McIntosh sneaks MVP881BR universal BD player into its lineup
By Steven Kim 
posted Aug 20th 2009 12:05PM
posted Aug 20th 2009 12:05PM
posted Aug 20th 2009 12:05PM
The percentage of returned gadgets that have nothing wrong with them.
Of the $13.8 billion worth of returned products in 2007, only 5 percent were because gadgets were actually broken, according to a 2008 study.
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So ~$4,500 for the Denon, I'll bet this unit will be $7,000. I would not kick it off my component shelf.
I would certainly hide it though, ugly piece of kit that is.
One thing about McIntosh equipment. Is it me or their designs are so old school.
Personally, it's not for me...
Definitely not just you. I think every piece of McIntosh gear I've seen has been in an all-McIntosh setup, and I think there's a reason.
I love the look of their stuff. The glowing blue and green colors are very nice IMO.
Most people who buy McIntosh gear tend to stick with that brand for all of their components. So together in a HT rack, they don't look to bad.
McIntosh has kept the look of their products that same for over 40 years. The sell based on this classic look. They definitely don't sell based upon sound quality and engineering.
Pass me some of what you're smoking. It must be pretty good to make a statement like that
Dude, its called reality. McIntosh is currently owned by D&M Holdings (Bain Capitol), and previously owned by Clarion (Yep, the Car amp company). The McIntosh of folklore has been long dead. They still incorporate Autoformers on some of their amplifiers, build the same old tired, psuedo line-array speakers, and rebadged Denon source components. They have classic looks, and a storied history, but no real engineering. "Welcome to the world of the REAL"
@chuckdaly - some piece of credible evidence on this would be nice. Have you owned or spent a lot of time listening to McIntosh equipment? I haven't, but your comment would carry more weight if you had.
I don't know enough about McIntosh to say, but I do agree with this as a general statement. Most companies create a brand name using state of the art technology and superior parts. Later, the company is sold off to some group to squeeze every bit of profit they can out of it or passed down to family members that don't care.
Well, the Lexicon BD-30 universal player is literally a rebadged oppo - per audioholics. It has been reported on several av sites, including audioholics, that several non-amp McIntosh pieces are Denons with new faceplates.
I have been an audiophile since the late 80s and have worked in the industry for some time now. McIntosh makes better products than Sony or Denon, but compared with the likes of Krell, Conrad Johnson, VTL, Plinius, Pass labs, Chord, etc, their products are underwhelming. Don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourselves. Compare McIntosh products to any of the other mentioned products and let your ears be the proof.
The burden of proof is on McIntosh, not me. It is up to them to prove that they make high performance products. The fact that they are a company that has been passed around by companies who haven't been in the HiFi market should say enough.
Again, how does this match up to he OPPO bluray player interms for performance??
If you're gonna charge over $4000's for a product that cannot best a $500 product... you're just robbing people.
Good question, but this isn't ever going to be truly compared to the Oppo in a meaningful way because the McIntosh is in a different buyer class and their opinions will vary. Different ears. I own the Oppo blu-ray player and so far so good. Even if you read a side-by-side comparison you shouldn't believe it because you will never own the test equipment that they used to compare them. Your room, your equipment, your ears. Can't compare them in written form.
I agree with mugatu. Different ears, different environment, different results.
chuckdaly, McIntosh has long been an industry legend. They were bought by the Japanese (Clarion), as their gear is considered to be the best of the best (enough so that there is an active market for used McIntosh pieces in the US getting bought for resale in Japan). Ultimately D&M did buy McIntosh as Clarion wasn't doing well anymore, a move that in part was to fill in the gap above Denon and compete with the likes of Krell, Levinson, ect. As to engineering, all you'd have to do is go to McIntosh's website to see that they are still engineered and built in the US, at the same facility they've been in since before these acquisitions (and by employees who've been with the company for decades). As to sound quality, back in the 80's and part of the 90's the newer audiophile brands were perceived as better because they were rarer and tweakier (McIntosh has always been about quality engineering, which can be kind of boring - particularly when your look doesn't change), but if you look at the various audiophile publications since 2000 or so you'll see that McIntosh's electronics (and especially their amps) are considered amongst the best of the best.
Audio reviews are all but paid for with Advertising, so reviews say very little. The asian market for used audio gear extends far beyond McIntosh, Vintage Marantz gear is by far more coveted than McIntosh. No one buys vintage sports cars for performance, and the same can be said for vintage audio. I've posted twice that they have a storied past and classic looks, yet no can post any other explanation why consumers would purchase their products over the competition.
McIntosh made products that were purchased 40-50 years ago solely by the wealthy due to its outstanding fit and finish. It was never a brand for audiophiles. Newer brands have been considered better because they use things like "New Circuit Designs". Heck, why does McIntosh still use Autoformers, Which are only needed on poorly designed tube amps, with their solid state amplifiers? Why are McIntosh still selling poorly designed line-array loudspeakers that they produced over 20 years ago? They force dealers to sell their loudspeakers by giving them away with the order of electronics. Now that says quality.
Dual HDMI outputs will allow great audio and picture to flow Bi - wire!
For all of you who bad mouth Mcintosh as being old school....trying coming up with the money to buy one with your Mcdonald's pay check. so you new up and comers buy your your 129.00 costco Samsung and enjoy your video in blurr vision...
I find it laughable how quick people are to bash a product they have never seen, heard, watched or handled.
people bash what makes them feel uncomfortable. they want to feel that the 500 that they spent on their oppo was good enough. it probably is for most people.
this blu-ray player isnt for most people