Last I heard McIntosh IS a Japanese owned company. That has been
some time
ago and they may have changed hands since then. They make both tubed
and SS
amps AFAIK.

They were owned by Clarion and it's my understanding they were sold to
another Asian firm. Nonetheless, I'm sure they had no desire ever to do
another tube box and it was only a corporate mandate from on high that
got Binghamton going in that direction.

My "beef" is simply that the reissue 275 is a cheapened and
Kornblumized copy of the old one with reduced build cost and less
functionality at a ridiculous price. Marantz outsourced their reissue
boxes and in my opinion did a lot better job of it-they're just like
the old ones warts and all. At what Mac is charging there would have
been no problem exactly duplicating the original, with a
better-rustproofed top cover and modern caps and resistors.

Many other High End companies do a better job of physical construction
than does Mac today, although not exactly to Vollum Tek standards. How
much extra does this kind of construction cost? Forget chassis hogged
from stainless billet, Tek never did that. The cool ceramic terminal
strips? Silver is cheaper today than it has been, in inflation adjusted
dollars, in a long long time-a roll of 2% silver Kester cored solder
costs $16 a pound roll vis-a-vis $13 for 63/36 eutectic.