Disc Players

While the McIntosh range may appear to ooze nostalgia, not least because it's been making products looking this way since the 1970s – before which its amps powered the famous Woodstock Festival – it would be a mistake to think that it's all about valves and that signature blue glow. As well as its stereo pre/power amps, the company is heavily invested in custom installation and home cinema products, from processors to multichannel amps. For example, its £19,995 MX170 processor has no fewer than 12 HDMI ports – has anyone got a dozen HDMI sources? – and delivers 15.1 audio channels. Just add a couple of its seven-channel MC257 power amps, at £12,995 apiece, and you're sorted. You can even add McIntosh speakers, plus an own-brand turntable, the MTI100, complete with onboard valve preamp, and a growing network music range. And that doesn't just mean component network players for use with its other separates: it also has wireless network speaker systems, complete with Alexa voice control, and even its own 'just add iPhone' AirPlay 2 speaker, the cleverly-named McAire. The latest arrival? The £649 MB20 Bluetooth transceiver, able both to accept audio from your phone and play it out to wireless earphones or speakers.