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What's an audio shop?

The masses today have no idea what you're talking about and no connection to your experience. It's just golly gee swell that you had that slice of life, but it is completely irrelevant in 2016.

Err..there are still plenty of higher end audio shops out there, I've been to them.

Hell, even the chain Best Buy has in some stores a high end area called the "Magnolia Room"....I was at one a couple weeks ago, they had the McIntosh MC275 tube amp.

Its out of my range right now...but looking for one of the older 60's Mc's....that can be had for a fraction of the new price.

But audio shops are not a thing of the past, I see them in many towns/cities I visit. Maybe not as prolific as in the past, but they're still out there.

My choice is usually McIntosh...

Man, you've got that right...I've been jonesing after a good McIntosh tube amp(s) since I was about 12yrs old and heard my first ones hooked to some Klipschorn speakers.

I got the speakers..I just need to save up for the amp.

I know why so many people love Mc's.....although I'm confused why so many people call them Mac's...

I think a LOT of this has to do with so many of today's kids not KNOWING what good sound reproduction CAN sound like.

I've been building my stereo system ever since I was a kid. I walked into a high end audio shop at about age 12...and first heard Klipschorn's hooked to McIntosh tube amp, and I couldn't believe my ears...

It was right then, that I started building my system so I could have that some day. And, today...after buying piece here..piece there, deal on this..selling it and improving one piece at time (ok, thieves and insurance helped with the speakers at the end), I almost have that set up.

People that come over and hear it...are often amazed how good it sounds....they often exclaim they hear new things and nuances in familiar songs they'd never heard before.

Sure, I like an iPod, I have a couple of them...a shuffle for the gym, and a classic for travel, in the car..etc. I have good earphones for them, Shure 530's I think....but, I do realize that these are for very POOR listening environments. I try to get my music in the best source I can (this means CD's at this time, can't buy lossless online yet), I rip them to flac for home stereo usage..and decently high quality mp3 for portable use.

Unfortunately, somewhere between now and when I was a kid...people stopped buying good home audio systems. I don't quite know what or what happened. Somewhere along the line...ONLY portable players came into vogue...and it is sad that so many are losing out how good sound reproduction can be. I dunno if it is cause or effect....but, so much of todays music is mixed so poorly, overly compressed with no dynamic headroom anymore. So, maybe there isn't much point to getting good gear, if new music is no longer mixed to get the most out of it.

But, as far as good gear goes....you needn't go overboard on the super audiophile non-sense and voodoo that is out there, but, with respect to solid audio gear...to a certain extent, you do get what you pay for...

McIntosh are not just PC's...

I would have agreed with p until I worked in a high end audio store (not BestBuy). Once I listened to music though a high end audio system, there was no tuning back. I am still shocked to this day that a vinyl record could sound that good. It really has nothing to do with being "Mr. Super Ears", it has to do more with not knowing that there is something out there that is much better.

Sure, you could prefer to eat steaks from Sizzler, but one you have kobe beef, there is no turning back.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/default.asp

McIntosh remains pretty much true to their roots. All the analog components are designed and manufactured in Binghamton, New York to very high standards. Of course their price point is notably higher than Denon or Marantz.

    http://mcintoshlabs.com/

-molo

What is an MP3 except an imperfect digital copy?

What is the big problem for the RIAA is that a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of the original imperfect digital copy is the same as the original imperfect digital copy. It does not pick up imperfections in each generation of the copy. Video tape and Cassette Tapes were not too much of a problem as a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy was pretty much lacking in any fidelity. Automatic gain control in audio recorders and video peaking in video recorders pretty much ensured that a 5th generation copy was junk.

To speed up the process on video tape, most recorders line input has a sensitivity of -20 dB, but an output level of -6DB. This ensured that a multiple generation will have full volume tape hiss in the quiet parts of the movie.

In addition to a video stabelizer for the picture, an attenuator for the audio to disable AGC in the audio was a requirement for multi-generation recording. Multi-generation copies of videotapes often had car crashes, screaming sports fans, and bedroom whispers all at the same level, much like a modern CD. To get good dynamic range nowdays, you need to go to THX certified DVD's.

It's hard to find these VCR specs nowdays outside a service manual. Now all the consumer level spec's state is the jacks are RCA and are on the front or back.

Spec sheets that include technical stuff like this are hard to find anymore;
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/mcprod/..%5Cdata%5Cbrochures%5CMVP871.1.28.07.pdf

"Output Level: 2 Vms (1kHz, 0dB)
Output Connectors: 2 RCA Jacks,"

Most VHS VCR's were input level -20 dB, output level -6 dB.
This 14 dB boost from copy to copy hit the AGC hard and soon raised the noise level up to full volume.

"Mac" has an entirely different meaning to audiophiles. http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/mcprod/shopdisplayproducts.asp?hid=1&id=14&cat=Power+Amplifiers&prodid=1093&product=MC275

Trust me, they are very very expensive!
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/

So, do you own a Macintosh and a McIntosh ?

I paid $5000 for my DVD player.

Not necessarily. There are noticeable differences in price between pro audio gear and "audiophile" audio gear. Pro gear is technically superior, more flexible, more powerful, and cheaper. Audiophile gear has gold connectors and blue LED's on the front and the prices are anywhere from double to quadruple that of similar pro gear.

Examples?

Power amp: McIntosh MC602 vs. Yamaha P7000S.

$8000 (Source) vs. $700 (Source)

The former is undoubtedly a nice amp. 600W x 2 channels. Fancy-looking VU's on the front, gold-plated connectors, and a recognized name make this a "must have" for the audiophile with more money than sense (and his neighbor, who now has to keep up with that Jones guy next door...). And on a more substantial note, it has balanced inputs, a feature you don't often see on gear meant for non-pros, and it's a feature that can make a meaningful difference in audio quality.

The latter is nicer. 1100W x 2 channels or 2000W x 1 channel, a pro-level class-A amp circuit, a multitude of options for configuration, and the ability to buy 11 of them for the same price as the other amp and still have $300 left for cables 'n' stuff (or pizza for all the nights you'll spend hooking 11 amps up). Things like balanced inputs are a given on this type of gear. VU's are left out, since pros generally like to have the VU's on the console and stuff the amp in a rack somewhere out of sight. There's still a "peak" indicator, just in case.

I'd be worried more about pro-gear getting the gouge-em-for-all-they-have reputation of audiophile gear. Which would suck, because as it stands, I can keep up with the Joneses (so to speak) for a fraction of what "they" spend. Hell, I can usually afford enough power to melt "the Joneses'" walls from 1000 feet away.

I heard the thing on NPR and it sounded like the reporter was a bit confused. I don't see why there should be a link between the increasing popularity of vinyl and USB turntables. A USB turntable is great, unless you are lazy and cheap like me and just run a cable from the audio system I already own to the Macintosh I already own. I bought the cable from Radio Shack a few years ago. The USB turntables I've seen aren't as nice as my old setup. Too bad I don't own a McIntosh, that would make for a cool setup.

Their home stuff (particularly the tube gear) is great...and I'd heard good things about their car audio amps....

How about this AV center from McIntosh ....this is their lower end model, but appears to handle like 6 digital inputs. And their stuff is VERY good. Pricey, but, GOOD.

I believe you mean "McIntosh Labs". :-)
Well, technically, "McIntosh Laboratory Inc."
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/

Hmm...sure would be nice if they could come to an agreement on the home theater set up tho. Wow... McIntosh AV unit , McIntosh tube amps ...and Klipsch heratige series ( KlipschHorns , Heresey..etc) surround sound with the mac as the PVR and music source.

Hey...while I'm dreaming...I'd also like a pony!

:-)

Hmm...sure would be nice if they could come to an agreement on the home theater set up tho. Wow... McIntosh AV unit , McIntosh tube amps ...and Klipsch heratige series ( KlipschHorns , Heresey..etc) surround sound with the mac as the PVR and music source.

Hey...while I'm dreaming...I'd also like a pony!

:-)

Gotta love them audiophiles. :-)

Yup..if you wanted something akin to the Mercedes of audio...go for McIntosh The stuff looks old style still...but, man, what great sounding stuff.

Too bad most young people today don't know what truly good sounding stereo can be...

2. I've invested in an audiophile grade system--I've got two Macintoshes--one next to my desk and another powering my MLs. Trust me, you can spot the 192s bitrates each time. They're particularly noticable on string music.

Macintoshes? Don't you mean McIntosh?? I'm the last person that should be a spelling Nazi but in this case I take exception. Macintosh is a series of computers by the Apple corp. McIntosh has been around since the 1950s and produce some very nice audio gear including power amps, recievers, amps, loud speakers, and other misc hardware. Both Apple and Mcintosh are associated with audio so it's important that you make it clear which company you are talking about. When you said Macintosh, I had this image of an iMac on your desk and an iBook hooked up to a Cyber Acoustics ML powered speakers.

The point being don't spend forever telling me how much you love your music if you're listening to it on crappy mp3s, ripped god knows how, at 192, on ear phones that use cone drivers.

All ears are not created equal. Have you never noticed people who do construction picking out speakers that offer the best mid-range peformance with little regard to the high end? It's not their lack of love for music but the fact they can't hear some shit.

The nice thing about the human mind is our brains fill in the empty spaces. I know a great many people who are into music, who have perfect pitch, who's ears and bodies are well trained to the peformance, yet are perfectly happy with POS bookshelf systems and sub $100 portable .mp3 players. It's not their lack of love of music but their budget and their brains take over and fill in the gaps. You could say they don't know what they are missing, and you would be right. But ignorance is bliss and good for the pocketbook.

Yup...McIntosh is extremely high end audio gear ...I understand misspelling the name...but, what does the capitalization have to do with how you spell mac, Mac, or MAC? All the same to me? I just take it in context as to what they're talking about...though I never thought about all acronyms being all uppercase. Heck...most everything I type is in lowercase...so, I don't come across much other than that...

:-)

Why would you put a home stereo system in a PC case?

E: Mcintosh inc makers of fine audiophile equipment.

Jobs bought the interface off of Xerox and Xerox invested heavily into Apple at the time.

Heh, yeah. There's a saying among recording studio geeks. "No highs, no lows... it must be Bose!"

High quality = pro gear. Pro gear = more $$$ than Bose. But if you want decent stuff for a home theater, try this. It'll cost you $5000, your first three children, your right arm, both legs, and a testicle of your choice, though, and that's just for a single amp.

The wise money gets pro-level Yamaha and Tascam/Teac.

• "..."Free" is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service..."

It's possible to purchase MP3s these days, at prices comparable to the per-track cost of a CD. But why? Most people can't discern the difference, but with bloody expensive equipment it is noticable.

Take my recent experience:

• My home theater receiver died recently, and I just got around to shopping for a new one -- the contenders started out with a Sony ES unit, a couple Denon THX-Ultra certified models, and a Pioneer Elite THX receiver.

• Then I made a mistake.

  I listened to a mid-level, non-THX McIntosh. (The MHT-100, if you must know. "A/V Receiver" on the drop-down menu.)

  Oh. My. God.

  I heard things on a CD I didn't know were there -- and yes, the only part of the equation that changed was the receiver. Same speakers, same source, same volume level and EQ (none), same room.

  It's a $5000 (US), 92-pound behemoth that looks like it was designed by the same guy who designed the McIntosh 1700 back in the 60s. It's twice the size of anything else, looks ugly... and sounds incredible. I could buy 5 Sonys at that price, yet I'm still having a really hard time justifying the Sony after hearing it.

In my perfect world, the recording industry encourages trading of mid-quality MP3s because they realize it's free advertising, and people will go out and buy CDs knowing they get a higher-quality product and better sound.

But it's not a perfect world, things don't work that way, and we're busy making the lawyers rich.

Lovely.

Jeff was a little more than one of the early macintosh engineers. He was the originator of the Macintosh project. The guy who decided to call the Mac a "Mac". Though he originally wanted to call it the McIntosh, there was a high level audio component manufacturer of the same name and Apple's lawyers decided to change the spelling of the name to "Macintosh". Though as Theodore Nelson pointed out in his classic geek opus Computer Lib/Dream Machines, the name "Macintosh" if you actually followed the rules of English syntax would be pronounced "Mah-Sin-Tosh".

I'm on a reading tear at the moment of old computer books where they are talking about the design of the interfaces that we have all come to know and love (books from a time when these were all new ideas). I plan on topping it off with Jeff Raskin's new book.

As far as actually designing interfaces goes, several of my friends who actually design interfaces for a living have claimed that this book has been a tremendous help in providing a direction and design philosophy. Most people who design interfaces for the web, for instance, don't seem to ask themselves questions like "How would I design a telephone if I had never seen, never heard of what this device was or was supposed to do".

For higher end stuff, you might check out Klipsch speakers and McIntosh amplifiers. No, these aren't related to Macintosh computers so you'd be safe from contamination.

The Digital Theater is a good place to read up on A/V equipment.