McIntosh MC501 Manual - Free PDF Download

Page 2 - IMPORTANT SAFETY

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 intendedto alert the user to the presence o...

Page 3 - Please take a short time to read the information in this

3 Customer Service Technical Assistance Please Take A Moment Thank You Copyright 2003  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 - Connector Information

4 Performance Features Introduction • Power Output The MC501 is a Power Amplifier with a capability of 500watts into 2, 4 or 8 ohm speakers with less than 0.005%distortion. ••••• Full Balanced Quad-Differential Circuitry The MC501 is fully balanced from inputs to outputs. Itconsists of two matched p...

Page 6 - Always provide adequate; Installation

6 Installation Caution: The MC501 Amplifier weight is 91.5 pounds (41.5 kilograms). It requires two or more persons tosafely handle when moving the amplifier. The MC501 can be placed upright on a table or shelf,standing on its four feet. Thefour feet may be removedfrom the bottom of theMC501 when it...

Page 7 - Top Panel Connections and Switch; Caution: The Loudspeaker Negative Connections are above chassis

7 Top Panel Connections and Switch Connect the MC501power cord to a liveAC outlet. Refer toinformation on theback panel to deter-mine the correctvoltage BALANCED INPUTfor an audio cablefrom a preamplifier orcontrol center audiooutput OUTPUT Connectionsfor 4 ohm loudspeaker INPUT MODEswitch selectsBA...

Page 8 - How to Connect; Caution: The supplied AC Power Cord should not be

8 How to Connect Caution: The supplied AC Power Cord should not be connected to the Rear Panel of the MC501Amplifier until after the Loudspeaker Connectionshave been made and the supplied protectiveTerminal Connections Cover has been installed.Failure to observe this could result in ElectricShock. 1...

Page 10 - Front Panel Displays and Controls

10 Front Panel Displays and Controls METER indicatesthe Power Outputof the amplifier METER Switch selectsthe display modes of thePower Output Meter POWER GUARD LEDlights when the amplifierPOWER GUARD circuitactivates POWER Switch TurnsAC power On/Off, orOn/Remote Remote OnIndicator lightswhen the am...

Page 11 - Power On; Note: There must be a power; Meter Selection; Note: The MC501 Power Output Meter; Input Mode Switch

11 How to Operate How to Operate Power On To have the MC501 automatically turn On or Off when acontrol center turns on or off,rotate the power switch to theremote position. For manualoperation, rotate the powerswitch to the On or Off positionas desired. Refer to figure 10. Note: There must be a powe...

Page 12 - Technical Description; A continuous average power output rating of 500 watts; Creating an amplifier with this level of performance did

12 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 power amplifier without compromise, using the mostadvanced McIntosh circuit design concepts. A con...

Page 13 - Design Philosophy; Block Diagram

13 Technical Description Design Philosophy The design philosophy incorporated in the MC501 in-volved several different techniques, all based on sound sci-entific logic. Every stage of voltage or current amplifica-tion must be as linear as possible prior to the use of nega-tive feedback. McIntosh eng...

Page 14 - The special Balanced Winding Autoformer creates an

14 Figure 18 Input Test Signal The special Balanced Winding Autoformer creates an ideal match between the power amplifier output stage andthe loudspeaker. A McIntosh amplifier with an Autoformercan be used to safely drive multiple speakers without re-ducing the life expectancy of the power amplifier...

Page 15 - Technical Description, con’t; Power Supply Circuits

15 Technical Description, con’t Figure 20 With Power Guard Figure 19 Without Power Guard able, since it can damagevaluable loudspeaker sys-tem tweeters. You willnever experience theharsh and damaging dis-tortion due to clipping. The Power Guard cir- cuit is a waveform com-parator, monitoring boththe...

Page 17 - Notes

Page 18 - Note: Refer to the rear panel of the MC501 for the correct

18 Specifications Specifications Power Output Minimum sine wave continuous average power output is:500 watts into 2 ohm load500 watts into 4 ohm load500 watts into 8 ohm load Rated Power Band 20Hz to 20,000Hz Total Harmonic Distortion Maximum Total Harmonic Distortion at any powerlevel from 250 mill...

Page 20 - Chambers Street

McIntosh Part No. 040856 McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 2 Chambers Street Binghamton, NY 13903 The continuous improvement of its products isthe policy of McIntosh Laboratory Incorporatedwho reserve the right to improve design withoutnotice. Printed in the U.S.A.