Brief History of How McIntosh Started

The McIntosh Laboratory Inc. is a known leader in the field of audio equipment.  They are famous in producing the finest audio and home theater systems.  These McIntosh audio equipment are well-known for being hand crafted by the committed workers in their plant in New York. 

The present day enterprise of McIntosh Laboratory Inc. was started in 1940 by Frank McIntosh.  He had then a small firm in Washington, D.C. which designed TV and broadcast stations.  The broadcasting business at that time needed amplifiers that had high power but low distortion.  However, since the existing amplifiers did not have the specifications advertised, Frank McIntosh set out to design and produce an audio amplifier that did not only live up to its high expectations but even exceeded industry standard.

In 1946, Frank McIntosh hired an engineer, Gordon Gow, to assist him.  Both became big names in the design of an amplifier that set the standard in the audio manufacturing business.  They called the amplifier 50W-1 which included “Unity Coupled Circuit”, McIntosh’ first patented circuit.  In 1949, McIntosh Laboratory Inc. was incorporated.  Frank McIntosh became its President and Gordon Gow its Vice President.

Gordon Gow became the Executive Vice President of the company is 1950 when they launched AE-1, its first preamplifier.  Soon after, more and more products were created and launched by McIntosh.  These were audio equipment that are standard leaders at the time.  Examples of these are the A116 power amplifier, the C108 preamplifier, the MC30 power amplifier and the C4 preamplifier, which were introduced in 1953 and 1954.  The company grew bigger and a need to get a place of business with bigger space came about.  So in 1956, McIntosh moved to its present location in Chambers Street, Binghamtom, New York.

This is how the McIntosh heritage began and it is still serving its loyal consumers up to the present.