Fascinating discussion. The first stereo I was captivated by was a McIntosh. 20 years later I walked into a stereo store to have a look and I heard a fascinating sound. What’s that I asked , a McIntosh was the answer. I purchased the system, a c220 preamp and a 2102 power amp. As we speak, I’m upgrading to a c53 preamp, and in the new year the Mc611. I’ve heard many systems, but Macs just resonates with something within like nothing else does. Must be the autoformers. Like you Jay, I’m often up until 3am and I have to shut it down just so my wife won’t complain too much. Keep on with your great work, Jay., you are truly amazing.

I appreciate Jay and this dealer giving their opinions but remember EVERY amplifier will sound different based on the speaker, room and associated equipment they are used with.

Jay: Mcintosh new stuff doesn't do anything for me. Also Jay: I haven't tried the new stuff from Mcintosh yet.

I’m really enjoying this format with the local dealer. Very relaxing. Just need to add cocktails or coffee /cake or something.

My opinion regarding the Krell I bias amps which carry the legacy of being an all class A build with a true fully balanced circuitry. The presentation has a warm touch without the heat factor at a good price point WINNER !!!

Dear Jay, thanks you for the list. It's nice to know these brands list because they are very common on our discutions groups.

Krell: These things happen when you force your lead designer out of the company.

One persons trash is another's persons gem I guess! I have heard some uber high-end having friends that own a "mid fi" - "jay would call it" audio store here in Mt Joy PA, they get stuff in to demo behind the scenes sometimes. They would never have a market for it here in southeast PA, But it's fun and honestly the differences in sonics between uber/mid/bottom and entry level "in my opinion" from the little I have heard is like adding 10% sonic differences to each tier but 300% price point. Even if I had the money which I don't, I just don't see the point. It seems more of a obsessive I own the best of the best of the best more than a logical choice. "The price made my ears shudder with bliss and peen quiver with excitement" Perfectly happy with my PS audio, Van Alstine, Schiit audio, Parasound, entry level Pass and 100's of others for 400k or more less... I guess i'm easily pleased!

I had a pair of Mac 2301's for awhile a few years back. I agree, they sounded fantastic, but I decided to go S.S. and do away with the tube situation. Funny, now I want to do away with my S.S. preamp and go tube. I tell ya, this hobby will keep you on your toes. So many options.

McIntosh at their price point are still excellent musical and very reliable They still have a very non fatiguing musical sound i would suggest prospective buyers listen and trust there own ears

McIntosh sells. But as you pointed out, people don't necessarily buy it for the sound but for the status instead.

I'm looking forward to seeing if Naim ends up on part 2. Also Jay, you should look into bringing in the Naim statement to do some comparisons. It's obviously a company you don't hold in high regard, but the statement is a $200k prestige amplifier, and I'm wondering if it might stand alone as a product within that company that can compare to a Griffin or Boulder. Also there's so little youtube content covering it, a shame because it's a truly visually stunning piece. Hopefully something you'll consider for he future!

Jay, can you show us a list os the Best of the Bottom...? It'll be interesting for the poor mortals...

Jay repeat after me THESE ARE MY OPINIONS OF THE AMPS THAT I LISTEN TO IN MY ROOM . LIKE MOST OF US I HAVE A LESS THAN OPTIMAL ROOM SO PLEASE TRY THEM IN YOUR OWN ROOM . EACH ROOM WILL GARNER DIFFERENT RESULTS . That's all you have to say to be a responsible reviewer . I get it ,we all have to work with what we have . I was stuck in my basement too due to mommy / the wife . Don't give up one day you may have a room with 12 foot ceilings .

My Krell KMA 200's from the late 80'-early 90's are absolutely MidFi now! I am thankful that Jay is a straight shooter/honest with his opinions! LORD Willing, I will plan for an upgrade before I retire to the Sun Coast in my Diesel Pusher! Thanks Jay for your opinions!

To me this is like the ranking in an end of the year best drivers cars list. McIntosh is like M3, very good in isolation and hugely enjoyable but against a GT3 it falls short. Gryphon & Boulder are like Porsche GT division products. Just because M3 ranks lower in this does not mean that its bad by any stretch of the imagination.

To say Parasound JC 1+ highs sound great at low volume with first 25w Class A but bad at high volume is far-fetched (and false). An 88db sensitive speaker would need to play at ~103 db volume to exceed 25w. Furthermore, the big watts usually kick in for low frequency transients. The only valid knock against the $17k Parasounds is that they are ugly by comparison with the amps that Jay ranks in his tier 1. Jay likes the bling and prestige of the $50k+ amps. The JC 1+ rubs guys like him the wrong way because they give equal (often superior) sonic performance for less than half the dollars. Plain casework and manufacturing in Taiwan are massive cost savers.

Oftentimes like that: the founder and original owner is gone, company sold…company goes down. Happened with Krell, happened also with Mountainbike formerly famous brand ‚Klein‘. It’s a shame, doesn’t HAVE to be like that, but oftentimes it is.

Love yer style Jay….is so refreshing to hear an honest opinion sprinkled with the right amount of humor and creative metaphors….audio buzzwords are so tiresome!

I am in agreement with you Jay on Krell components. I struggled with them (KCT, FPB-400cx, and KPS-28c) for over 10 years too long thinking that I had top notch gears but never enjoyed them as they were never musical or engaging. Finally got rid of them all after I discovering your channel. I have since tried Luxman M900u/C900u combo, and now Gryphon Essence/Pandora combo and could not be happier. Hope you discover more hi-fi gears with mid-fi, or low-fi price. Thanks!

These guys are pushing off brands like constellation junk amps, that are filled with 800 dollars chinse parts and cost 25K, paid sales scammers

Ah you find the Bryston SST2 more pleasing then the SST3, me too.

In regards to the bryston ssd2 that was mentioned... What advice can you give someone looking at the used market for one? I see there are a few different options. C series, pro, 4b/9b/28b etc.

Plinius SA-103 on the mids/highs with JC1 on woofers......

I agree in term of improvement design in Mc is 0. I’m not satisfy with Mc quality from my $10k Amp. It’s make a pop/pulp sound when turn on/off amp. They lazy to not put a delay relay inside output circuit for stop making speakers pulp.

Listen to this guy. He has no clue. The blue shirt is much better.

LOL McIntosh stopped innovating ever since it was bought by the Clarion group.

Well , as far as brands are concerned , I guess that I'm in the bottom of the barrel list.

Good to see that I should wait and not upgrade my Bryston 4bsst2 for the 4b3.

Post your audiometry test . At certain point how much can really hear do to hearing lost.

So let’s take the opinion of a guy who will happily sell into anyones territory regardless of the agreement he has with a manfacturer. Yeah hold my drink and let me run and go get my checkbook.

If there is any difference between amplifiers.

Hi have you tried the Vivid Audio Giga speaker's.

I got confused by your title of this Video, I thought you would talk about Bottom Tier Amplifiers in that they are the cheapest up to approx $10,000. in cost so I got excited for a while but no it was all highend audio not to your liking. My fault and carry on the good work...

Hey audiophools, eat class D static!

This is what I mean by elitism in the high-end audio world. Fanboys in this industry are some of the biggest fanboys in existent, and some of them tend to be elitist. Jay's a good dude, but he's a hi-fi elitist. Listing McIntosh as bottom tier is just LOL worthy. It's just nonsense.

The greatest amp for any money has to be the Fukuras Jizontitz mk.5

Hi Jay, what about Chord amps? Where do they go in the list?

Bring it ;-)

Prima Luna was the worst amp I ever heard lol

Hi. I saw you owned a revel salon speakers. What do you rating them?

I respectfully disagree about your opinion on McIntosh gear. I just did an a/b between 601 vs 611 in my system and the new amps are very different animals. They are less dark, more transparent, and the bass control is wildly improved. At 15k, I think the 611 monoblocks are a good value if you like the Mac sound.

Fish heads for the plebs!

Hmm.. hummmmmigggg 😢

Why is Jay spreading this Suncoast video out over multiple videos and weeks? Just release everything please.

I never really liked Krell. Now I know why, makes perfect sense. But even the good old ones that so many rave about, had really bad 3d/layering/just sounded old/simple, even though they did a lot good. Fun to watch these videos where at least someone has the balls to say it as it is, I think that these things are not just a matter of opinion, it's just pretty obvious and most people are thinking it.

Your videos are bottom tier. You are surrounded with big money gear my friend , but my Gosh your videos are very bottom tier. Hire some one or up grade your camera gear.😢

Click baiter 🤣

You guys need to go on a diet!

I'm thinking about a new amp so I am going to buy the amp that Jay hates the most since he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about LOL