Anyone Ever Get a McIntosh Lemon?

[jwc]

Bought an MX134.....ran into several problems. Returned it twice for repair. The third time....you can keep it.

Bought MEN220. Grossly malfunctioning and lucky I didnt damage my XRT 1Ks. Returned it and too scared to get another.

[t3chnobrat]

I bought an MC452 dealer demo a few months back that had light use if any in the showroom. About a month ago, I noticed that the right meter was slightly more responsive than the left, but wrote it off to a difference in program material (audio balance was fine) until i got curious enough to swap the xlr's which revealed the problem was definitely the meter. The left meter needle has slowly degraded to sitting still intermittently. I've been dragging my feet getting it down to the warranty repair shop.

[thughes]

I had the MCD201 with its issues of popping between tracks and what not. Fortunately, my dealer allowed me to trade for the MCD301.

[bdowell]

Several years ago I bought a mcd 201 demo unit. After several months it stopped reading cds. The dealer refunded my money of which it used to buy a new mcd 301. After a year the drawer had a hard time opening and closing due to a weak belt. An authorized repair facility repaired it under warranty. I sold the 301 fir a new mcd 1100. After 4 years the drawer had a hard time opening. Again a belt. I love the sound of the 1100 and use it daily. It was nice that Mac did stand behind their products.

[PHC1]

With such tremendous volume of sales that McIntosh enjoys, it is unavoidable to be awarded with a lemon once in a while. Sh’t happens as they say. Get it resolved or move on, the choice is yours. Bringing up products from 30-40 years ago and foreshadowing that all McIntosh products must be defective or of poor quality based on one bad experience is simply not fair nor the truth. Name me a product or a brand that is always 100%? I doubt such a thing ever existed.

[thughes]

The MCD 201 issue was nowhere near 30 or 40 years ago. It was about the same time Masterlu broke free of the other forum and started this one.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by thughes

The MCD 201 issue was nowhere near 30 or 40 years ago. It was about the same time Masterlu broke free of the other forum and started this one.

I wasn't referring to the MCD201. I have owned one from the start and my son still uses the MCD201 to this day.

[thughes]

That was the thing with the MCD201. It was about 50/50 whether you had one with issues or not.

[RxJedi]

A few years back, I bought an 8207 from a dealer in SWFL. As it was one of my first purchases in “high end” audio, I was excited and wanted to get started with a new audio system.

I used this amp paired with a MX121, and after the first night watching movies, I felt like I was watching movies in an electrical plant!

No matter what I did, the amp “hummed/buzzed” to the point where you could hear it while watching dialog during a movie. Now, you couldn’t hear it during action scenes, but when it got quiet or there was casual talking, I was so distracted by the sound I couldn’t take it anymore... And this wasn’t coming from the speakers, but the amp itself.

So, I took the unit back to the authorized dealer, and was told “nothing was wrong, it must be my power supply or power input to the home, and the expert at McIntosh “Chuck” says the same thing”. When I went back to question the owner himself, who said they couldn’t hear anything, I was told “that road noise from the vehicles traveling past the store must have prevented him from hearing the noise, but he could now hear it”. Either way, no one was willing to admit there was an issue with the unit, including McIntosh. In McIntosh’s defense, they hadn’t seen the unit yet, but the dealer mentioned multiple times, including emails from Chuck eluding to it was my problem, and that it couldn’t be the amp. As you’ll see in the description that follows, I couldn’t be more disappointed with the dealer, or with McIntosh. And what disappointed me most was the response we got from Chuck at McIntosh....

Not to drag this along, but after months of back and forth, the dealer accepted the return and shipped me a new amp direct from McIntosh. Not surprisingly, that amp made no noise, no hum, no buzz. And my power supply/service WAS NOT THE ISSUE!

Nor do the three 601’s I have, nor the 303, nor the 2301’s, etc. Super disappointed the local dealer refused to do the right thing... But it did lead me to this forum and an incredible friendship with Ivan, and I couldn’t be happier with the incredible service and assistance this community provides as I continue my "Audiophile" journey.

But, I wanted to share this story as some dealers refuse to accept the product they’ve sold may not be “right”. And in this case, it has cost the local dealer a good customer, and an advocate for their business. Not sure who was really at fault, but it would seem to me McIntosh should have represented themselves better than the dealer did.

RxJedi

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by RxJedi

... it has cost the local dealer a good customer, and an advocate for their business. Not sure who was really at fault, but it would seem to me McIntosh should have represented themselves better than the dealer did.

I am always sorry to read a tale such as this. But I think the blame falls squarely on the dealer: He works for you - not the manufacturer - and should be the customer's advocate whenever there's an issue. You did absolutely the right thing to take your business elsewhere.

Any dealer can sell you a sealed box. That's easy.