McIntosh had an interview with Les Paul on their website, which was made a very short time before his passing. He talked about McIntosh amps, of course, and Altec 604 speakers.

Most musicians I know have regular old receivers, inexpensive two way speakers, and few are playing vinyl. If they are they probably have a Japanese direct drive table. Musicians don’t care about the “nuances” of the reproduction chain, but rather of the playing. The “really serious music lovers” are the same way.

Every ten or fifteen years the high end audio saloons get the idea to sponsor in-store concerts by singer songwriters, classical guitarists, string quartets, etc. They quit when they find out that the people who come in have, and are satisfied with, modest systems and if they buy anything it’s a small two way acoustic suspension speaker or a receiver.