High-end audio company McIntosh Lab unveiled a new multi-channel...

High-end audio company McIntosh Lab unveiled a new multi-channel power amplifier, AV processor, Blu-ray player, and three pairs of speakers last week at the Savant showroom in New York. The company also unveiled a 50th-anniversary limited-edition version of its MC275 two-channel tube power amplifier, which first shipped in 1961. The MC275 has gone through several refreshes over the years and was out of the McIntosh line from 1972-1994, said President Charles Randall. The MC275 will be available in December for a suggested retail price of $6,500, Randall said. Among new products for 2012, the MX121 home theater processor, MVP 891 universal Blu-ray player and MC8207 seven-channel 1400-watt amplifier combine to create a $14,000 package that’s half of what comparable components in the McIntosh line would command at retail today, Randall said. The MC8207 achieved a lower price point due to new LED-based blue meters on the front panel, and the Blu-ray player “came down a lot” in price because of maturing in the Blu-ray market, he said. The 3D-capable player spins Blu-ray discs, DVDs, Super Audio CDs and CD-R and CD-RW discs, the company said. The electronics will ship in January, and despite lower prices designed to appeal to a new group of audiophiles, distribution will stay the same, Randall said. The company also showed a new center-channel speaker, the LC R80, XR50 bookshelf speakers and the XR100 floorstanding speakers packing 11 mid- and high-frequency drivers and four woofers, he said. Speakers will ship to dealers in February, he said. Randall said the company is “not abandoning our audiophile customers” who “built the brand,” but it wants to bring more people in as audiophiles “without making them so cautious about making a major purchase.” The company hopes to reach the new customer with a systems approach versus component approach, he said. “We want to explain what goes together to make a system and to make it easier so they feel educated,” he said. On the McIntosh website, products will be grouped according to activity, room size and the type of music they listen to, including CD and vinyl records, he said.