McIntosh

A good friend of mine who's a consumer audio layman recently asked me: "What's that amplifier brand that you buy and pass down to your kids?" Before I could even answer, another "layman" friend of mine answered "McIntosh," without hesitation. McIntosh is famous for the quality and longevity of their components, even among regular folks who aren't tech geeks. With the MXA80, McIntosh managed to fit a whole lot of legendary audio goodness into a compact system that fits on your desktop. The heart of the MXA80 is its stereo integrated amp. It's a McIntosh amplifier through and through, sporting a beautiful glass front panel, illuminated output meters, and a rock-solid aluminum chassis. A range of inputs on the back panel let you connect disc players, streaming devices, your computer, and more. The onboard DAC (digital-to-analog converter) allows the system to turn your digital audio files — including high-res PCM, DSD, and DXD formats — into sweet music. McIntosh may be best known for their electronics, but t...