Owned these awhile back and they're a mix of impressive and problematic. They can put out scads of slam but they're difficult to suit to actual listening environments. For this reason McIntosh devised not one but two equalisation systems to help owners adapt them to room acoustics. The previous XRT25 is probably a better system, but serious listeners will gravitate to later systems such as the LS360 and XR100.

In addition to the sonic issues mentioned above, they present a sort of aesthetic dilemma for many people. Despite a stellar reputation for their electronics, McIntosh struggled with speaker design for many years, and it's not until the turn of the century that they really found solid ground. In the 1970s and 80s they appeared to be quite lost.

THESE SPEAKERS ROCK AND THEY GO A LITTLE BELOW 20 HZ NICE AND LOUD

THEY ARE 1973 MODEL THEY ARE OLD..... THE ML1C

THESE SPEAKERS WERE MADE THE YEAR I WAS BORN WHICH WAS 1973 HEH OLD HUH? OH WELL BUT I GOT THIS LINK THROUG A PAGE WHERE SOMEONE WAS OFFERING MONEY FOR THESE SPEAKERS THE ML 1C....... THEY THUMP AND THEY ARE VERY VERY CLEAR...... IMPRESSIVE FOR SOMETHING SO OLD

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THE ML1C HAS NO COMPETITOR THEY ROCK :o)

Model ML-4C Tight bass, high output, McIntosh badge

Size, age effects, need equalizer

These ML-4Cs were the flagship model for the first range of McIntosh speakers. Similar to common ML-1C but with four 12" woofers in each box instead of one! Sound is fairly bright for their 1972 vintage.
They MUST be used with one of the optional equalizers or else they sound like a bookshelf speaker.
Fully damped bass means tight transients but low efficiency
(luckily they take up to 1KW music peaks) and the made-to-spec drivers will produce 20Hz without any noticable doubling. Imaging is poor, even allowing for their vintage, due to the spread array of drivers and the mid/bass driver being located just 12" from the floor. Age can be a problem- as they weigh 212 LB each anyone over 40 will have a hernia trying to move them!...Oh, and as these speakers are now 30 years old the roll surrounds will have rotted out and need to be replaced if they haven't been done already. They are versatile being loud enough for rock/classical (with big amps, not with my mac MC75's) and crisp enough for Jazz/pop however you can do a lot better sound wise for the money. They DO make a statement and they can only go UP in value so if you have the room and you are a mac enthusiast then you can't go wrong. Ratings are based on "vintage" not absolute.

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Tannoy 15s, Dynaudio, RCF, JBLs, Klipschorn(?)