McIntosh MPC-1500 Owners manual

Power Controller

MPC1500

Owner’s Manual

Torus Power Technology under license from Plitron Manufacturing Inc.

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

The lightning ash with arrowhead,
within an equilateral triangle, is
intended to alert the user to the
presence of uninsulated “danger­ous voltage” within the product’s
enclosure that may be of sufcient
magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an

equilateral triangle is intended to

alert the user to the presence of im-

portant operating and maintenance

(servicing) instructions in the litera-

ture accompanying the appliance.

WARNING - TO REDUCE RISK OF

FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO

NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO

RAIN OR MOISTURE.

IMPORTANT SAFETY

INSTRUCTIONS!

PLEASE READ THEM BEFORE
OPERATING THIS EQUIPMENT.

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 block any ventilation openings. Install in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radia­tors, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus

(including ampliers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized
or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two
blades with one wider than the other. A ground­ing type plug has two blades and a third ground­ing prong. The wide blade or the third prong are
provided for your safety. If the provided plug does

not t into your outlet, consult an electrician for

replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or
pinched particularly at plugs, convenience re­ceptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus.

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS

INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO

QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

To prevent the risk of electric shock, do not remove cover or

back. No user-serviceable parts inside.

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

manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or

table specied by the manufacturer,

or sold with the apparatus. When a
cart is used, use caution when mov­ing the cart/apparatus combination
to avoid injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or
when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualied service person­nel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has
been damaged in any way, such as power-supply
cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or
objects have fallen into the apparatus, the appara­tus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not
operate normally, or has been dropped.

15. Do not expose this equipment to dripping or
splashing and ensure that no objects lled with liq­uids, such as vases, are placed on the equipment.

16. To completely disconnect this equipment from the
a.c. mains, disconnect the power supply cord plug
from the a.c. receptacle.

17. The mains plug of the power supply cord shall
remain readily operable.

18. Do not expose batteries to excessive heat such as

sunshine, re or the like.

2

Thank You

Table of Contents

Your decision to own this McIntosh MPC1500 Power
Controller ranks you at the very top among discriminating
music listeners. You now have “The Best.” The McIntosh
dedication to “Quality,” is assurance that you will receive
many years of enjoyment from this component.
Please take a short time to read the information in this
manual. We want you to be as familiar as possible with all
the features and functions of your new McIntosh.

Please Take A Moment

The serial number, purchase date and McIntosh Dealer
name are important to you for possible insurance claim or
future service. The spaces below have been provided for
you to record that information:

Serial Number: __________________________________

Purchase Date: __________________________________

Dealer Name: ___________________________________

Technical Assistance

If at any time you have questions about your McIntosh
product, contact your McIntosh Dealer who is familiar
with your McIntosh equipment and any other brands that
may be part of your system. If you or your Dealer wish
additional help concerning a suspected problem, you can
receive technical assistance for all McIntosh products at:

McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.
2 Chambers Street
Binghamton, 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 Laboratory Service Department. For
assistance on factory repair return procedure, contact the
McIntosh Service Department at:

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

Copyright 2008 © by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.

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

Thank You and Please Take a Moment ............................. 3

Technical Assistance and Customer Service .................... 3

Table of Contents .............................................................. 3

General Information ......................................................... 3

Connector and Cable Information .................................... 4

Introduction ....................................................................... 4

Performance Features ....................................................... 4

Dimensions ....................................................................... 5

Installation ........................................................................ 6

Rear Panel Connections .................................................... 7

How to Connect in a Two Channel System ...................... 8

How to Connect in a Multi Channel System .................... 9

Front Panel Displays and Controls ...................................10

How to Operate the MPC1500 .........................................11

Specifications ...................................................................14

Packing Instructions ........................................................15

General Information

1. For additional connection information, refer to the

owner’s manual(s) for any component(s) connected to

the MPC1500 Power Controller.

2. The Main AC Power going to the MPC1500 and any

other McIntosh Component(s) should not be applied

until all the system components are connected together.
Failure to do so could result in malfunctioning of some
or all of the system’s normal operations.

3. In the event the MPC1500 Power Controller overheats
due to improper ventilation and/or high ambient tem­perature, the Power Controller will switch off. When
the MPC1500 has returned to a safe operating tempera­ture, normal operation will resume.

4. The MPC1500 is designed for connection of Audio/
Video Components with low energy consumption.
This would include components such as Preamplifiers,
A/V Control Centers, Source Components, Integrated
Amplifiers and Power Amplifiers with low to modest
power output.

The total amount of current drawn by all the compo­nents connected to the MPC1500 should not exceed 11.2
Amps. Typically, components consuming low amounts
of energy are rated in watts. To calculate the total
energy consumed, it is usually easier to convert compo­nents rated in Watts to a current rating and then add up
the total current consumed. To convert a wattage rating
into an approximate current rating take the watts rating
and divide it by 100. For example, if a component has a
rating of 65 watts divide it by 100, this would provide
an approximate rating of 0.65 Amps.

3

Connector Information, Introduction and Performance Features

Power
Control

Meter
Illumination
Control

Ground

Connector and Cable Information

Power Control Connector

The MPC1500 Global Power Control Input and Local
Power Control Inputs receive On/Off signals from +5 to
+12 volts. The Global Power Control Output will provide
a +12 volt Output Signal with a current up to 20mA. The
Local Power Control Outputs will
in turn provide from +5 to +12 volt
Output Signal (Input Signal De-

pended). The Global Power Control

Input has an additional connection
for controlling the illumination of
the MPC1500 Voltage and Current Output Meters. The 1/8
inch stereo mini phone plug connects to a Preamplifier or
an A/V Control Center Power Control Output.

Note: The Power Control Connecting Cable is available from

the McIntosh Parts Department:

Data and Power Control Cable Part No. 170-202

Six foot, shielded 2 conductor, with 1/8 inch stereo mini
phone plugs on each end.

Introduction

Now you can add to your system the advantage of tradi­tional McIntosh standards of excellence in the MPC1500
Power Controller. It offers full transformer isolation from
the incoming AC Line for the components connected to it.
The MPC1500 helps to assure the sound and video repro­duction from your McIntosh System is the best it can be,
totally transparent and absolutely accurate.

Performance Features

• Toroidal Isolation Power Transformer

The very large Toroidal Isolation Power Transformer
used in the MPC1500 occupies over three quarters of the
internal space in the chassis. It ensures stable noise free
operation for the audio/video components connected to the
MPC1500. It also isolates them from potential interference
produced from common household appliances that utilize
motors, compressors and electronic control devices.

emanating from the Transformer and thus will not dis­tract from musical enjoyment, even with varying AC Line
conditions.

• Superior Line Surge Protection

The McIntosh MPC1500 utilizes the finest, most sophis­ticated surge suppression technology available. Unlike
most of the AC Line Surge protection devices available,
the MPC1500 doesn’t rely on commonly used inexpensive
MOV devices. The MOV’s can fail after just one surge thus
no longer providing protection and they can allow as much
as 300 volts through to the connected components allow­ing substantial damage to occur. The MPC1500 incorpo­rates TorusTM Surge Suppression Circuitry, which activates
around 2V above peak nominal voltage providing constant
long term protection.

• Illuminated Voltage and Current Meters

The Illuminated Voltage and Current Meters indicate at all
times the voltage available to your McIntosh Components
and the actual current consumed by them.

• Power Control

The Power Control Input connection provides convenient
Turn-On/Off of the McIntosh MPC1500 with your McIn­tosh System.

• Extruded Side Panels

The sides of the MPC1500 are extruded aluminum panels
with a bead blast textured surface and a black anodized
finish.

• Fiber Optic Solid State Front Panel Illumination

The even Illumination of the Front Panel is accomplished
by the combination of custom designed Fiber Optic Light
Diffusers and extra long life Light Emitting Diodes

(LEDs). The glass Front Panel ensures the pristine beauty

of the MPC1500 will be retained for many years.

• Stable Voltage

The MPC1500’s Large Isolation Power Transformer mini­mizes variations in the voltage available to the connected
components as they draw more current, up to the 11.2 Amp
rating.

• Lono Technology

The LONOTM (Low Noise) Transformer Technology from
Plitron used in the MPC1500, eliminates audible noise

LONOTM - is a registered trademark of Plitron Manufacturing Inc.

4

Tor usTM - Torus Power Technology under license from Plitron
Manufacturing Inc.

Dimensions

35353535

35

35

OUTLETS

OUTLETS

35

OUTLETS

17-1/2"

44.45cm

7 -5/8"

19.37cm

3/16"

0.48cm

16-1/16"

40.8cm

Front View of the MPC1500

Rear View of the MPC1500

Side View of the MPC1500

7 -1/8"

18.10cm

13/16"

2.06cm

6-7/16"

16.35cm

13-1/4"

33.66cm

18-1/16"

45.88cm

17-1/16"

43.34cm

6-1/2"

16.51cm

1-1/2"

3.81cm

13-11/16"

34.77cm

1-3/32"

2.77cm

The following dimensions can assist in determining the
best location for your MPC1500. There is additional
information on the next page pertaining to installing the
MPC1500 into cabinets.

Dimensions

5