Help me build Macintosh System

[Swerd]

Just had my quote on the above items and they are willing to offer 12.5% off of full retail. Does this seem fair or is there a bit more left negotiate...? What you all think?

You have already made up your mind about Macintosh gear. Unfortunately, your dealer seems to know that too. I won't try to talk you out of it.

12.5% off retail is not much. I'd look for at least 25% off. You'll never know how low the dealer might go unless you ask.

The cables are obscenely overpriced. They are essentially pure profit for the dealer. The way you can know that for sure is to ask for a price quote on the Macintosh electronic gear, without any cables in the deal.

 

[MacManJerry]

You have already made up your mind about Macintosh gear. Unfortunately, your dealer seems to know that too. I won't try to talk you out of it.

12.5% off retail is not much. I'd look for at least 25% off. You'll never know how low the dealer might go unless you ask.

The cables are obscenely overpriced. They are essentially pure profit for the dealer. The way you can know that for sure is to ask for a price quote on the Macintosh electronic gear, without any cables in the deal.

Yes there is no doubt i want the MC Gear. This quote is with no speakers or cables or anything else just the amps,preamp cd player and turntable. He was also trying to sell me some MC Power Supply Unit that eliminates all the static and other line noises you get for $5500.00

 

[Swerd]

This quote is with no speakers or cables or anything else just the amps,preamp cd player and turntable. He was also trying to sell me some MC Power Supply Unit that eliminates all the static and other line noises you get for $5500.00

Good.

Stay away from any $5500 static and line noise suppressor. The internal power supply unit built into Mac gear (and any other premium brand) should be good enough to do that without anything extra.

As far as speakers go, Macintosh is well known for its electronic gear. Mac speakers are an after thought. Stick to what Mac does well.

If you want to spend top dollar on the best speakers available, in my honest opinion, I recommend Salk Signature Sound. Salk is essentially a custom builder, and he can do any wood or paint finish you want. His top of the line speakers are the SoundScape 8, which I recommend for your Mac amps, and the Exotica 3, which are made for lower powered amps.

If those prices aren't high enough, you can order exotic veneer finishes such as bubinga, spalted bees wing makore, or pepper wood burl, and pay extra. They can be spectacular. Play with the Gallery to see photos.

If you decide to order a pair of one of those, you can thank me later .

 

[Irvrobinson]

If you want to spend top dollar on the best speakers available, in my honest opinion, I recommend Salk Signature Sound. Salk is essentially a custom builder, and he can do any wood or paint finish you want. His top of the line speakers are the SoundScape 8, which I recommend for your Mac amps, and the Exotica 3, which are made for lower powered amps.

I thought the SoundScape 12 was the top of the line?

 

[MacManJerry]

Good. Let's see if I can push you over the edge.

You obviously want Mac because of its reputation and perceived elite status. The reaction of most of your visitors to a complete Mac system will be "Wow!". It is exactly what you want.

However, you may occasionally have a visitor who knows something about audio. Their reaction will be, "Wow!!! This guy has more money than sense, clearly knows nothing about audio equipment and bought all this stuff just to impress his other ignorant friends!".

Wouldn't you rather get the same "WOW" from both audiophiles and neophytes with Mac components and speakers like these, http://www.statusacoustics.com/8t.html, or any of a number of other elite speakers? (Not to mention spending a fortune on a system that actually sounds good.)

Also, be prepared for the extra setup and maintenance required of a tube system. I'm not saying it's bad, just that it exists. This will not be a plug-and-play system. Make sure your dealer is competent.

I just called the people in Utah at STATUSACOUSTICS and that set of speakers now list for 60k and up to 3 months to get them built..They sure don't sell many pairs of them and mainly to China he said.. Whom has a pair in the area that i could see and listen to?

 

[Pogre]

this is kind of exciting. show us some pics when you get everything so us commonfolk can live vicariously through you.

seriously, I am stoked for you. glad you're considering different speakers. your system is gonna sound amazing.

 

[Swerd]

I thought the SoundScape 12 was the top of the line?

It is still listed on his website, but once the SS8 became available, probably few SS10s or SS12s were ordered. They are large & heavy. I also don't know what kind of supply there is for those big expensive woofers. I was never interested in owning either of them, so I never knew much about them.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

You are really in the wrong forum to ask about Mac gear, to be honest.

What I will say is I've never heard a bad sounding all-McIntosh system.

I actually own a piece of Mac gear ... an AM/FM tuner from the early 1970's.

Build quality is second-to-none and sound quality is outstanding, and I have heard most of the highest regarded tuners ever made, including the Day-Sequerra, plus top of the line units from Luxman, Sansui, Kenwood, McKay-Dymek, Magnum-Dynalab, Technics, and a few others.

I don't know anyone who regrets purchasing McIntosh gear either. It's a means to an end ... you buy their system and never worry about having to replace it. People own their Mac gear for life and the kids sell it at the estate sale.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

12.5% off retail is not much. I'd look for at least 25% off. You'll never know how low the dealer might go unless you ask.

12.5% is a great deal, actually. I won't get into specifics on an internet forum, but will say this: your dealer's cost is pretty close to the 25% margin, so it's never going to happen on McIntosh gear.

Plus, if a dealer discounts certain products too deeply ... cough ... cough ... that dealer might find it getting very difficult to get new product from the distributor. Like, everything is backordered for a year. Or twenty years.

25% might be a reasonable negotiating position if you were talking about most of the brands discussed here on Audioholics Forum, especially if the system includes speakers, which have the highest margins and are the area where most resellers are taking the system discount from.

But Mac dealers do not enjoy the same margins as the usual mass-market Japanese brands would, nor do they turn over the inventory as often (higher turnover = higher discounts at the same annual profit margin).

Yes, I do see the price lists.

 

[KenM10759]

I wouldn't say this is the wrong forum at all. There are people here from across broad ranges of economic strata, passion for this subject, levels of knowledge about it and all over the globe. Like any forum, there are well heeled folk who can buy nearly anything from the pages of The Absolute Sound over to a kid in college who can't rub two nickels together. But we all like audio or at least seek some info about it.

This is absolutely the place for that.