchased other brand products for less money, and to me, the sound is comparable, if not better.
Will McIntosh support their vintage product?
No way to say at this time, but I would imagine Bose knows that part of the Mac branding is their well known support for prior products.
When has a corporation board of directors made a company better after its been purchased? Go look at Bose board of directors. Look at some of their company statements. Can you say "Bud Light".
You do know that MIT holds a big chunk of Bose, don't you?
@TheDanEdwards I do know some of their directors have degrees from MIT. And I also know some of their corporate statements come from extremely far left politics.
@@jvnb-y9e Just curious how "far left politics" can affect sound quality?
@@Sunnbobb They'll focus on politics instead of McIntosh quality. Do you own McIntosh??????
@@jvnb-y9e Several. And the only one focusing on politics here seems to be a right winger.
Whatever happened to audio research being acquired. I guess it's all private no one knows what is going on and I'm glad I did not buy their stuff,
Luv bose haters my take is they hate that a $1400 dollar speaker when properly powered and set up sounds as good or better than their $30000 monstrous speakers.
Sonus Faber manufacturing their bottom line speakers in China - hot garbage.
On the other hand, Wharferdale speakers are made in China to a very high standard.
Bose has brought more musical pleasure than almost the whole of the competition combined.
I would respectfully disagree.
Maintaining tube audio gear is getting tougher and tougher because the profession is dying. Maintenance of gear with tubes takes forever maintenance and farming it out cheaper rates. My guess is it will not get better . I don't see any positives in this action for those interested in sound quality. Mcintosh has not even released a press release I'm on the email list and I would get it
Trying to keep positive on it until we see the true impact, but that will probably take a year or two.
Hope they do not buy Marantz...
Why? If not, Marantz may be DOA very soon.
Bose.... the most overrated speakers on the planet ever.
Bose. "Better sound through marketing."
Rubbish buys great... not good