In the spotlight at Paris Fashion Week, McIntosh unveiled an extraordinary amplifier at the Virgil Abloh: The Codes exhibition. Based on the famous McIntosh MA8950 integrated amplifier, this unique model features a striking orange finish combined with the brand’s iconic blue VU meters. A prototype designed as a tribute to the influential Virgil Abloh, who passed away in 2021.
Virgil Abloh, connecting music, design and culture
A multidisciplinary creator, founder of Off-White and artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, Virgil Abloh has always had a close connection to music. He was a renowned DJ and often collaborated with Kanye West, seeing sound as a universal language capable of bridging disciplines. For Abloh, hi-fi wasn’t simply about technical performance, it also had to reflect cultural and aesthetic values.
By 2020, Abloh had begun discussions with McIntosh to revisit one of his iconic amplifiers. The project was delayed by the pandemic, then suspended after his untimely death. But McIntosh chose to finish the project, with the permission of the creator’s family and foundation, offering a posthumous tribute to his vision. “Virgil wanted to transform the classic McIntosh aesthetic into a bold visual statement” the American brand explains.
When orange and blue collide
Traditionally, a McIntosh device can be identified by its black chassis with a glass front panel, its green logo, and its blue VU meters. The Virgil Abloh edition breaks free from this tradition with bold confidence.
The vibrant orange of the chassis, Abloh’s signature color, expresses energy and visibility. With this new hue, the blue VU meters are transformed, providing visual contrast, almost like bursts of light in a solar universe. This chromatic interaction tells a story where heritage and reinvention are symbiotic. Where McIntosh has cultivated the timelessness of its design elements for several decades, Abloh introduced the notion of disruption, in keeping with his approach of “hacking” established symbols to give them new meaning.
An object that combines art, design and hi-fi
Presented at the Grand Palais Éphémère, this amplifier wasn’t there to be listened to, but to be looked at, contemplated, and questioned. Like a sonic sculpture.
At the Grand Palais until October 10, 2025, the “Virgil Abloh: The Codes” exhibition looks back at the creator’s career, showing how he blurred the lines between disciplines. The MA8950 Concept is part of this common thread, demonstrating that hi-fi can also be an aesthetic terrain and not just a technical one.
This approach is similar to that of designers such as Philippe Starck and Marc Newson, who have each, in their own way, reinvented everyday objects and made them icons. Here, Abloh elevates the amplifier to the status of a manifesto piece, at the crossroads of luxury, culture, and music.
The McIntosh MA8950: a prestigious technical base
While the design is surprising, the technical base is well-known among audiophiles. Its architecture is identical to that of the famous McIntosh MA8950, a stereo integrated amplifier that delivers 200W per channel into 8 ohms and is capable of powering the most difficult speakers with ease. It benefits from the brand’s Autoformer technology, ensuring identical power regardless of speaker impedance. Its massive power supply, class AB output stages and modular DA2 DAC make it a versatile and high-performance integrated amplifier.
HDMI ARC, optical, coaxial, USB-B and phono MM/MC inputs, balanced outputs: the amp has everything you need to use it as the central hub of a modern system. The MA8950’s sound impresses with its transparency, tight lows and perfect balance. Qualities that make it one of McIntosh’s flagship high-end integrated devices.
One of a kind
McIntosh has said that this model won’t be for sale. It is a one-off piece, incorporated into archives and exhibitions dedicated to Virgil Abloh. But its existence sends a signal to the entire industry: high fidelity can engage with other domains and embrace new aesthetics without compromising its quest for sonic excellence. It builds a bridge between two worlds that may seem distant but are in fact deeply connected: music and design. By daring to use orange and reinventing its aesthetic codes without erasing its identity, McIntosh pays tribute to a visionary creator and affirms that hi-fi, like fashion, can be a matter of style, culture, and emotion.
