McIntosh, 60 years on!

Apple was founded in 1976; McIntosh Laboratories goes all the way back to 1949.

Computers get old really fast, while TVs age a bit more gracefully. But there's not much of a collectors market for old TVs or computers, at least by people who use them on a daily basis. Face it: computers, iPods, and TVs are disposable technology, while the useful working life of great audio designs is measured in decades. Many decades. Case in point: McIntosh's classic designs from the 1960s still fetch big dollars. Which is why buying really good stuff makes sense.

I doubt Apple will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Apple II in 2037 with a commemorative reissue, and I can't imagine Sony announcing plans to offer Trinitron CRT TVs anytime soon. Audiophiles still covet classic tube and solid-state electronics, and pay big bucks for good condition originals.

Which brings us to McIntosh's 60th anniversary limited-edition reissues of its legendary amplifiers, the 75-watt MC75 monoblock tube amplifier (modeled after the original 1961 version) and the C22 stereo preamplifier (originally introduced in 1962).

Both components have been updated for use in today's modern home-entertainment universe, and only 120 sets of the classic system will be available in North America, with a suggested retail price of $15,000. They will sell out, so if you're interested, act now.

Sure, $15,000 is a lot of money, but if it lasts 60 years, that works out to be $250 a year!

Introduced in 1962, the McIntosh C22 Tube Preamplifier ushered in the era of the audio preamp as the "control center." The new one isn't a strict duplicate of the original; the C22 now features higher tolerance parts and superior manufacturing methods. The preamp now comes with a remote control.

McIntosh electronics are still designed and manufactured at the company's Binghamton, N.Y., headquarters. Same as it ever was.