So that is Mac and Sonus Faber down the tubes then. That really puts a full stop at the end of an era.No it's not April 1st ...........
Bose Corporation Acquires McIntosh Group | Bose
Read the full announcement of Bose's acquisition of the McIntosh Group, the leader in luxury, high-performance audio.www.bose.com
I honestly don't think Mac ever made a decent speakers, but their amps are a different matter.
That's what I thought of from the outset was their amps.
Autoformers in the output stages in this day and age are silly. Why would you want an amplifier to deliver the same power in 8, 4 and 2 ohm loads and add all of that hysterisis to the output that isn't a problem for modern solidstate amplifiers. Build quality and aesthetics aside, I see little appeal to owning a Mcintosh amplifier product.
I'm inclined to agree. They did it so there was zero chance of DC offset and speaker damage. The auto transformers make DC offset blowing the speakers impossible and also reduced the current stress of low impedance loads on the output devices. I never liked the idea, but it did add a measure of reliability. I have never been tempted to purchase a Mac amp.
Gene, don't you think it's Bose attempt to go up-market for a space they don't compete in presently? I actually think it's a great fit. Bose competes with Apple, B&W, Beats in the consumer wearables but doesn't have any growth in the high-end world like B&W or Bang & Olufsen. (And before the "haters of lifestyle products" get on their... lifestyle product to flame B&O, just know they have a large market share and make a ton of money.) they also tap into car audio something I didn't think about until Andrew Robinson mentioned it. I don't see the quality going down at all and see greater market share moving toward Sonus/Mac.Bose Acquires McIntosh Group
Bose acquires McIntosh Group, home to McIntosh and Sonus faber, stepping into luxury audio. A bold move, but what’s next for these iconic high-end brands?www.audioholics.com
I know someone who's a Sonus Faber dealer and isn't a fan of McIntosh because of the autoformers- I'll have to get his reaction to this. If Bose leaves them alone and won't force Sonus dealers to carry Bose & Mac, he may be OK, but if they do force dealers, I think he'll be dropping Sonus Faber.
I also have an older Wave Radio Cd player in my bedroom. Not terrible but not real hifi IMHO. Looking back I probably wouldn't have bought it.
I have some sympathy with Mac on autotransformers but not a lot. They built their reputation on reliability.
yeah it’s not a great sounding system. I bought one used as a memorial to my Dad who played it all the time when I was a kid living at home. Every time I look at it I think of my Dad.
But they also built their reputation building tube power amps and if those are expected to live for awhile with various speaker impedance, output transformers need to accommodate that. It may have seemed like "Hey, they work and we have used them all this time, why not continue?".
