McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end[1][2][3] audio equipment headquartered in Binghamton, New York.

[10] Although solid state components are a large segment of the McIntosh line, audio enthusiasts most revere the warm sound of the company's tube amplifiers.

[14] Their Unity Coupled Circuit, patented at the brand's inception, is still used today in products like their MC275 amplifier, whose vacuum tubes—used in many of the company's products—help to impart a lifelike warmth and soul to the sound.

[19][20] The Mcintosh factory has a black facade with blue tinted windows to align with the company's trademark theme.

[25][26] A battery of twenty McIntosh MC3500 tube amplifiers were used to power the JBL speakers at Woodstock for the 400,000+ fans in attendance.

[27] Urban legend has it that these amps needed to be cooled by ice on the hot August days so they would not overheat but McIntosh Laboratory Inc President, Charlie Randall, dismissed the tale as folk lore saying "Any ice packed around the amps in the middle of August would have quickly melted and the resulting water would have caused massive issues with the electronics".

[28] On March 23, 1974, the Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound" debuted at the Cow Palace[29] in Daly City, CA (and then subsequently on other tour locations).

It reportedly used forty-eight 300-watt per channel (600 wpc in a bridged monoblock configuration) McIntosh model MC2300 solid state amplifiers for a total of 28,800 watts of continuous power to power a speaker system over 100 feet wide and three stories tall.

He moved from his home in Endicott, NY to Scottsdale, Arizona[32] After a long and illustrious history that saw them expand their business around the world, the company began to struggle and was ultimately acquired by Clarion, a large Japanese manufacturer of car stereo gear in 1990 for 28.6 million dollars.

[48][49] On 19 November 2024, Highlander Partners announced the sale of McIntosh Group to Bose Corporation for an undisclosed sum.

[65] 1955: C8 Audio Compensator preamplifier[66] Late 1960s: MC 2505 First Transistor amp utilizing Autoformer technology.

[69] Around 2019: MA352 Integrated Hybrid Amplifier[70] Around 2019: MC3500 MkII 350 WPC Mono Vacuum Tube Amp inspired by the 50th Anniversary of the MC3500 that powered Woodstock.

[103] 12/13/2021 MA12000 Hybrid Integrated Tube/Solid State Amplifier Wins Stereo Sound's "2021 Grand Prix" Award.

[107] 01/26/2023 MHA200 Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier wins AVS "Editor's Choice" award for Best High-End Hi=Fi Product 2022.

[110] In the all-tube receiver-amplifier category of the 1970s, competition in audio products for McIntosh came from Dynaco, Fisher Electronics, H.H.

Scott, Inc., Sherwood (company), Marantz, Luxman, Sansui Electric, Audio Research, Sequerra, Harman Kardon, and Phase Linear (transistor).

During the 80's through mid 2000's products from Bob Carver, Sunfire, Conrad Johnston, Mark Levinson Audio Systems, Technics (brand), Akai, Accuphase, Pioneer Elite, NAD Electronics, Audio Research, Adcom, Bang & Olufsen, Scientific Audio Electronics (SAE), Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz, Denon, Harman Kardon, and Sony ES series were competitive.

[115] For the present day historical audio collector, McIntosh is the most valued when measured by marketplace prices.

Their products are always competitive in terms of sound quality, they're generally of above-average reliability, and their resale value is among the best in the business” as quoted by Jeff Fritz of SoundStage!

Unique features such as the Fast Responding Wattmeter and the patented Power Guard circuitry set their amplifiers apart from others' products; various models were available offering from 75 to 2,000 watts, divided amongst one to six channels.

All applicable car products were finished with McIntosh's signature glass plate displays.

On September 3, 2020, McIntosh's first ever automotive Reference system was recently announced by Jeep with its return to American luxury SUVs with the Grand Wagoneer concept.