McIntosh MHA 50 operation manual

McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 2 Chambers Street Binghamton, New York 13903-2699 Phone: [phone] www.mcintoshlabs.com

MHA50

Portable Decoding Amplifier

Operation Guide

ATTENTION:

RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE - NE PAS OUVRIR

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with a dry cloth.

7. Do not use or place near any heat sources such as
radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus
that produce heat.

8. Only use attachments/accessories specied by the

manufacturer.

9. Unplug the supplied AC /DC Adapter during
lightning storms or when unused for long periods
of time.

10. Refer all servicing to qualied service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been

damaged in any way, the AC /DC Adapter is dam-

aged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen
into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed

to rain or moisture, does not operate normally,

2

or has been dropped.

11. Do not expose this apparatus to dripping or splash­ing and that no objects lled with liquids, should
not be placed on the equipment.

12. If this equipment is supplied with AC /DC Adapter
with separate power supply cord or the AC/DC
Adapter plugging directly into an a.c. receptacle,

they shall remain readily operable. To completely

disconnect this equipment from the a.c. mains
remove the AC /DC Adapter mains power supply
cord from the a.c. receptacle or remove the AC /
DC Adapter when it is directly plugged into the a.c.
receptacle.

13. WARNING: Do not expose apparatus to excessive
heat such as sunshine, re or the like. No naked
ame sources such as lighted candles should be

placed on the apparatus.

Les piles ne doivent pas être exposées à de forte
chaleur, tel qu’à la lumière du soleil, au feu ou
autres choses de semblable. Aucune source de
amme nue, tel qu’une bougie, ne doit être placée

sur l’appareil.

Safety Instructions

14. Headpho nes/Earphones connected to th is Digit al

Decod ing Am plifier may be
capable of pr oducing extremely
high sou nd pressure le vels. To

prevent d amage t o the Ear, it is
recom mended not to play at h igh

volumes as conti nued exposure

to high sound pressur e levels can cause pe rma­nent hea ring i mpairment or loss.

Des pressions ac oustiques excessives prove nant
d’écouteurs ou de casques peuve nt provoquer des

pert es de l’audition.

15. Rating plate is loca ted at bot tom enclosure of t he

apparatus.

Les marquage s sont inscrit s en bas de l’appareil.

16. The use of app arat us in t ropical a nd/or moderate

climat es.
L’utili sation de l’appareil dans un cl imat t ropical

et/ou modéré

CAUTION: Lithium Battery

Long Life Lithium type battery is used inside this
product. To prevent the danger of re or explosion of the
internal Lithium Battery, do not overcharge or allow this
product to become overheated.

CAUTION: Risk of re and burns. Do not open,

crush or heat the unit above 140°F

Disposal Instructions:

When d iscarding this un it, comply w ith local rules or

regulations . It should never be th rown away
or inci nerat ed, but d isposed of in accordance

with th e local reg ulat ions concern ing an
electr onic pro duct contain ing a Lithium

Batte ry. Atte ntion should be dr awn to the
envir onmental aspects of batter y disposal.
Les pile s usages doivent êt re jetée s en respecta nt

l’environnement.

Warning: Changes or modications to this unit not

expressly approved by the party responsible for

compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.

Lithium Battery, Disposal Instructions and FCC Information (For US and Canada Customers)

Statement for Class B digital device acc. to
FCC 15.105 as following:

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to

comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable

protection against harmful interference in

a residential installation. This equipment

generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference
will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference

to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and

on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the

interference by one or more of the following

measures:

—Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

(1) this device may not cause interference, and

(2) this device must accept any interference,
including interference that may cause
undesired operation of the device.
—Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

—Increase the separation between the equipment and

receiver.
—Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit

different from that to which the receiver is

connected.

—Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ TV

technician for help.

—This device complies with Industry Canada li

cence-exempt RSS standard(s).

Le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR

d’Industrie Canada applicables aux appareils

radio exempts de licence.

-

3

Thank You

Your decision to ow n this McI ntosh M HA50

Portable Decod ing Amplifier ran ks you at the very

top among discr imi nating music listeners. You

now have “The Best.” The McIntosh dedication to
“Quality,” is assurance t hat you will receive many
years of musical enjoyment from this u nit.
Please take a short time to read this informat ion.
We want you to be as fa miliar as possible with all

the feat ures and fu nction s of your new McIntosh.

Please Take A Moment

The ser ial number, purchase date and McIntosh
Dealer name are impor tant to you for possible
insu rance claim or f uture service. The spaces
below have been provided for you to record that

information:

Serial Number:

Purchase Date: ______________________
Dealer Nam e: _______________________

4

______________________

Technical Assistance

If at any time you have questions about your McIn­tosh product, contact you r McIntosh Dealer who
is familiar with your McI ntosh equipment and any

other br ands that may be part of you r system. If

you or your Dealer wish additional help concer n-

ing a suspecte d problem, you can receive tech nical

assist ance for all McIntosh products at:

McIntosh L aboratory, Inc.
2 Chambers Street
Bingha mton, New York 13903

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Customer Service

If it is determined that your McIntosh product is
in need of repair, you can return it to your Dealer.

You can also return it to the McIntosh Laborator y

Serv ice Department. For assistance on factory
repai r retu rn procedu re, cont act the McIntosh
Serv ice Department at:

McIntosh L aboratory, Inc.
2 Chambers Street
Bingha mton, New York 13903

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Table of Contents

Safety Instructions .................................................. 2

Lithiu m Battery ....................................................... 2

Disposal Instructions .............................................. 2

FCC Information ..................................................... 3

Than k You and Please Take a Moment .................. 4

Technical Assista nce and Customer Service ......... 4

Table of Contents..................................................... 5

General Information ............................................... 2

MHA50 Quick Start ........................................... 2 - 8

Introduction ............................................................. 9

Performance Features ............................................. 9

Rear Panel Connections .......................................... 9

Connecting to External Components ..................... 9

How to Operate the MHA50............................ 10 -11

Specifications ........................................................ 12

Packing Inst ructions ............................................. 12

General Information

1. For additional connection information, refer to
the owner’s manual(s) for any component(s)

connected to the MHA50 Portable Decoding
Amplier.

2. The MHA50 internal Digit al Circuitr y is

designed for decoding 2- chan nel PCM (P ulse
Code Modu lation) and DSD (Digital Stream­Digital) Digital Audio Signals.

3. The Portable Decoding Amplier is designed to
work with Apple and Android mobile devices.
It will also work with computers with USB (2.0
compatible) Connectors.

4. If it should become necessary to replace the

supplied AC/DC Power Adapter, Plug Adapt-

ers, USB Connection Cables or Leather Case,
order pa rt number from the McIntosh Par ts

Department:

AC/DC Power Ad apter 310584SP
Europ ean Plug Ad apter 310585SP

United K ingdom Plug Adapt er 310586SP
Austr alia Plug Adapte r 310587SP

Micro USB t o Micro USB C able 310588SP
USB to Light ing(Appl e) Cable 310589SP
USB to Micr o USB Cable 310590SP
USB (Type- C) to Mic roUSB 310600SP

Leath er Case 310593SP

5. Hereby, McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. declares that

the MHA50 is in compliance with directive
2014/53/EU.

Note: The declaration of conformity may be consulted

at http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/u s/products/
Pages/Manuals.aspx.
Frequencies/power 2402-2480Mhz 3.1dBm

6. When discarding the unit, comply with local
rules or regulations.

7. Periodically, check the McIntosh Web
Site at www.mcintoshlabs.com for the

latest information on the MHA50 and other
McIntosh Products.

5

Introduction

Now you can ta ke advantage of tr aditional
McIntosh standards of excellence in the MH A50
Portable Decod ing Amplifier. The Power Amplifi-

er section of the MH A50 will drive Headphones or

Earbuds to a high level of performance.

The built-in Digital to Analog Conversion

Circuitry provides a very hig h level of accu rate

perfor mance. The McIntosh HXD® Circuitry

restores the direct ionality component of the spatial

sound st age nor mally he ard wit h Loudspeaker

listening.

The MH A50 reproduct ion is sonically
transparent and absolutely accurate. The McIntosh
Sound is “ The Sou nd of the Music Itself.”

6

Performance Features

• Digit al to Analog Conver ter

The MH A50 has a h igh performance 32bit Digital

to Analog Converter Circuitr y

• Digit al Decoding

The MH A50 process PCM Digital Sig nals up
to 192kHz with 32-Bit re solution, DSD128,
DXD352.8 and DXD384.

• HXD® for Headphones

The MH A50 Headphone Crossfeed Director
Circuitry ( HXD® ) improves the sound locali zation
for Headphone Listening. H XD

directionality component of the spatial sound stage

normally heard with Loudspe aker listening.

• Wired I nput Connections

The Input Wired Connections i nclude st anda rd

TM

restores the

USB and Micro USB Connectors providi ng a Digi-

tal Input Signal Path. They also provide the ability
for recharging t he inte rnal batte ry.

• Bluetooth Wireless Input Signal Connect ion

The MH A50 is compatible with devices that pro­vide AptX Bluetoot h Wireless Digital Signal.

• Lithium Battery

The internal long life rechargeable 3000 mA-Hr
Lithiu m Battery provides over 6 hours of playback

time.

• Front Panel Controls and Indic ator

The Front Panel of the MH A50 provides touch

operational controls a nd an indicator to display
operation mode.

HXD® is a regis tered t rademark of McI ntosh Laborat ory, Inc.

Top End View

MHA50 Connections

Outp ut Connection fo r dyna mic Head phones or E arbud s

with a 3.5m m stere o min i phone plug fo r liste ning

iOS USB 2.0 In put Con nectio n
for the Dig ital Aud io Signa l

coming from a iO S Mobile

(Apple) Device

Connection of the AC/DC Power Adapter

Bottom End View

Multi-USB 2.0 Micro Input Co nnect ion for the Digita l Audio Sig nal com ing from device s

using t he And roid Ope rati ng Syste m. Thi s allows USB OTG ( USB on-The-GO) comp ati­ble smar tphones, ta blets, et c. to est ablish a c ommu nicati on lin k with the MHA 50. It also

allows co nnect ion to Computer s using Wi ndows, MAC Compute r using A pple’s OS or

Tablets usi ng the An droid OS. It a lso prov ides recharging capa biliti es

AC/DC Power Ad apter
provide s recha rging

capabi lities fo r the
MHA 50 Porta ble

Amplifier

USB Micro t o USB 20 cable pr ovides
conne ction b etwee n the MH A50
Porta ble Amplifier a nd the AC/DC

Power Adapter

7

Top End View

HXD Sw itch OFF o r On

sett ings al lows for act ivation
of the McInt osh Cros sfeed

GAIN Switch ha s a Low or
High Set ting to match -up
with th e Headph ones/

Earbu ds Sens itivit y and

Impedance character istics

Bluetoo th Push-butt on to act i­vate the M HA50 Bluetoot h receive r
circu ity and proces s the Dig ital
Audio Sig nal fro m the Bluet ooth
Wireless Signal

Director Circuitry

Bottom End View

Digita l Audio I nput Selec tor Swit ch to choose the iOS USB, or Multi- USB Input Wi red

Conne ction for D igita l Audio Sig nal proc essin g. The switch need s to be in either t he
iOS USB, or Mul ti-USB po sition whe n Bluetoo th Wirel ess Con nection is being used.

8

MHA50 Switches, Touch Screen Controls and Indicator

Front View

Stand by Mode Touch

Screen Control

Rotar y Touch Scree n
VOLUME Con trol to a d­just the Headpho ne/Ea rbud

listening level

Oper ation Mod e
LED Indicator

Operation with iOS Apple Device

Follow the steps below when Operating the McIn­tosh Portable Amplifier:

1. Switch power OFF to the MH A50 Portable

Decoding Amplifier and the iOS Apple

Mobile Device if they a re ON.

2. Connect the Apple Mobile Device (using the
supplied cable) to the iOS USB Connector on

the MH A50.

3. Place the Input Selector Switch on the
MHA50 to the iOS Posit ion.

4. The MH A50 Operation Mode LED Indicator

will illumi nate GR EEN. It will Automatically

switch ON the iOS Apple Mobile Device.

5. Perform t he standard iOS Apple Mobile

Device startup procedures including selecting

music playback.

6. Set the Apple Mobile Device Volume Level
between 50% and 75%.

Color

White

White

Green

Green

Blue

Red

Continuous
Illumination

P

P

P

Operation Mode LED Indicator

Flashing

Illumination

P

P

P

When the MHA50 is connected to the AC/DC Power Adapt er and Lithium
Battery is recharging.

When the MHA50 is connected to the AC/DC Power Adapt er and the
Lithiu m Battery is fully charged, it also indicates when the MHA50 is in

the Standby Mode.

When the MHA50 is switched On. The iOS USB or Multi-USB Input is

selected. and the iOS device or the Multi-USB is connected to the MHA50.

When the MHA50 Multi-USB Input is connected to a Device for listening
and is charging the MHA50 at the same time. When fully charged, the LED

will be Illuminated Continuously.

When the MHA50 is switched On, the Multi-USB Input is selected rst, and

then Bluetooth is activated.

Warning, the current High Volume Level Setting could cause permanent

heari ng impairm ent or loss via the Headphon es or Earbuds

How to Operate the MHA50

Operation

9

Operation with iOS Apple Device, con’t Operation with Android Device

7. Use your finger tip to t race part of the Silver

Colored Volume Control Circle to adjust the

volume for your desired listening level.

Note: If the maximu m Volume Le vel is too h igh,

place th e MHA50 Ga in Switch in the “L” Low
Position. If the m aximu m Volume Le vel is too
low, place t he MHA50 G ain Swit ch in the “H”
High Posit ion.

8. At any time the listeni ng can be i nter rupted
by using you r finger tip to touch the Standby
Symbol on the MHA50 until the Operation

Mode LED Indicator changes to White in

color. Touching the symbol a second time

will resume listening with the LED Indicator

changing back to GREEN i n color.

10

Follow the steps below when Operating the McIn­tosh Portable Amplifier:

1. Switch power OFF to the MH A50 Portable
Decoding Amplifier and the Android Mobile

Device if they are ON.

2. Connect the A ndroid Mobile Device (using
the supplied cable) to the Multi-USB Connec-

tor on the M HA50.

3. Place the Input Selector Switch on the
MHA50 to the Mult i Position.

4. The MH A50 Operation Mode LED Indicator

will illumi nate GR EEN.

5. Perform t he standard A ndroid Mobile Device

star tup procedu res including selecti ng music

playback.

6. Set the Android Mobile Device Volume Level
between 50% and 75%.

7. Use your finger tip to t race part of the Silver

Colored Volume Control Circle to adjust the

volume for your desired listening level.

Note: If the maximu m Volume Le vel is too h igh,

place th e MHA50 Ga in Switch in the “L” Low
Position. If the m aximu m Volume Le vel is too
low, place t he MHA50 G ain Swit ch in the “H”
High Posit ion.

8. At any time the listeni ng can be i nter rupted
by using you r finger tip to touch the Standby
Symbol on the MHA50 until the Operation
Mode LED Indicator changes to WHITE in
color. Touching the symbol a second time

will resume listening with the LED Indicator

changing back to GREEN i n color.

Bluetooth Operation

Follow the steps below when Operating the
McIntosh Por table Decoding Amplifier using a

Bluetooth wireless connection:

1. Switch power OFF to the MH A50 Portable

Decoding Amplifier and the Device emitting
a Bluetooth Signal if they are ON.

2. Place the Input Selector Switch on the
MHA50 to the Mult i Position.

3. The MHA50 Operation Mode LED Ind icator

will illumi nate GR EEN.

4. Momenta rily press the Bluetooth Push-but­ton on the M HA50. T he Operation Mode

LED Indicator Color will cha nge from Green
to BLUE.

5. Access the Bluetooth settings on the Mobile
Device where it lists the available received
Bluetooth Connection Signals. Then select
the “MHA50” sig nal so a connection can be
established.

6. Perfor m the standard Mobile Device startup

procedures i ncluding selecting music

playback.

7. Set the Mobile Device Volume Level bet ween
50% and 75%.

8. Use your f inger t ip to trace part of the Silver

Colored Volume Control Circle to adjust the

volume for your desired listening level.

Note: If the maximu m Volume Le vel is too h igh,

place th e MHA50 Ga in Switch in the “L” Low
Position. If the m aximu m Volume Le vel is too
low, place t he MHA50 G ain Swit ch in the “H”
High Posit ion.

9. At any time the listening ca n be interr upted
by using you r finger tip to touch the Standby
Symbol on the MHA50 until the Operation
Mode LED Indicator changes to WHITE in
color. Touching the symbol a second time

will resume listening with the LED Indicator

How to Operate the MHA50

changing back to BLUE in color.

Computer Operation

Multi -USB Operation and Driver I nstal lation

The MH A50 Multi-USB Input provides the
capabil ity to playback music from a computer,

when the computer is conne cted to the MH A50
Multi-USB connector.

The MH A50 Multi-USB Input is compat ible

with PC Computer s using Microsof t®, Windows
7 (SP1), Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. It is also

compatible with Apple® Maci ntosh® Computers

using OS -10.6.8 or later.

When using a PC Computer with Windows,

a special McIntosh MHA50 USB Audio Soft ware

Driver needs to be inst alled on the PC Computer.
Using the supplied cable, connect the MHA50
Multi-USB I nput Con nector to an avai lable USB

11

Computer Operation, con’t

Port on the compute r so the Windows dr iver can

be inst alled .

Note: If an Apple Macintosh computer is used

with the MHA50, no additional driver
is required.

The McIntosh MHA50 USB Audio Wi ndows
Driver is available for download from the McIn­tosh Web Site:

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Support/

Pages/Manuals.aspx

Under “PRODUCT CATEGORY” select
“Headphone Amplifiers” then under “MODEL
NUM BER” select “M HA50”. Click on “SEARCH”

then select “McIntosh MH A50 USB Audio Wi n-

dows Drive v1.0” and download the PC Windows
Driver. Follow the inst ructions below to inst all the

McIntosh M HA50 D river:

Purpose: To Install the McIntosh Multi-USB

Audio Windows driver for use with

12

McIntosh P roducts with a n Multi
USB-Digital Audio Input.

Requi rement s:

1. A PC Computer with a functioning
USB Por t.

2. Windows 7 (SP1 or greater),
Windows 8 (8.1) or Windows 10
Operating System.

Insta lli ng the Software

The MH A50 Multi-USB Driver is included in the
downloaded software package.

1.

Connect the Computer USB Por t Connector
to the Mult i-USB Connector on the MH A50.

2.

Place the I nput Selector Switch on the
MHA50 to the Mult i-USB Position.

3. Unzip the downloaded McIntosh Win-

dows MHA50 Multi-USB Driver Software

Package.

4. Run “XMOS-Stereo-USB-Audio- Class2-

Driver-2014%28v2.19%29.exe”. Refer to

figures 1 thru 7.

5. After readi ng the License Agreement in the

On-Screen Window, check the “I accept the
terms of the License Agreement”” box for the

installation to be completed and then click on

the Next button. Refer to figure 3.

Figure 1

How to Operate the MHA50

“CONTROL PANEL” followed by selecting
“SOUN D”. Refer to figure 8.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Windows Sound Set tings

For the McIntosh MHA50 Portable Decoding

Amplifier to function via t he Comput er USB Con-

nection, the following change needs to be made:

1. From the Windows START button , click on

Figure 8

2. Select “XMOS XS1-U8 MFA (ST)” and then
click on the “ Set Defau lt” but ton.

Note: When the MHA50 i s not connected to

your computer, the previous default
Audio De vice will be selected.

13

Computer Operation, con’t

With the Wi ndows Dr iver now installed, per form
the followi ng the steps:

1. Check to see t he Input Selector Switch on the

MHA50 is in the Multi-USB Position .

2. The MHA50 Operation Mode LED Indicator

will illumi nate GR EEN.

3. Select the desired computer applicat ion to

star t music playback.

4. Set the Computer Volume Level between 50%
and 75%.

5. Use your fi nger tip to trace par t of the Silver

Colored Volume Control Circle to adjust the

volume for your desired listening level.

Note: If the maximu m Volume Le vel is too h igh,

place th e MHA50 Ga in Switch in the “L” Low
Position. If the m aximu m Volume Le vel is too
low, place t he MHA50 G ain Swit ch in the “H”
High Posit ion.

6. At any time the listening can be i nter rupted

14

by using you r finger tip to touch the Standby
Symbol on the MHA50 until the Operation
Mode LED Indicator changes to WHITE in
color. Touching the symbol a second time

will resume listening with the LED Indicator

changing back to GREEN i n color.

Recharging the MHA50 Battery

Afte r about 6 hou rs of use, it becomes time to

recharge the MH A50

following steps:

1.

Place the M HA50

tor Switch in the Of f Position.

2. Disconnect t he USB Cables connected to the

MHA50 Inputs (iOS USB or Multi-USB)

from mobile Digital Audio Sou rce Devices.

3. Using the supplied USB Cable, conne ct

the supplied AC/DC Power Ad apter to the

Lithium Battery. Perform the

Digital Audio Input Selec-

How to Operate the MHA50

MHA50
Multi-USB

-

Input Con
nector a nd

the available

AC Ou tlet.

Note: The M HA50 may a lso be re charge d when it is

conne cted to a Co mpute r USB Port . Refer to
the Comp uter Owner’s Manu al for add ition al

information.

4. During the recharging of the MHA50 the
Front Panel

will f lash WHITE . When t he MHA50 is
fully charged the LED Indicator will be a
non-f lashing WHITE.

Operation Mode LED Indicator

Note: It is i mport ant to di sconne ct the MH A50

from its c hargi ng souce a fter it i s full y
charge d. This i s to prevent over heati ng of
the inte rnal Li thium Ba tter y.

Specifications

Headphone Output Load Impeda nce

8 - 600 ohms

Total Harmonic Distortion

0.005% maximum

Frequency Response

+0, -0.5dB from 20Hz to 50,0 00Hz

Signal To Noise Ratio (A-Weighted)

105dB below rated output

Digit al Input Sample Rates

PCM - 16Bit, 24Bit, 32Bit, 192k Hz

DSD - DSD64, DSD128

DXD - DXD352.8, DXD384

Bluetooth

BT4.1, A2DP Prof ile, AptX

Power Requirements

5V --- ( DC), 0.7A

Overall Dimensions

Width is 2.7 inches (7.0cm)
Height is 6.1 inches (15.5cm)
Depth is 0.6 inches (1.4cm)

Wei gh t

0.5 pound s (0.2 kg) net, 1.0 pounds (0.5 kg) in

shipping carton

Carton Dimensions

Width is 7.2 inches (18.3cm)
Depth is 3.8 inches (9.8cm)
Height is 2.7 inches (6.8cm)

15

McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.

2 Chambers Street
Binghamton, NY 13903
www.mcintoshlabs.com

The continuous improvement of its products is the
policy of McIntosh Laboratory Incorporated who
reserve the right to improve design without notice.
Printed in the U.S.A.

McIntosh Part No. 04179300