Escape The HiFi Rabbit Hole!

🔌 SHOP UNPLUGGED EPISODE 21: The McIntosh Hifi System

McIntosh MC452 n/l/a

Focal Diablo Colour Evo d/o

🧪 WATCH THE FULL MCINTOSH C55 and MC312 REVIEW

The SOUND of PERFECTION -- McIntosh C55 and MC312 Review

🔌 VIDEO CHAPTERS: Escape The HiFi Rabbit Hole!

00:00 UNPLUGGED WITH ANDREW AND KRISTI, EPISODE 21
01:01 THE MCINTOSH STEREO SYSTEM (KRISTI's THOUGHTS)
02:22 EXPENSIVE HIFI EQUIPMENT
07:58 GETTING LOST IN THE HIFI RABBIT HOLE
17:04 HIFI EQ
26:21 UNDERSTANDING PREAMPS
30:01 MCINTOSH vs MARANTZ
34:51 MCINTOSH vs TECHNICS
38:12 MCINTOSH vs ROTEL/MICHI
41:07 MCINTOSH vs YAMAHA
45:42 MCINTOSH + EVERSOLO

🗒️ ABOUT US

SPEAKERS STANDS, CABLES & ACCESSORIES
Speaker Cables: custom, n/a for purchase

DIAGNOSTICS

OUR LIVING ROOM
MEDIA BENCH 🛍
LOUNGE CHAIRS 🛍
🛍 May be tagged in the video

💰 VIDEO/CHANNEL REVIEW POLICY & FTC DISCLOSURES

FTC DISCLOSURE: This video is NOT SPONSORED.
PRODUCT REVIEWED: Both products were sent on loan by the manufacturer. The C55 has been returned.
OUR CHANNEL REVIEW POLICY: We do not allow/accept payment or free product in exchange for a review, video or our time. Products sent on loan by the manufacturer or their representative are returned after the review. Otherwise, the Channel has purchased the product(s) at the Channel’s expense for the purpose of a review and/or has paid to keep the product long-term.
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#andrewrobinsonunplugged #mcintosh #hifiaudio

[andrewrobinsonreviews]

🔌 Check out the FULL MCINTOSH REVIEW here The SOUND of PERFECTION -- McIntosh C55 and MC312 Review
😀If you enjoyed this video, please hit the 👍 Like button! 🙏 Please stay on topic & be respectful.
⬆Channel Policies and FTC Disclosures are available in the description box above.

[MR.kelseypickens]

This is why I've been a fan of Andrew Robinson for decades. He is gifted with painting a picture of his experience with different gear that doesn't sound like mumbo jumbo or esoteric BS. His wealth of knowledge as a reviewer is extensive enough to reach both novices and long time audiophiles. Bringing the listening environment's role in the playback experience is key for all of us to remember and address. Phenomenonal video.

[KristiWright]

*Happy Friday! Thank you for taking the time to join us. Andrew and I really do appreciate it.*

[grahamjackson]

The best way to avoid the audiophile rabbit hole. Spend what you can on a system. Then have no money left to upgrade, and enjoy what you do have. From photos I’ve seen on hifi groups on Facebook, most people have very adequate systems, but have totally inadequate layouts / positioning for speakers. Any upgrades are a waste of money because of this.

[gges]

The biggest hifi trap is when you sit down to listen to the system instead of the music there are a lot of people who have climbed the hifi ladder to land up selling it again because they realised they were not enjoying the music on the vast majority of their cds or records etc as the recording was not the best this is a real issue when you have really good system as a lot of recordings are simply not great so listening to them on a good system is frustrating that is the real danger with hifi

[baronvonaux]

There’s a lot of great advice spread throughout this video that goes far beyond the Mac gear. I think this is the best ‘unplugged’ episode to date!

[ericeasterbrooks]

Thanks Greg for being honest. I have been there and Andrew's advice of moving speakers around and changing some things around really does help and can make your speakers sound better.

[SteebMo]

Love that y'all are addressing how good the MiniDSP SHD is as a complete device. It truly simplifies things (minus the HDMI ARC oversight) to the point where I'm just using the SHD and 2 poweramps and it's (very nearly) everything I've ever needed.

[kevinmiller]

That Greg response was one of the best advices I have heard in decades. As a trumpet player, we struggle with similarities as Greg with our equipment (trumpet and mouthpices) with sound, the color of the sound, wants and requirements for the job. And how can we make the playing easier. Take the step back, make a list, see what you have and it checks off the list, then go from there. Thank you! Grady advice

[mrglasses]

Honestly, my cut off point is £1, 000 - £1, 500 per component, and currently it's about £600 per component. There are more important things to spend money on, like building a house.

This is depressing tbh, the future of hi-fi is basically cheap Bluetooth speakers or stupidly expensive hi-fi?

Anyone who thinks EQ is superfluous, needs to listen to the genelec ones with room correction DSP. If this tech is favoured in studios, why not hi-fi?

[spektrograf]

Love the discussion, as usual, guys! Digging the propping, colors, and composition of that shot of the Cornwall's, Mac's and the image you selected for the screen at 17:58. Chef's kiss on that one! 🤌

[johnlangdon]

Your response to Greg was awesome. That McIntosh amp is amazing, but trying to maximize what he already has might give him the sound he's searching for. I hope he finds his answer.

[bnieverajr]

Kudos to Andrew and Kristi on addressing the 'Rabbit Hole' conundrum. As a 4-decade-plus sales guy/marketer, trying to walk that line is like pulling teeth with my customers, but once they get the gist of narrowing the field with a proper review of their system, best practices and closing the gap with a one-and-done curated set up, the end result can be awesome.

[AnthonyToth-tv]

Escape the hifi rabbit hole. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve tried for 53 years to get audio nirvana it didn’t happen it started from being inquisitive to buy from the start of my hifi journey to being compulsion to buy and then addiction then I came to my sences and brought a wiim amp with two mission bookshelf speakers and an rel sub. That’s me finished. I have tinnitus too. So now I’m back to where I started it’s just a hobby folks. Something to do to keep the mind occupied. Have fun 🤩 don’t keep looking down the rabbit hole. Let’s just enjoy what we have and enjoy music itself including playing instruments and be happy with life. Peace out ✌️

[laurocantu]

I have a 5.1.4 home theater setup using the Sony A80L, Onkyo RZ50 and Polk R200's, R350, R100's, and 4 80F/X-RT's. When I start getting an itch to start spending money to upgrade my system, I escape the Hi-fi rabbit hole by going back and watching your review of the Polk R200's, which just helps remind me of how good those speakers are regardless of the price. The law of diminishing returns is a real thing and one we should all take seriously, well unless you're Carl, then you can spend recklessly. For the rest of us, I think sometimes we just need to remind ourselves why we purchased what we purchased and the joy it brought us when we first hit Play.

[kingtrance]

I did. I stopped buying new gear years ago and just enjoy what I’ve got. Happy listening! 😀

[grahamthompson]

I'm just here for the Dragon smack down and you guys didn't disappoint 😂

[gaborhorvath]

My suggestion to regular, not rich people, who wants to try out hifi:

- Buy used...

- ...When you find good value

- Negotiate the price

- only upgrade when you can sell your equipment for the same or higher price : )

The extra you make will make you feel okay for spending hundreds on cabling for instance.

[AtlantaJonny]

Shhhh people chasing improvements gets the rest of us good gear for cheap.

[jenslindblad]

Question: would you be interested in getting out of the audiophile $$$ rabbit hole by talking more about affordable hi fi gear? When do you get into the territory of diminishing returns? Are hi fi reviewers contributing to an audiophile arms race by focusing on very expensive hi fi gear?