McIntosh MC-2200 Owners manual

THE MclNTOSH MC 2200 SOLID STATE STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER

Reading Time: 29 Minutes

Price $1.25

Your MC 2200 Stereo Power Amplifier
will give you many years of pleasant
and satisfactory performance. If you

have any questions, please contact:

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Mclntosh Laboratory Inc.
2 Chambers Street
Binghamton, New York 13903
Phone: [phone]

WARNING: TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK

HAZARD, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS UNIT TO
RAIN OR MOISTURE.

Take Advantage of 3 years
of FREE Service . ..

Fill in the Application NOW.

THREE YEAR SERVICE CONTRACT

An application for a FREE THREE YEAR SERVICE CONTRACT is included with this manual.

Contents

SERVICE

INSTALLATION

HOW TO CONNECT

FRONT PANEL INFORMATION

REAR PANEL INFORMATION

PERFORMANCE LIMITS AND RATINGS

PERFORMANCE CHARTS

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

BLOCK DIAGRAM

1

2

4
8

10
11
12
14
16

The terms of the contract are:

1. Mclntosh will provide all parts, materials and
labor needed to return the measured perform­ance of the instrument to the original per­formance limits free of any charge. The
SERVICE CONTRACT does not cover any ship-

ping costs to and from the authorized service

agency or the factory.

2. Any Mclntosh authorized service agency will

repair all Mclntosh instruments at normal
service rates. To receive the free service under
the terms of the SERVICE CONTRACT, the
SERVICE CONTRACT CERTIFICATE must ac­company the instrument when taken to the
service agency.

3. Always have service done by a Mclntosh
authorized service agency. If the instrument
is modified or damaged, as a result of un­authorized repair the SERVICE CONTRACT
will be cancelled. Damage by improper use

or mishandling is not covered by the SERV­ICE CONTRACT.

4. The SERVICE CONTRACT is issued to you as
the original purchaser. To protect you from
misrepresentation this contract cannot be
transferred to a second owner.

5. For your protection Mclntosh selects only
dealers who have technical competence to
guide purchasers fairly, and provide service
when necessary. To receive the SERVICE
CONTRACT your purchase must be made
from a Mclntosh franchised dealer.

6. Your completely filled in application for a
SERVICE CONTRACT must be postmarked

within 30 days of the date of purchase of

the instrument.

7. To receive the SERVICE CONTRACT all in-

formation on the application must be filled
in. The SERVICE CONTRACT will be issued
when the completely filled in application is

received at Mclntosh Laboratory Incorporated
in Binghamton, New York.

Copyright © 1976 by Mclntosh Laboratory Inc.

1

so be sure that the panel and its mounting can also handle
the weight.

INSTALLATION IN MclNTOSH CABINET

Remove the instrument and hardware package from the
carton. Remove the MC 2200 from its plastic bag and place
it upside down on the shipping pallet; unscrew the four

plastic feet from the bottom of the chassis. Use the screws

from the plastic feet to secure the instrument to the cabi-

net. Do not substitute longer screws. Longer screws may
penetrate the electronic components in the chassis which

would cause severe damage. Do not overtighten the screws.

INSTALLATION IN A CUSTOM CABINET

The trouble-free life of an electronic instrument is
greatly extended by providing sufficient ventilation to pre­vent the buildup of high internal temperatures that cause
deterioration. Allow enough clearance so that cool air can
enter at the bottom of the cabinet and be vented from the
top. With adequate ventilation the instrument can be

mounted in any position. The recommended minimum
space for installation is 15 inches (38.1 cm) deep, 17 inches
(43.2 cm) wide, and 8 inches (30.3 cm) high.

The MC 2200 can be housed in the Mclntosh L22 cabinet,
installed in a custom cabinet or, with the addition of RACK
MOUNTING ADAPTERS (RMA 7), mounted in a standard 19
inch rack panel. The MC 2200 weighs 85 pounds (38.6 kg).
In any installation it is necessary to provide proper support
for the weight. The mounting methods described and the
amplifier have been designed to accommodate the weight

1/4" DIA. (2 HOLES)

Vertical mounting the MC 2200 requires careful con­sideration. The total weight is transmitted to the panel and
shelf on which the amplifier is to be mounted. Thought
should be given to providing a means for raising the MC
2200 out of the panel. More consideration should be given

to providing adequate ventilation at the panel in vertical

mounting. The heat sinks are at the rear of the chassis
permitting the heat to pass over the entire chassis. It is then
trapped behind the panel causing the overall temperature
to rise. In any case, air flow for cooling can be improved by
the use of a properly installed low noise fan. Adequate
cooling will extend the life of the components.

CUTOUT

Fig. 1. Top view of the panel cutout and mounting shelf.

2

FRONT PANEL
MTG. SURFACE

6 9/16"

DEPTH REQUIRED

15".

TOP OF SHELF & BOTTOM

OF CUTOUT SHOULD COINCIDE.

SHELF

Fig. 2. Views showing mounting shelf in position.

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE

1. Mark for Position
Mark cabinet panel where the instrument is to be

installed. The solid lines in Fig. 2 represent the outline of
the rectangular cutout and also represent the outside
dimensions of the chassis. Make sure these lines clear
shelves, partitions, or any equipment. The broken line
represents the outside dimension of the panel.

2. Drill Holes
Using a drill bit slightly wider than the tip of your saw

blade, drill one hole at each of two diagonally opposite
corners. The holes should barely touch the inside edge of
the outline.

3. Saw Panel Cutout
Sawing carefully on the inside of the lines, first make

the two long cuts and then the two short. After the

rectangular opening has been cut out, use a file to

square the corners and smooth any irregularities in the

cut edges.

3"

MOUNTING SCREWS

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCREW
LENGTH & TOTAL SHELF THICKNESS
MUST NOT EXCEED 1/2"

INSTALLATION IN A 19 INCH RACK

• The RACK MOUNTING ADAPTERS install on each end of

the front panel. On each side of the amplifier, three screws

secure the front panel bracket to the chassis. These three
screws are removed, the RACK MOUNTING ADAPTER

placed over the screw holes and the screws replaced. The
entire weight is transmitted through the RACK MOUNTING
ADAPTERS to the rack. No weight is carried by the front
panel. Additional support for the weight can be provided

at the rear of the chassis as desired.

4. Shelf Installation
Install the shelf on which the MC 2200 will sit. It

must be capable of supporting the total weight of the
instrument. Drill the two ¼" holes shown in Fig. 1.

5. Install Instrument
Guide the AC power cord through the panel opening

to the back of the cabinet; then, slide the instrument into
the opening until its front panel is flush with the cabinet
panel. Secure the MC 2200 to the shelf with #10 wood
screws of the proper length.

½" thick shelf—use 1" screws

5

"

/

thick shelf—use 11/

8

"

screws

8

¾" thick shelf—use 1¼" screws

Do not use screws longer than this recommended
length. They may penetrate electronic components
inside the chassis and cause severe damage. In any
event, the screw length must not exceed the shelf
thickness by more than ½".

Insert two proper length screws through the mount­ing shelf and into the holes in the bottom of the ampli­fier. Do not overtighten the screws.

Fig. 3. Rack Mounting Adapters installed.

3

INPUT

STEREO OR TWIN AMPLIFIER OPERATION

Use shielded cables to connect the signal from the pre-

amplifier or signal source to the power amplifier input. To

minimize the possibility of hum the shielded cables should
be run parallel to each other or loosely twisted together.
Locate the cables away from speaker leads and AC power
cords. All connections are made on the back panel of the
MC 2200.

For stereo operation, the left output of the preamplifier
should be plugged into the Left input jack of the power
amplifier. The right output of the preamplifier should be

plugged into the Right (MONO) input jack of the power

amplifier.

available from the MC 2200, large diameter speaker leads
must be used. Use lamp cord, bell wire, or wire with similar

type of insulation to connect the speakers to the amplifier.

In all cases, the leads to and from the speaker should be
twin conductor or twisted together. When using 8 ohm
speakers and for the normally short distances of under 30
feet between the amplifier and speaker, #18 wire or
larger can be used. For distances over 30 feet between the
amplifier and speaker use larger diameter wire. Select the
correct size wire for the wire distance from the chart. It is
recommended that the DC resistance of the speaker leads

be less than 5% of the speaker impedance. Up to 10% can
be tolerated. Resistance of the leads should be computed for

the length of wire both to and from the speaker or speakers.

For twin amplifier operation a separate signal source can
be connected to each input. In stereo or twin amplifier
operation the MODE SWITCH must be in the STEREO posi­tion.

MONOPHONIC OR SINGLE CHANNEL OPERATION

A shielded cable from the signal source is plugged into
the Right (MONO) input jack of the MC 2200 only. The

MODE SWITCH on the back panel of the amplifier must be
placed in the MONO position. In the MONO position the
right channel input jack connects to both left and right
power amplifiers. Mono output is obtained by strapping

both outputs in parallel. The Left INPUT is disconnected.
Only the signal fed into the Right (MONO) input will be
amplified.

Should the MODE SWITCH be left in the STEREO position
and the output transformers remain strapped for a mono­phonic load, one channel will attempt to drive the other
which causes high circulating currents and overheating. Be

certain that the MC 2200 is never operated in the stereo

mode with the outputs connected for monophonic opera-

tion.

OUTPUT

Be certain the loudspeakers connected to the MC 2200

are capable of handling the power output of the ampli-

fier.

For multiple speaker operation, run separate leads from

each speaker to the amplifier. Because of the high power

MAXIMUM WIRE

Wire
Gauge

22

20

18
16
14
12
10

Wire lengths above represent the wire resistance equal to
5% of the speakers impedance. Use of smaller wire sizes
will produce more resistance which causes more power
loss and less loudspeaker damping.

STEREO OR TWIN AMPLIFIER OPERATION

Check the impedance of the speaker which is usually
identified on the speaker itself or in the speaker owner's
manual. Connect a lead from the common terminal of the

left speaker to the amplifier LEFT OUTPUT terminal strip

COMmon screw. Connect another lead from the other termi-

nal of the left speaker to the screw with the number cor-

responding to the speaker impedance on the LEFT OUTPUT
terminal strip. The right channel speaker is connected in
the same manner on the RIGHT OUTPUT terminal strip. For

stereo or twin channel operation it is not necessary to use
the same impedance loudspeaker on each output. Connect

For 4 Ohm Load

Feet

10

15
25
40
60

100

Meters

6

1.83

3.05

4.57

7.62

12.19

18.29

30.48

LENGTHS

For 8

Feet

12
20
30

50
80

120

200

Ohm Load

Meters

3.66

6.10

9.14

15.24

24.38

36.58

60.96

4