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This Picture Tells a Story … er, the Time

Call it a McClock? Legendary amplifier maker takes on time

If you are an audiophile (or were), the name McIntosh holds a special place. Famously heavy and expensive, the company’s amplifiers were an important part of the hi-fi revolution in the 1950s. Its old tube amplifiers will command four- and five-figure prices when they appear on the market. And odds are they still work, save maybe swapping out a tube or two.

Over the years the company has hewed closely to its audio home entertainment mission with minor branching out into video. And it still makes tube amplifiers, some with designs not unlike those made five decades ago.

But now McIntosh is looking farther afield … to clocks.

Witness the MCLK12, recently seen at the CES show in Las Vegas. The product, while real enough, appears to be something of a high-priced lark, aimed at dealers and Mac fan boys (the audio ones, not the computer ones). Utilizing the iconic McIntosh faceplate and its equally iconic blue meters, the MCLK12 uses two “meters” to tell time, one for the hours and one for the minutes. It looks all the world like a rackmountable McIntosh amp. (The knobs are labeled “Time” and “Meter Lights.”)

Of course while a real McIntosh amp usually occupies a bottom rung due to weight and ventilation considerations, a clock would look silly down that low.

Time is money; pricing is a Mac-like $2,400, though that might move as it gets closer to retail sale. A battery backup should keep it on time …

PS: The product is not on the company website yet. A spokesperson told us the site is being redesigned and will be relaunched in March.

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