McIntosh XRT2K User Manual

Loudspeaker System

XRT2K

Owner’s Manual

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

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.

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.

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 non-abrasive dry soft cloth.

7. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions.

8. This Loudspeaker is capable of producing
extremely high sound pressure levels, even
when connected to amplifiers of moderate
power output. User caution is advised. Ear
protection is recommended when playing at
high volumes as continued exposure to high
sound pressure levels can cause permanent
hearing impairment or loss. The use of a
Sound Level Pressure Meter will greatly aid in

determining when high volume levels are

occurring.

9. Do not install near any heat sources such as
radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other
apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

10. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the
manufacturer.

11. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or
table specified 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.

12. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, 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.

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

14. WARNING: When this Loudspeaker is
connected to an amplifier that is Powered On,
the connection terminals may have hazardous
live voltages present with a risk of electric
shock.

15. CAUTION: When this Loudspeaker is
assembled it weighs 452 pounds (205.0 kgs). It
requires four or more persons to safely move
the Loudspeaker.

2

Safety Instructions

Thank You

Your decision to own this McIntosh XRT2K Loudspeaker
System 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 musical enjoyment from this unit.

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 2005 © by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.

Table of Contents

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

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

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

Table of Contents and Important Information .................... 3

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

Performance Features ........................................................ 5

Dimensions ...................................................................... 6-8

Unpacking and Assembly .............................................. 9-10

Room Placement .............................................................. 11

Midrange/High Frequency Column, Low Frequency Col-

umn Base Connections ..................................................... 12

Low Frequency Column Rear Panel Connections ............ 13

How to Connect using a single amplifier ......................... 14

How to Connect using two amplifiers .............................. 16

How to Connect using three amplifiers ............................ 18

Photos ......................................................................... 20-21

Specifications ................................................................... 22

Packing Instruction .......................................................... 23

Important Information

Caution: The XRT2K when assembled weight is 452 pounds

(205.0kg). It requires four or more persons to safely
handle the Loudspeaker System.

1. Loudspeaker Cables of adequate size are important to ensure
that there will be no significant power loss or heating. Cable
size is specified in Gauge numbers or AWG (American Wire
Gauge). The smaller the Gauge number, the larger the wire
size:

If the Loudspeaker Cables are 50 feet (38.1m) or less, use at
least 12 Gauge (AWG) wire size or larger.
If the Loudspeaker Cables are 100 feet (76.2m) or less, use
at least 10 Gauge (AWG) wire size or larger.

2. For additional connection information, refer to the owner’s
manual(s) for any component(s) connected to the XRT2K
Loudspeaker.

3. The XRT2K’s built-in speaker protection incorporates five
automatic resetting solid-state devices in the crossover
networks. One protects the tweeters, one for the midranges
and three for the woofers. The protection allows a certain
amount of overdrive but extended periods will trigger
protection. If an obvious lack of high, mid or low frequencies
is noticed, the Protection Device may have activated. These
devices will automatically reset when the volume level is
reduced significantly and kept low until the output of the
affected Loudspeaker Element returns to normal.

4. When the XRT2K Loudspeaker System is driven by more than
one amplifier, the output levels of the different amplifiers
connected to the Loudspeaker System must be adjusted to
achieve a proper balance between the low, midrange and
high frequencies reproduced. This adjustment is best
achieved through the use of audio test equipment operated
by a qualified installer.

3

Introduction

For the first time, the new McIntosh XRT2K Loudspeaker
System is capable of reproducing the full dynamic range of
a symphony orchestra including pipe organ without audible
distortion. McIntosh Acoustic Engineers have refined the
line source Column Loudspeaker concept and the XRT2K
Loudspeaker System is the 6th in a generation of that pat­ented design1. It provides
superior quality midrange
and high frequency sound
reproduction in a full
range system.

The High Frequency
Section utilizes a patented
Column Design1 with mul­tiple two inch Midrange
Inverted Titanium Dome
Drivers and three-quarter
inch Titanium Dome

Figure 1

Tweeters. Refer to fig­ures 1 and 2. Since the
audio power fed to a
column is distributed
among all the drivers,
each driver does not
have to work as hard,
resulting in greater
power handling capa­bility and a dramatic
reduction in distortion.
The Sound Waves from
the Column produce a
Cylindrical Wave Front

Figure 2

with a stable symmetrical horizontal sound dispersion while
minimizing undesirable floor and ceiling reflections that de­tract from a
stable
sound im­age. Refer
to figure 3.
In the illus­tration, the
Loud­speaker on
the left side

Figure 3

produces a Cylindrical Wave Front and the Loudspeaker on
the right side produces a conventional Spherical Wave
Front.

1

COLUMN Pat. No. 4,267,405

The Low Frequency Section of the System consists of
six 12 inch Aluminum Cone Woofers capable of long cone
excursions. The sound produced has very low levels of har­monic dis­tortion and
a fre­quency re­sponse
down to
16Hz.
They have
a large mo­tor assem­bly made
with High
Tempera­ture

Figure 4

Neodymium magnets with inherent shielding to greatly re­duce any external magnetic field. Refer to figure 4. The
woofer design also utilizes an aluminum shorting ring, cop­per capped pole piece, three inch diameter voice coil and
two cone centering devices. This results in lower distortion
due to more linear magnetic flux in the voice coil gap. A
good example of this low distortion is incredible smoothness
and effortless clarity in the reproduction of the human voice.

The Crossover Networks used in the XRT2K Loud­speaker System are designed to ensure a smooth frequency
response over the entire audible range. The Low Frequency
Crossover Network is a quasi-second order design. Refer to
figure 5. Along with the column arrangement, this network

Figure 5

acoustically sums to a fourth order Linkwitz-Riley low
pass. The Midrange Crossover Network is a second order
high pass and low pass design. Refer to figure 6. Acousti­cally, the high pass sums to a fourth order Legendre and the

4

Introduction and Performance Features

tem weight to a minimum while preserving the utmost in
performance.

Shielded Magnetic Field

•

The XRT2K may also be used in Home Theater Installa­tions near a television receiver or monitor without causing
the television image to degrade. By design, all of the speak­ers’ magnetic structures are inherently shielded which pre­vents interference.

Figure 6

low pass sums to a fourth order Linkwitz-Riley. The
Tweeter Crossover Network is a second order design; how­ever, this acoustically sums to a fourth order Linkwitz­Riley high pass. Refer to figure 7. All these acoustic Fourth

Figure 7

Order designs keep the speakers operating within their opti­mum frequency range while offering the best blending of
each speaker. All network inductors are air core designs; so
they will not add distortion. All network capacitors are film
type for extra reliability. All the Capacitors and Inductors
are chosen for high current capacity. Each section of the
network utilizes it own self resetting high current PTC type
fuses to provide an extra measure of protection.

Low Harmonic and Intermodulation Distortion

•

The XRT2K Loudspeaker System is capable of reproducing
the full dynamic range of a symphony orchestra including
pipe organ without audible distortion of any kind.

High Power Handling

•

The Loudspeaker Elements and Crossover Components of
the XRT2K are all chosen for use with powerful amplifiers
up to 2,000 watts.

Superior Imaging

•

Locating the Column of Tweeters between the two Columns
of Midranges generates a symmetrical horizontal polar
response for superior imaging.

Versatile Operation and Placement

•

In additional to the regular connections, the XRT2K Loud­speaker System provides separate connections for Bi-Am­plification and Tri-Amplification hookups, as well as Bi­Wiring and Tri-Wiring.

• •

• Extruded and Machined Side Panels and Column

• •

The sides of the XRT2K Low Frequency enclosures and the
Midrange/Tweeter Column enclosure are machined from
extruded thick aluminum panels to be non-parallel and are
given a High Gloss Black Piano Type Finish.

Performance Features

High Temperature Neodymium-Iron-Boron Alloy

•

Magnets

The 6 twelve inch Woofers, 64 four inch Midranges and 40
three-quarter inch Dome Tweeters all use this Alloy. The
Neodymium-Iron-Boron Alloy has the highest flux density
per unit of volume and helps to keep the Loudspeaker Sys-

Gold Plated Input Connectors

•

The XRT2K input connectors are gold plated for superior
corrosion resistance and high electrical conductivity.

5

Dimensions

The following dimensions can assist in determining the best
location for your XRT2K Loudspeaker System.

83

-7/8

213.04cm

Front View of the

XRT2K

Loudspeaker System

"

9

-1/2

"

24.13cm

80

-9/16

204.63cm

Side View of the

XRT2K

Loudspeaker System

14

-15/32

"

36.75cm

2

-17/32

"

6.43cm

"

3

-3/8

"

8.57cm

19"

48.26cm

6

18"

45.72cm

Dimensions

Rear View of the

XRT2K

Loudspeaker System

48

-1/16

122.08cm

"

44

-5/32

112.16cm

"

41

104.30cm

-1/16

"

37

-5/32

94.38cm

"

34

-23/32

88.19cm

"

26

68.02cm

-25/32

"

24

-11/32

61.83cm

"

16

-13/32

41.67cm

"

13

-15/16

35.40cm

7

-3/16

18.26cm

"

"

6

-1/32

15.32cm

"

11

-13/16

30.00cm

"

7

Dimensions, con’t

Front View of the

XRT2K

Midrange and High Frequency Column

6

-9/16

"

16.67cm

4

-3/4

"

12.07cm

2

-15/16

"

7.46cm

-1/2

"

7

19.05cm

Front View of the

XRT2K

Low Frequency Column

12

-3/4

32.39cm

"

49

-1/2

"

125.73cm

12

-3/4

2

-3/16

1

-3/4

"

4.45cm

9

-1/4

"

23.50cm

8

9

23.57cm

5.56cm

-9/32

"

"

32.39cm

10

-1/4

26.04cm

"

"