Figure 1. McIntosh MC125KW Quad Balanced Power Amplifier (image from Robb Report's November 11, 2022 issue)

Abstract

Audio products remain largely traditional in interface design such as the case of the legendary McIntosh, a leader in high-performance audio products. While its design exudes an elegant and timeless quality, the interface can feel dated and may initially cause confusion for users. This review evaluates the user experience of a McIntosh system, aiming to understand why the brand’s interface has evolved slowly since its founding in 1949. The review will include insights from market analysis and research articles to assess whether McIntosh should embrace new interactive interfaces to enhance overall usability.

Introduction

During the Covid lockdown, I rediscovered old passions, including music. I began listening to music again—something I had forgotten amid the busy commitments and travel adventures of my pre-Covid life. Enjoying music on a high-quality sound system can be truly transcendent, so in my search for stereo equipment to enhance my audio experience, I came across a “Mac Stack” configured for home entertainment. My first encounter with McIntosh’s components, featuring bright blue meters and elegant knobs reminiscent of scenes from some of my favorite period movies, was visually striking. Although it took some time to navigate the system, the beautiful, crisp, and clear sound I ultimately achieved made the effort worthwhile.

According to ISO 9241-11, usability is defined as “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.” So why was my first interaction with this well-regarded, high-end audio equipment so complicated? Is there a story behind the product that could provide clarity? This review will explore the history of McIntosh Laboratory to better understand its current interface and broader context. The findings will be supplemented with market analysis and research articles to determine whether design recommendations are warranted.

About McIntosh Laboratory

Figure 2, 3, & 4. MC3500, MC2300, and MA9000

Founded in 1949 by Frank McIntosh, the signature look of McIntosh equipment traces back to the company’s early years. As a well-known American brand, McIntosh specializes in manufacturing high-end audio equipment, including amplifiers, receivers, and speakers. The company is recognized for its distinctive visual design, often featuring blue meters and a robust, classic aesthetic. McIntosh products are highly regarded in the music community for their exceptional sound quality and craftsmanship.

The brand built a loyal following beginning in the 1960s, with bands like the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, and Earth, Wind & Fire becoming early adopters of their gear. McIntosh amplifiers became easily recognizable in recording studios and at live concerts. In 1969, the most powerful amplifier offered was the single-channel MC3500 (Fig. 2), which gained overnight fame after being used to power Woodstock, attracting both bands and home stereo enthusiasts.

Following the success of Woodstock, the Grateful Dead began using the McIntosh dual-channel MC2300 amplifiers (Fig. 3) to power their concerts, including their legendary Wall of Sound performances starting in 1973. These amplifiers, along with the Wall of Sound concerts, gained such fame that lead guitarist Jerry Garcia's personal MC2300 sold for $378,000 at Sotheby's in 2021. Figure 4 shows the dual-channel MA9000 McIntosh power amplifier, which is part of the company’s current lineup, highlighting its similarities to the earlier models.

In October 2022, the Robb Report published its first-ever music issue, using elements of the standard McIntosh front panel to create the headline image. Following numerous inquiries about the dial, tubes, and blue meter, the publication released a follow-up article in November 2022 titled “How McIntosh’s Blue Meters Became Synonymous with Premium Audio.” This report compares McIntosh gear to Swiss watches and European sports cars, emphasizing its desirability and ability to retain value. The author notes, "Think Rolex, in black and blue," highlighting the desire among audiophiles to own a "Mac Stack" with plenty of blue meters to create their own "Wall of Sound."

Market Comparative Analysis

Table 1. Brands comparison between Marantz Model 40N, Cambridge Audio Edge A, Mark Levinson No. 5805, and McIntosh MA5300.

Research Articles

Usability of Consumer Electronic Products

Han et al. (2000) noted that a consumer electronic product is not merely a tool for performing tasks; it also serves as a home decoration that reflects one’s lifestyle and personality. Therefore, products must not only be easy to use but also aesthetically pleasing. Traditionally, electronic product designers emphasized aesthetic integrity, resulting in front panel controls that are often small, uniform in color and size, and lacking in hierarchy. However, research indicates that as electronic devices become more sophisticated, users increasingly struggle with understanding how to operate them, making usability a critical factor in purchasing decisions. A new definition of usability for consumer products has emerged, emphasizing the need to satisfy users in terms of both performance and the overall image and impression they receive.

Traditional concepts of usability used in software systems cannot be directly applied to electronic products, as these are hybrid systems that incorporate hardware components like knobs and dials, visual elements such as displays and meters, and software interfaces like mobile apps or web platforms. Therefore, usability must be integrated across these various design aspects.

While aesthetics are important in consumer electronic design, the physical user interface must enable users to quickly identify key features that allow them to get started. Users expect interfaces to provide consistency, predictability, and informative guidance. Factors such as consistency, color, brightness, shape, and texture contribute to this experience. One of the challenges for user-centered design (UCD) in consumer electronics is balancing a hierarchical layout that meets these goals with the elegant look and feel favored by traditional designers.

Other important aspects of usability include learnability and memorability. Users should be able to understand key features and easily recall them. If users find themselves repeatedly consulting a complex instruction manual to perform the same task, essential elements of usability are lacking. Research indicates that with some products, key features remain underutilized simply because the manuals are too complicated or the steps to enable those features are difficult to remember.

Han and his colleagues provided a list of 48 dimensions—23 related to performance and 25 related to visuals—to help designers and developers better understand usability in the context of consumer electronic products. The goal of this list is to offer a framework that facilitates the design of electronics, balancing the often competing aspects of usability and visual appeal (Han et al., 2000).

Usability in the Development of Consumer Electronics: Issues and Actors

Van Kuijk and his colleagues (Van Kuijk, Kanis et al., 2006) aimed to identify the issues and challenges faced by companies that manufacture consumer electronics. They considered a broad range of topics, including the development process, company culture, organization of the usability department, group management, the experience level of usability staff, and the flexibility they have in decision-making. The authors began with a real-life scenario involving an engineering Ph.D. colleague who had recently purchased a high-end stereo system. After an hour and a half of trying, he was unable to stream internet radio from the system. He struggled to understand how to use it and which buttons to press. Although the unit looked spectacular, a closer inspection of the front panel revealed over-technical descriptions of functions, buttons that didn’t resemble typical buttons, and other usability issues. This led the author to question whether any usability testing had been conducted or if the designers understood how to prioritize ease of use.

The analysis concludes that corporate culture plays a crucial role in integrating user-centric design (UCD) into electronic products. Companies must ensure that UCD is embedded in all teams, including usability research, product development and design, electronic design, and product and marketing management. These groups should be kept informed about the results of internal usability studies and feedback from the field regarding customer usability concerns.

Detecting and Explaining Usability Issues of Consumer Electronic Products

Alongside price and functionality, usability is becoming a key factor in a buyer's decision-making process. To enhance user control, electronic products are incorporating a mix of traditional physical elements like buttons and dials, as well as touchscreens, visual displays, and apps. While this variety offers users multiple ways to interact with a product, it can also lead to overwhelming complexity and challenges in effectively managing the various control methods (Benvenuti, Buda et al., 2021).

The issue is further compounded by the lack of feedback regarding problems users encounter while trying to control electronic devices through various interfaces. Benvenuti and his colleagues proposed that one effective approach to gathering usable information for improving electronic device design is to implement logging and data-gathering technologies similar to those used in computers. Computer software, web applications, and mobile apps generate server logs that track every action a user takes, along with application and system errors. These logs typically fall into the category of Big Data and can be analyzed to produce reports that help designers and developers identify key issues users face. As more data is collected, increasingly valuable insights can be obtained.

Gathering logs would be particularly beneficial for electronic devices due to the various ways users can interact with them. If logging were implemented, these logs could be integrated into powerful analytics programs that analyze each interaction method and identify cross-correlations for users employing multiple approaches to control a device. This can be done anonymously with user consent, similar to practices in web applications. If an electronic device already incorporates smart technology such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or onboard memory, implementing a logging system can easily build on these features. This would create a continuous feedback loop, enabling ongoing usability enhancements even as systems are upgraded.

Barriers to and Enablers of Usability in Electronic Consumer Product Development

A study was conducted to identify and categorize the various enablers and barriers that practitioners face when integrating user-centered design (UCD) into electronic devices (Van Kuijk, Kanis et al., 2017). The growing integration of information technology into electronic devices has effectively transformed many of them into powerful minicomputers. Consequently, this has led to the development of increasingly sophisticated user interfaces, necessitating greater attention to the usability aspects of these devices.

Usability in relation to electronic devices can be broken down into three categories. Effectiveness refers to users' ability to accurately complete specific goals with a device. Efficiency measures the amount of time required for users to achieve these goals effectively. Satisfaction is more subjective, reflecting a user’s positive feelings and lack of discomfort while reaching a goal. Usability specialists and designers must evaluate and address all three aspects to achieve a user-centered design (UCD) product.

The authors note that the technological complexity and functionality of electronic components are increasing, along with the various ways users can interact with these devices, whether through traditional hardware interfaces, web apps, or mobile apps. This trend competes with companies' desire to shorten time-to-market cycles due to business competition, which places pressure on designers and developers to conduct usability analyses on more complex systems within tighter timelines.

In many categories of consumer electronics, new companies are entering the marketplace, leading to increased consumer choices. Even well-established companies are feeling sales pressure from the growing number of competitors offering similar products with comparable performance and features, often at lower prices and, in some cases, with better usability. Echoing Benvenuti et al. (2021), the authors emphasize that usability must be balanced with visual appeal.

In today's increasingly complex electronic landscape and with shortened development cycles, a wide range of issues must be considered to effectively implement user-centered design (UCD). There is no one-size-fits-all approach; while the study offers insights into what enables and hinders UCD, each company must adapt and create a system that aligns with its culture and workgroups. Ideally, UCD should be ingrained in a company’s culture, but it should at least be part of the core philosophy of interface, electronic, and software designers. Ultimately, businesses that successfully implement UCD will gain a competitive advantage over those that do not.

Evaluating User Interfaces for Audio Equipment

Dewey and Wakefield (2014) proposed guidelines for the audio industry to design and evaluate user interfaces for audio equipment. They conducted a case study in two phases, focusing on two different pieces of audio equipment, to support their proposal.

In phase one, the authors evaluated user interfaces for audio equalizers, which are components in stereo systems that allow users to filter or amplify specific frequencies. For example, bass sounds could be amplified while mid-range frequencies could be attenuated. Expert users were presented with three traditional and four novel audio equalizer interfaces, tasked with removing a resonant frequency produced by a snare drum using each interface. The time spent thinking about and navigating the interface, compared to the time spent actually using the equalizer to remove the resonant frequency, was measured. The results indicated that several of the novel interfaces led to quicker completion times than the traditional ones.

The second test evaluated one traditional and three novel audio mixer interfaces. Audio mixers combine sound inputs from multiple sources before sending the output to the speaker system. In phase two, participants ranked their preferences for the mixers and selected five keywords from a preselected list to describe their level of satisfaction. One of the novel interfaces achieved the highest test results.

The authors presented a suggested list of steps based on the approach and results of the equalizer and mixer testing. They also outlined a framework for evaluating and designing user interfaces for audio equipment. The case study concluded that audio products should implement a meticulous design and evaluation process for new interfaces to enhance the user experience.

Summary and Recommendations

McIntosh has maintained its success in an increasingly competitive market. Respected retailer Crutchfield lists nearly forty high-end integrated amplifiers that compete with McIntosh, yet the brand remains popular. McIntosh focuses on enhancing the electronic design and sound quality of its equipment while preserving the traditional 1960s look and feel of its front panels. Surprisingly, the company has opted not to incorporate Bluetooth or Wi-Fi support for streaming services like Spotify and Pandora through mobile apps. In contrast, many of their award-winning competitors offer streamlined and intuitive front panel designs with additional features. As noted in several audio forums, the iconic McIntosh blue meters serve limited practical purpose beyond aesthetics and brand recognition.

In the opening scenario of "Usability in the Development of Consumer Electronics: Issues and Actors" (Van Kuijk, Kanis et al., 2006), the authors share a real-life interaction involving a colleague with a Ph.D. in engineering who became frustrated after an hour and a half of trying to stream internet radio through a high-end stereo system. He struggled to understand the usage and placement of the knobs and buttons, as well as their functionalities. This scenario illustrates a broader issue discussed in other articles: while consumer electronics are increasingly offering advanced technology and more user interaction options—such as Bluetooth and mobile apps—they are also becoming more complex to use. Users often find it challenging to perform seemingly simple tasks, like streaming an internet music channel.

Han (Han et al., 2000) notes that traditional interface designers for electronic products primarily focused on aesthetics, as consumers placed high importance on the appearance of these devices. This approach was effective for limited-functionality non-smart devices. However, their research indicated that with the advent of smart devices—controlled via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi mobile apps and offering enhanced functionalities like streaming services—users began to experience frustration in interacting with these devices. Consequently, usability has become a central concern. Han also emphasizes that aesthetics should remain a key consideration in the overall design strategy.

The three competitors identified in the market comparative analysis enable users to get up and running more quickly. In his review of McIntosh, Ralph Werner (Werner, 2014) made a tongue-in-cheek comment suggesting he might ask the company why they haven't upgraded the look and layout of their interface. He humorously anticipated a response along the lines of, "We've been doing it this way for decades, so why change now?"

In today's highly competitive marketplace and increasingly complex product landscape, Benvenuti (Benvenuti, Buda et al., 2021) suggested that manufacturers could implement logging and Big Data analytics—similar to those used in web applications and mobile apps—to facilitate quick feedback on usability issues. The three competitors to McIntosh are already utilizing smart devices with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and onboard RAM, providing them with the necessary infrastructure for such logging. In contrast, McIntosh lacks these features and does not have a mobile app, meaning they would essentially be starting from scratch if they wished to implement logging.

Van Kuijk (Van Kuijk, Kanis et al., 2017, 2006) emphasized that for user-centered design (UCD) to be effectively implemented in electronics, it should be embedded in corporate culture and endorsed by management, becoming a core part of the company's design philosophy. On their website, McIntosh highlights their commitment to the same color schemes, panel designs, meters, and overall aesthetics that established their reputation in the sixties. According to the Robb Report (Ross, 2022), McIntosh still enjoys a strong following and maintains robust sales.

Based on insights from current academic research and review articles from popular audiophile publications, McIntosh may want to consider several key points moving forward. The brand should explore the implementation of smart technology, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as well as support for high-quality streaming options like AptX HD. This could help them maintain their market position amidst growing competition from lower-cost rivals who are prioritizing smart features and usability. Additionally, McIntosh would likely benefit from applying the guidelines proposed by Dewey and Wakefield for evaluating their interfaces, rather than solely relying on their existing popularity among audiophiles.

To foster growth, McIntosh may need to rethink its commitment to the 1960s aesthetic, especially as they venture into more complex, smart technology-enabled devices. Given the rapid pace of today's competitive markets, developing a strategy for integrating Big Data analytics into their products could provide valuable insights into usability issues and enhance their overall user experience.

References

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