Popular Science - USA (2019-10)

POPSCI.COM • WINTER 2019 85

Frank McIntosh and Gordon Gow

launched their home stereo com-

pany in 1949, one year after the

invention of the long- playing rec ord.

Vinyl introduced consumers to

high-fidelity sound and created a

demand for audiophile equipment

previously reserved for broadcast-

ers. McIntosh has since earned a

reputation for quality components

built largely by hand at its factory

in upstate New York. Although

speakers, turntables, and music

streamers all roll down the assem-

bly conveyors, audio aficionados

most revere the warm sound of the

company’s amplifiers. Some mod-

els rank among the finest ever

created for home use. Others pow-

ered the audio stacks at somewhat

larger venues, like Woodstock and

Grateful Dead concerts.

WORDS AND

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

STAN HORACZEK

OLD-SCHOOL