Page 2 - IMPORTANT SAFETY; Do not expose batteries to excessive heat such as
2 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS! PLEASE READ THEM BEFORE OPERATING THIS EQUIPMENT. WARNING - TO REDUCE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. The lightning flash with arrowhead,within an equilateral triangle, is in-tended to alert the user to the presence...
Page 3 - Please take a short time to read the information in this; Table of Contents; Front Panel Features:; ΒΒ
3 Customer Service Technical Assistance Please Take A Moment Thank You Copyright 2007 © by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. The serial number, purchase date and McIntosh Dealername are important to you for possible insurance claim orfuture service. The spaces below have been provided foryou to record that ...
Page 4 - Important Information; The McIntosh C500 is a two chassis design,; Introduction; XLR Connectors; Connector Information
4 Important Information WARNING: The McIntosh C500 is a two chassis design, with separate Preamplifier and Controllerchassis. There are custom interconnectingcables and custom chassis sockets used toconnect the two chassis together.Use ONLY the custom interconnect cablessupplied with the C500 to con...
Page 5 - Performance Features; Extruded Side Panels; Introduction and Performance Features
5 ••••• Dual Chassis with Dual Mono Design The Dual Chassis design completely separates all powersupply, microprocessor and control circuits from the pureaudio circuits for total noise isolation. To further aid inchannel isolation the circuitry for both channels is totallyseparate, physically isolat...
Page 6 - Dimensions; Front View of the C500C
6 The following dimensions can assist in determining the bestlocation for the C500 Controller, C500 Preamplifier andC500 Tube Preamplifier. There is additional information onpage 8 pertaining to installing the C500 System into cabinets. Dimensions 17- 1/2 " 44.45cm 4- 5/8 " 11.75cm 6" 15...
Page 7 - Front View of the C500P
7 Dimensions 17- 1/2 " 44.45cm 4- 5/8 " 11.75cm 6" 15.24cm 17" 43.18cm 18- 3/8 " 46.67cm 3/16 " 0.48cm 4- 13/16 " 12.22cm 1- 3/8 " 3.49cm 13- 1/4 " 33.65cm 17- 1/16 " 43.34cm Front View of the C500P Rear View of the C500P Side View of the C500P 5- 3/8 " 13...
Page 9 - Interconnect Cables are supplied with the C500P
9 The C500C, C500P and C500T can be placed upright on atable or shelf, standing on their four feet. The four feet, maybe removed from the bottom of the C500C, C500P andC500T when they are custom installed as outlined below.The four feet, together with the mounting screws should beretained for possib...
Page 10 - Notes
Page 12 - How to connect the C500
12 This page contains information for connecting the McIntoshC500C to the C500P or C500T and to other audio compo-nents. The C500 has the ability to automatically switch power On/Off to McIntosh Source Components via the PowerControl Connections. The Data Port Connections allow forthe remote operati...
Page 13 - Note: If the C500 is not part of a Multichannel Audio; Passthru Connections:; Note: The Passthru Mode will also work non-McIntosh
13 19. Connect Cables from the External Sound Processor Left and Right Outputs to the C500 Preamplifier PROCES-SOR FROM LEFT and RIGHT Input Jacks. 20. Connect Cables from the Music Server Left and Right Outputs to the C500 Preamplifier Unbalanced SRVR(4) LEFT and RIGHT INPUTS Jacks. 21. Connect Cab...
Page 14 - C500 Controller Front Panel Controls, Displays, and Push-Buttons
14 C500 Controller Front Panel Controls, Displays, and Push-Buttons BALANCE Controlallows the adjustmentof the relative volumelevels for each channeland is used for setupfunctions RECORD Switch selectsthe program signals thatare available to recordfrom and is used for setupfunctions LISTEN Switch se...
Page 16 - Note: When in SETUP MODE, it may be necessary to; Now Press the SETUP Push-button twice to enter the; How to Operate the Setup Modes; Note: Dependent upon which Preamplifier (C500P or
16 Figure 6 2. Press the C500C Front Panel SETUP push-button once. The LED above the SETUP Push-button will illuminateand the Front Panel Display will indicate CONTROL-LER. The “Controller” is the first of the two mainmenus. The second main menu is named “Preamp” andwill be accessed in step 5. Refer...
Page 17 - Default Settings; Menu; Display Brightness; Firmware Version; Setup
17 Figure 7 The following listings indicate the Setup Menu Mode (Con-troller or Preamp), Menu Name, Default Setting and thepage number for instructions on how to change a setting. Default Settings Menu Function Name Setting Page No. Control Version (C500 Firmware) _ . _ _ 17 Control Display (Brightn...
Page 19 - Note: The Unbalanced SPKR1 and SPKR2 Main Outputs
19 Figure 16 The Rear Panel Trigger B Jack can provide either a 5 or 12Volt Output when activated, with 5 Volts as the default.McIntosh Components with Power Control utilize 5 Volts;non-McIntosh components when connected to the C500Cmight required a higher voltage to switch them On or Off.To change ...
Page 20 - Notes: 1. Unused Inputs may be switched Off so they will not
20 Data Port Assigment The Data Control Ports on the C500 Controller by defaultare assigned to control just one input (1 thru 7) on thePreamplifier. In the following example there are two McIntosh CD Players, one connected to the CD Balanced Input number 6and the other CD Player connected to the CDR...
Page 21 - Trim Level Adjustment; Notes: The possible range of adjustment in volume level is
21 Setup, con’t 3. Rotate the SELECT 1 Control until the desired Input Title to be changed appears in the Display, e.g. “DPORT CDR 5”. Refer to figure 29. 4. Rotate the SELECT 2 Control until the number 2 ap- pears in the Display, e.g. “D PORT CDR 6”. Refer tofigure 30. Note: Connect a 1/8 inch Ster...
Page 22 - Note: Power Control Cables coming from the components to
22 Accessory Control When the Trigger A or B Power Control Outputs on theC500 Controller are used, one of the Triggers may be as-signed to switched On or Off by using the ACCessory Push-button on the supplied Remote Control. To select eitherTrigger A or B for remote operation, perform the followings...
Page 23 - Listen Processor; Note: If the Listen Processor is set active for a given Input; Record Processor
23 Listen Processor The C500 Preamplifier has a Listen Processor Loop forconnecting an external sound processor. The Listen Proces-sor may be assigned to be active for only those Inputs de-sired. To activate the Listen Proccessor Loop and assignInputs, perform the following steps: Note: If the Liste...
Page 25 - Setup, con’t and Setup Settings Charts; C500 Preamplifier or C500 Tube Preamplifier; Se ttings for the C500 Controlle r
25 Setup, con’t and Setup Settings Charts Num be r De fault Title Ne w Title Tr im Le ve l De fault Data Por t Ne w Data Por t Tr igge r Se le ct (A or B) Lis te n Pr oce s s or (ON or OFF) Re cor d Pr oce s s or (ON or OFF) Pas s thr u Input 1 DVD 1 2 AUX 2 3 T UNER 3 4 SRVR 4 5 CDR 5 6 CD 6 7 D/A ...
Page 26 - Remote Control Push-Buttons; Mutes the audio
26 Remote Control Push-Buttons Selects one of the sevenHigh Level Audio/VideoSources or Phono Input Turns AC Power ON or OFF tocertain McIntosh Componentswhen connected via the Data Port Adjusts the volumelevel up or down Selects Disc Player, Mu-sic Server or Tape Re-corder Functions and alsoperform...
Page 27 - How to Operate the Remote Control; Note: Refer to “How to Operate the C500” starting on page
27 automatic brief audition of each of the presets stored in thetuner memory. Press +10 a second time to stop on a stationpreset and exit the Review process. Volume Press the Up S or Down T VOLUME Push-button to raise or lower the listening volume level. Note: The Record Signals present at CDR and S...
Page 28 - How to Operate the C500; Power On; With the C500 Tube Preamplifier connected to; Balance Control; As soon as the BALANCE control is turned, the Volume; Source Selection
28 How to Operate the C500 Power On The Red LED above the STANDBY/ON push-button lightsto indicate the C500 is in Standby mode and is connected toa live AC Outlet. To switch On the C500, press theSTANDBY/ON push-button. Refer to figure 64. The Al-phanumeric Display will indicate the last input liste...
Page 29 - RECORD Selector has stopped. Refer to figure 66.; Note: When the McIntosh MDA1000 is connected to the; Select the desired program source to record with the
29 How to Operate the C500 RECORD Selector has stopped. Refer to figure 66. Note: When the McIntosh MDA1000 is connected to the C500 Controller (refer to page 12) and the “D/AControl” is active (refer to the Setup Controller Modepage 19) the LISTEN Control and the INPUT Push-buttons ( W and X ) on t...
Page 30 - Note: The C500 RECORD OUTPUTS are not affected by; Output Meters; Note: The C500 automatically stores into memory for each; Speaker Output 1 and 2; For additional information on these functions refer to
30 4. To listen to the playback of the program source just re- corded, rotate the LISTEN Control to the desired input. Note: The C500 RECORD OUTPUTS are not affected by the VOLUME or BALANCE Controls. To listen toa different program source while recording, turnthe LISTEN Control to the desired sourc...
Page 31 - How to Operate the C500, con’t; Trim Function; How to use the Passthru Mode
31 How to Operate the C500, con’t Trim Function Adjustme nt Figure Numbe rs Input Volume Trim +6dB to -6dB 75a and b Balance Level (Left)107dB to (Right)107dB 76 Mono (Stereo) On or Off 77a and b Speaker 1 On or Off 78a and b Speaker 2 On or Off 79a and b Dis play 1-7 80a and b Meters On or Off 81a ...
Page 32 - Reset of Microprocessors; Note: The above condition is usually caused by either; Configuration Change; Remove the AC Power Cord from the Rear Panel of the
32 Figure 87 Figure 85 Figure 89 Figure 91 Figure 88 Figure 90 Reset of Microprocessors In the event that the controls of the C500 stop functioningpress and hold the STANDBY/ON Push-button. Three tofour seconds later the Front Panel Alphanumeric Displaywill indicate “DETECT SYSTEM”; at this point re...
Page 33 - Technical Description; The C500 is the third generation of a two chassis design; Silent Audio Switching; Electro-Magnetic Switching is a proven technology that; Volume Adjustments; A conventional Mechanical Potentiometer for a volume; How to Operate the C500, con’t and Technical Description
33 Technical Description McIntosh Laboratory, the company who introduced theworld’s first amplifier that could be called “High Fidelity”,has done it again. The McIntosh Engineering Staff has cre-ated a Preamplifier without compromise, using the most ad-vanced McIntosh circuit design concepts. The C5...
Page 34 - Fully Balanced Circuitry; In the typical Preamplifier, one set of circuits have to
34 Figure 98 balance and freedom from control noise. The Volume Control on the Front Panel ofthe C500 is actually aspecial digital opticalencoder. As the VolumeControl is rotated, abeam of Infra Red Lightis picked up by two in-ternal sensors as a seriesof digital pulses. Referto figure 97. The numbe...
Page 35 - Moving Coil Preamplifier; McIntosh has designed a; Technical Description, con’t; Logic Controlled Circuitry
35 to the unbalanced Inputs of the C500 are first converted to abalanced signal before they are amplified. In a similar man-ner the balanced audio signals are converted to unbalancedsignals before they are available to the unbalanced outputsjacks. Moving Coil Preamplifier One of the popular types of...
Page 36 - Power Supply Circuits; Most owners desire one power switch for the whole au-; Block Diagrams; Refer to folded sheet “
36 Figure 104 problems electrically. By developing electronic circuits themeters are made to respond to short intervals with an accu-racy of 95%! To permit the eye to see such high speed mo-tion, the electronic circuits that drive the meter pointer aretime stretched. Special logarithmic circuitry al...
Page 37 - Specifications C500 Preamplifier; 20 ohms (Unbalanced and Balanced Outputs)
37 Frequency Response +0, -0.5dB from 10Hz to 40,000Hz Total Harmonic Distortion 0.002% maximum from 20Hz to 20,000Hz Signal To Noise Ratio High Level, 100dBPhono, 88dB Maximum Voltage Output 12V RMS Unbalanced (Spkr1 and Spkr2 Outputs)25V RMS Balanced (Main, Spkr1 and Spkr2 Outputs) Output Impedanc...
Page 38 - Power Requirements; Note: Refer to the rear panel of the C500 Controller for the; Overall Dimensions; The Custom Interconnect Cables are supplied with the; Specifications C500 Controller and General
38 Specifications C500 Controller General Specifications Power Requirements 100 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts110 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts120 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts220 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts230 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts240 Volts, 50/60Hz at 75 watts Note: Refer to the rear panel of the C500 C...
Page 39 - Note: Unless instructed otherwise, please return the
39 Packing Instructions Quantity Part Number Description 1 033838 Shipping carton only 4 033837 End cap 1 033836 Inside carton only 1 034414 Top pad (foam) 1 034301 Bottom pad 4 017937 Plastic foot 4 400159 #10-32 x 3/4” screw 4 404080 #10-7/16” Flat washer Packing Instructions In the event it is ne...
Page 40 - Chambers Street
McIntosh Part No. 04105400 McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 2 Chambers Street Binghamton, NY 13903 The continuous improvement of its products is thepolicy of McIntosh Laboratory Incorporated whoreserve the right to improve design without notice. Printed in the U.S.A.
