A better amplifier by design

In 1949 Frank McIntosh built a better audio amplifier. Not by accident.
By Design. McIntosh succeeds today because it continues to build better audio products by design.

The many refinements that distinguish a McIntosh stand in stark relief against mass-produced mediocrity.

Behind every McIntosh is a fifty-year heritage of excellence proudly carried forward by every employee.

McIntosh infuses state-of-the-art technology with the timeless virtues of craftsmanship and dependability.

By design, there is nothing like a McIntosh.

Four men, One Vision

Frank McIntosh, Gordon Gow, and Maurice Painchaud formed the original McIntosh Engineering Laboratory. Their goal was to create the first High Fidelity audio power amplifier - one that would reproduce the entire audio range (20Hz to 20KHz) with low distortion. The McIntosh 50W1 debuted in 1949.
The company moved to Binghamton, New York in 1951 and was renamed McIntosh Laboratory. That same year the brilliant MIT engineer Sidney Corderman joined the company as Chief Engineer and was directly involved with the design of all products until his retirement in 1993.
After Frank McIntosh retired in the late 1970s, Mr. Gow was named President. Mr. Painchaud directed operations and finance and was appointed President after the untimely death of Mr. Gow in 1989.
Mr. Corderman was called back as interim President for a short period and is also a member of the Board of Directors. Most recently he came out of retirement to design the limited-edition Mc2000 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier that commemorates McIntosh's 50th anniversary.

The McIntosh Company and The Philosophy

Despite continual advances in digital technology there are no "perfect" CD players. Likewise after decades of acoustical research there are no "perfect" loudspeakers. It begs the question: Can you measure audio perfection? The short answer is no. Better to ask how you define audio perfection.

Ask a McIntosh owner and the answer may seem coy: total satisfaction Yes, McIntosh products feature state of the art technology and musical performance beyond reproach. They satisfy in other ways as well, delivering musical enjoyment of a higher order. American craftsmanship, dependability, timeless style, enduring value, and pride of ownership. These are just some of the qualities that make McIntosh products truly part of the emotional bond between listeners and their music. So it was in 1949. So it is today.

The talented engineers and craftspeople at the McIntosh factory in Binghamton, New York, maintain standards of excellence admired worldwide. Although the ability to design exceptional products no doubt exists elsewhere, only the McIntosh way, fifty years strong, ensures the creation of exceptional products time and time again.

Although custom installations seem a recent phenomenon, McIntosh dealers have been designing and installing custom systems for decades. Today McIntosh products are the choice of the discriminating customers planning a home theater or multizone entertainment system.

The McIntosh Dealer

What sets the McIntosh Dealer apart from the average? Simple things really. A commitment to excellence, honesty, integrity, a deep understanding of the product itself and the ability to take complex concepts and translate them into terms that even a newcomer to the world of specialty items such as Home Theater and Multizone Systems can understand. How is this achieved? In most dealerships the new salesman or woman is not allowed to even talk to a customer for an extended training period. A McIntosh Franchise is not purchased it is awarded, this only after the prospective McIntosh dealer demonstrates the ability to support the product properly. McIntosh is a limited production product. Only a select few audio dealerships, usually one per major city, ever recieve the honor to display proudly the name McIntosh amongst its product lines.

McMasters
This unique educational program brings McIntosh Dealers to the Binghamton N.Y. factory where they not only see products being built but actually work on them in order to gain a deeper appreciation for the extraordinary craftsmanship required. McIntosh Dealers receive the highest level of training and support in the industry, and it shows. McIntosh owners are loyal to their dealers for the same reasons they're loyal to the product: quality, dependability, and performance.

World wide recognition

McIntosh is truly a world brand, respected not only for its products but for its highly disciplined approach to product design. The McIntosh brand is so revered in Japan, for example, that even the shipping cartons are considered 'collectors' items.

From the Technical Advisor of PMA
A few words about McIntosh,
'The Great American Powerhouse', sounds good doesn't it? However for those of us who have listened with pleasure bordering on euphoria, working with McIntosh brings on a sense of wonder and awe. Many have waited for it to go the way of all the early founders of this industry, namely (bought for the name, mass marketed, reduced in quality and finally to lose the vision, the dream that McIntosh represents) McIntosh continues and even more impressive, gets better. It is the cutting edge of Audio/Video, Home Theater, and so much more. Instead we find the vision is intact, the dream of perfection in audio and video reproduction of sound and sight is stronger then ever. The phrase 'The Great American Powerhouse' merely skims the surface. The term does not do McIntosh electronics justice. McIntosh means more to the audio industry then Rolls Royce does to the car industry. For one thing it is still created to the standards and goals established by the founders Frank McIntosh, Gordon Gow and Maurice Painchaud. Timeless design which gives that sense of continuity, each McIntosh owner knows that his unit will never look outdated, Glass faceplates, heavy duty chassis, Massive power supplies which insure huge reserves of power, not to play loud. Though be assured it can do that. No all that power is there to provide the clarity and dynamic range needed to reproduce music accurately. It is still all hand built in the United States of America. It is a an American masterpiece that can make every person interested in Hi-Fidelity sound reproduction Proud.