Macoun is more difficult to train than Mcintosh- most of your apples will come from 2nd year, moderately vigorous shoots. Macintosh can go either by spur or these shoots and produces more shoots of moderate vigor. Macoun tends toward excessive vigor of these shoots.

They are both excellent New England apples, but I'd say that most people prefer Macoun when it has its astounding crunch. It's also a bit sweeter.

I can't comment on how they would be at this point in the season- during the winter I stick with Pink Lady, Fuji, Jazz, Honeycrisp and an occasional Braeburn (though the texture on these can degrade).

Bob

McIntosh ripens later but gets apple scab worse. It has the much stronger Mac. flavor though.

Macoun is sort of diluted MacIntosh, but less scab.

These are both New England apples and need cooler weather to ripen in (that is, a couple of weeks before harvest) to achieve their true quality.

I have to assume that any crunchy Macouns are out of climate control storage this time of the year (you won't get the same results from your fridge). Macintosh won't hold it's texture under any storage method. Spartan is a similar apple that stores much better.

http://www.acnursery.com/maturity_chart.pdf

Another factor is that apples bred for the northeast are sometimes most suitable for that climate, so when you talk about the merits of any particular apple you are not only influenced by your own tastes but also the affect of the climate of the apple being discussed.

Modern, widely released apples tend to perform well in a variety of climatic conditions while many heirlooms and newer varieties that failed the big market test are affected greatly by different weather conditions.