Quote:
Originally Posted by audioguy3107
Marc and I were talking a bit about this stuff after RMAF this year.....I love McIntosh gear, it's a superb value, excellent resale value, love the look.....I could go on and on but it can be a bit eye opening when you directly compare things like a 2 channel preamp, 2 channel amplifier with some other brands such as ARC. Ask form member Rob about his experience when he swapped in the VAC preamp in his system! The great thing about ARC gear is that they really seem to be in the sweet spot for dollar vs. high end performance. Sure the Ref 6 isn't cheap but compared to a lot of gear, it's not that bad. If I had more efficient less demanding speakers, I would've gone with the Ref 6/Ref 250 mono combination which would have saved me a little bit of $$$. For what you get, it's hard to beat a well matched Audio Research system.
- Buck
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My opinion ONLY people...don't flame me...but after years of owning both and hearing both in many different systems, I think ARC and D'Agostino are in a different league than McIntosh. ARC is indeed in the "sweet spot" because you don't really pay much more than other brands. D'Agostino is awesome, of course, but you really do have to pay a premium to attain it.
FWIW: Buck you could have gone with Ref250's, it would knock your socks off and drive ANYTHING. But you're doing quite well with D'Agostino, it's all good I'm sure!
Tim, if you really want the "best" you do owe it to yourself to listen to these other brands as much as possible.
I will say, McIntosh has the best resale value from my experience. I've taken a bath with some of my sales but not really on Mac.