There is far more to this Mc speaker vs Klipsch / Altec / Bozak / Etc. speaker business than meets the eye. Let me first say my piece on the Mc speakers.
I've said it in other threads here and I'll say it again - when properly set up, the McIntosh loudspeakers are phenomenal performers and I do mean phenomenal. Two of my all time favorite speakers are the XRT-20s and LS360s and each has unique requirements.
I've heard XRT-20s powered by at least a dozen different power amplifiers, the sweetest combination being a Spectral DMA50 driving them (my amp, friend's speakers). The second best combination we heard at his house was the XRT-20s being driven by my MC2500. To date, I've never heard another loudspeaker system that was capable of such an incredibly huge sound stage. XRT-20s require a large chunk of real estate to set up properly so they're not for everyone.
When McIntosh introduced the LS line of speakers, a buddy of mine owned a store in Lubbock, TX that was a McIntosh dealer (Don's Hi Fidelity). He decided to totally get behind Mc and brought in the entire line including the speakers. After hours one evening, he demoed his Mc theater room for me. The mains were LS360s driven by an MC352. On movies this system rocked (the Mc sub from that era is also a stellar performer). On two-channel music, I wasn't impressed. Was it the speakers? The amp? Something didn't gel. Ultimately we decided on swapping the MC352 for a Krell amp and that was the hot ticket. Man did the Krell wake those things up. The LS360s just did everything right and I could find no fault with them. I simply couldn't believe how loud they could play and just crystal clear with zero listening fatigue. There is definitely something to be said for the Mc LD/HP drivers. [Had we not made this swap, I may have easily come away thinking the speakers were just OK.]
I've longed to own either of these speakers and one day I'll own at least one pair of them. When it comes to the older designs, which are far more common on the used market, I believe one of the problems stems from using them without the mating equalizer. I've heard ML4Cs with and without it (not THAT'S a party speaker!) - big difference. I've owned XR5s but the woman I bought them from didn't have the EQ and I flipped them before I was able to obtain one. Thusly, I was unable to listen to them the way they were meant to be listened to.
So, if the Mc speakers are so awesome then why haven't more Mc dealers supported them over the years. Simple - every Mc speaker they purchased was one less Klipsch / Altec / Bozak / Etc. they could purchase. McIntosh introduced speakers somewhat late in the game. By then, their dealer network had well established relationships with other speaker manufacturers and could be very profitable reselling them - especially when firing on all cylinders (IE - attaining sales quotas). So, although Mc may have had options that performed as well as or even better than the dealer's house brand, many dealers simply didn't bring them in at all. If all dealers sold speakers based solely on their performance, then Mc would have sold ten times the amount of speakers it did in the 70s and 80s.
Roger Russell, the guy responsible for the McIntosh loudspeaker program is not only a genius but a great guy as well. He personally replies to any email sent to him in regards to McIntosh speakers, etc. He's just one of many examples of people at McIntosh that made the company so great.
Hmmm . . . maybe I should see if I can find a pair of the above to mate with my MC500 that is currently collecting dust . . .