McIntosh MA7900, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...McIntosh Laboratory Inc 2 Chambers Street Binghamton New York 13903 2699 Phone 607 723 3512 www mcintoshlabs com MA7900 Integrated Amplifier Owner s Manual ...

Page 2: ...ed for your safety If the provided plug does not fit 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 11 Only use attachments accessories specified by the manufacturer 12 Use only with the cart stand tripod bracket or...

Page 3: ...____________________ Purchase Date ________________________________ Dealer Name _________________________________ Copyright 2013 by McIntosh Laboratory Inc Safety Instructions 2 3 Thank You and Please Take a Moment 3 Technical Assistance and Customer Service 3 Table of Contents 3 General Information 4 Connector and Cable Information 4 Introduction 5 Performance Features 5 Dimensions 6 Installation...

Page 4: ...t Panel Power Guard LEDs are illuminated continuously and the sound will be muted 5 When the Power Transformer has overheated due to improper ventilation and or high ambient operat ing temperature AC Power is removed from the MA7900 Normal operation will resume when the operating temperature is in a safe range again 6 For the best performance and safety it is important to always match the impedanc...

Page 5: ...er Circuits One for low output Moving Coil Phono Cartridges with selectable resistance load ing the other is for Moving Magnet Cartridges Both circuits use the latest designs to provide the lowest possible noise and distortion The RIAA Correction Circuitry utilizes close tolerance resistors and capaci tors for an extremely flat frequency response Five Band Equalizer The Equalizer Controls provide ...

Page 6: ...information on the next page pertaining to installing the MA7900 into cabinets Front View of the MA7900 Rear View of the MA7900 Side View of the MA7900 17 1 2 44 5cm 7 5 8 19 4cm 3 16 0 5cm 16 1 16 40 8cm 7 1 8 18 1cm 29 32 1 8cm 6 15 2cm 12 3 16 31cm 18 3 4 47 6cm 16 1 2 41 9cm 6 1 4 15 9cm 1 2 5cm 13 33cm 40 0 40 0 1 5 8 4 1cm ...

Page 7: ...aining all the system components at the coolest possible operating temperature A custom cabinet installation should provide the following minimum spacing dimensions for cool operation Allow at least 6 inches 15 24cm above the top 2 inches 5 08cm below the bottom and 2 inches 5 1cm on each side of the Integrated Amplifier so that air flow is not obstructed Allow 20 inches 50 8cm depth behind the fr...

Page 8: ...n of Rear Panel Connections for the MA7900 Integrated Amplifier is located on a separate folded sheet contained in the Owner s Manual Packet Refer to separate sheet Mc1A for the Rear Panel Connections Rear Panel Connections MA7900 Integrated Amplifer ...

Page 9: ...Control Cable from the MA7900 CD DATA PORT Jack to the SACD CD Player Data In Jack 8 Connect a Control Cable from the MA7900 TUNER DATA PORT Jack to the AM FM Tuner Data In Jack 9 Connect a Control Cable from the MA7900 DVD DATA PORT Jack to the Audio Video Player Data In Jack 10 Connect any additional McIntosh Components in a similar manner as outlined in steps 7 thru 9 Sensor Connection 11 Optio...

Page 10: ...ct Audio Cables from the A V Control Center Front Left and Right Channel Outputs to the MA7900 SRVR Input Left and Right Jacks 2 Connect a Control Cable from the A V Control Center ZA Zone A PC Power Control Output to the MA7900 PWR CTRL Power Control PASSTHRU Input Jack Note Refer to Setup Passthru on page 20 to assign the SRVR Input as the Passthru Input 3 Proceed to Connecting Loudspeaker on Pa...

Page 11: ...pers from between the OUTPUT 1 Jacks and the PWR AMP In Jacks located on the Rear Panel of the MA7900 Note Place the McIntosh Jumper in a safe place for possible future use 2 Using a pair of shielded RCA Type Audio Y Adapters connect the OUTPUT 1 Jacks to the PWR AMP In Jacks for both Left and Right Channels 3 Connect the remaining unconnected part of the Y Adapters to the separate Power Amplifier...

Page 12: ... prepared bare wire cable ends into the banana plugs and secure the connections Refer to figure I 3 Rotate the Output Terminal Post clockwise until it is finger tight Refer to figure J Then using the McIntosh Wrench rotate the top of the Output Terminal one quarter of a turn 90 Do not over tighten Refer to figure E 4 Referring to figure K connect the Loudspeaker hookup cables with banana plugs int...

Page 13: ...rmly clamped into the terminals so the lugs or wire cannot slip out Refer to figures L and M Note The illustration located on the separate folded sheet Mc2B is for connection to an 8Ω ohms Loudspeaker If the Loudspeaker s impedance is in between the available connections use the nearest lower im pedance connection Refer to General Informa tion Note 6 on page 4 for additional information WARNING Lo...

Page 14: ...ertain McIntosh Disc Players Selects FM Tuner Operating Func tions and Track Selection on certain McIntosh CD Players Press to change broadcast bands on an external McIntosh Tuner con nected Select certain functions on a variety of McIntosh Components Switches the Trigger 1 and or 2 Power Control Jack s On Off refer to Setup Power Control TRIG 1 and TRIG 2 on page 20 for addi tional information No...

Page 15: ...buttons when a Disc Player or Music Server is being used Tuner Push buttons Press the AM or FM Push button to select the desired broadcast band Press and release the Seek Up the band or Seek Down 9 the band Push button to seek the next available station Press and hold a Directional Up p or Down q Push button to tune continuously from station to station Volume Press the VOLUME Up p or Down q Push b...

Page 16: ...ngs It is also used in the setup mode for various functions Meter indicates the Right Channel Output of the amplifier LED indicates when the Left Channel Amplifier POWER GUARD circuit activates Meter indicates the Left Channel Output of the amplifier LED indicates when the Right Channel Amplifier POWER GUARD circuit activates OUTPUT 1 and 2 Push buttons with indicators switch Preamplifier Output L...

Page 17: ...ugh a brief startup intializa tion with the Front Panel Display indicating the last used source and volume setting This is fol lowed by the volume setting indication starting at zero and then increasing to the last used volume setting Refer to figure 1 2 Press and hold the INPUT CONTROL until the Front Panel Display indicates MA7900 V_ __ S N _______ The information indicated on the Front Panel Di...

Page 18: ...o figure 7 Record any changes made to the various inputs from the default settings in the Input and Power Control Settings chart for future reference 5 To exit from the Setup Mode press the INPUT CONTROL and the Front Panel Display will revert back to its normal display The MA7900 provides the ability to reassign High Level Inputs non Phono to either the Balanced Input or one of the two Digital In...

Page 19: ...pears momentarily on the Front Panel Display Refer to figure 14 The MA7900 Default Input Names CD AUX DVD etc as indicated on the Front Panel Display can be customized with a different name up to nine charac ters long My Phone MCD1100 etc The available characters for renaming the input include the follow ing _ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z In the following e...

Page 20: ...ample will use selection of the Tuner FM Input to switch the Trigger 1 Output On 4 Press and hold the INPUT CONTROL until the Front Panel Display indicates the Setup Mode is active Then rotate the INPUT CONTROL until the Setup Menu item SETUP TRIG1 OUTPUT Action MAIN appears on the Front Panel Dis play Refer to figure 17 5 Rotate the VOLUME Control until SETUP TRIG1 OUTPUT Action SOURCE appears Re...

Page 21: ...ont Panel Display will revert back to its normal display EXAMPLE THREE The Trigger 1 and Trigger 2 Outputs will be assigned to the OUTPUT 1 or OUTPUT 2 Push buttons 10 Press and hold the INPUT CONTROL until the Front Panel Display indicates the Setup Mode is active Then rotate the INPUT CONTROL until the Setup Menu item SETUP TRIG1 OUTPUT Action MAIN appears on the Front Panel Dis play Refer to fi...

Page 22: ...same location as another McIntosh Preamplifier and or A V Control Center the ALTernate Codes are used This will prevent the Remote Control from affecting the operation of both units at the same time To activate the Remote Control ALTernate Codes perform the following steps 1 Press and hold the INPUT CONTROL until the Front Panel Display indicates the Setup Mode is active Then rotate the INPUT CONT...

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Page 24: ...es 50 51 52 and 53 To switch OFF the MA7900 press the STANDBY ON Push button on the Front Panel or the OFF Push button on the Remote Control Note For an explanation of the Remote Control Push button functions refer to pages 14 and 15 light The Trim Settings are stored in memory indepen dently for each Input Source Selected except the Meter Illumination and Digital Au dio Display settings of On or ...

Page 25: ...e changes in steps from 0 to 50dB After approximately 5 sec onds the Display returns to indicate the Source Selec tion and Volume Level To verify the Balance setting without changing it use the TRIM Push button and select Balance EQUALIZER MODE The built in five band Frequency Equalizer provides more precise adjustment of sound than Bass and Treble Controls By default the Equalizer is active for a...

Page 26: ...turns to indicate the Source Selection and Volume Level PHONO ADJUSTMENTS When the Phono MC Input is selected an additional TRIM SELECT FUNCTION becomes available for adjustment Perform the following steps to make the Phono Trim Adjustments 1 Select Phono MC Source Input 2 Press the TRIM Push button on the Remote Con trol until PHONO CARTRIDGE Moving Coil 200 Ohm appears on the Front Panel Display...

Page 27: ...zer Bypass Press the Front Panel EQ BYPASS Push button to remove the MA7900 Equalizer Control Circuitry from the signal path for the currently selected Input Source The LED above the EQ BYPASS Push button will il luminate Refer to figure 50 The MA7900 remembers for each selected Input whether the Equalizer Control Circuitry is deactivated To reactivate the Equalizer Control Circuitry for the curre...

Page 28: ...SERVER Input Note The MA7900 REC OUTPUTS are not affected by the VOLUME BALANCE or TONE Control Settings Figure 50 Using a Separate Power Amplifier There are two different ways to use a separate power amplifier with a MA7900 The first way is to use the separate amplifier instead of the MA7900 built in Power Amplifier Connect the Loudspeakers to the separate power amplifier and remove the McIntosh ...

Page 29: ...dB the amplitude of the band of frequencies centered at the frequency marked above the controls The center frequencies of these controls are at 30Hz 125Hz 500Hz 2 000Hz and 10 000Hz Both Left and Right Channels are affected At the center detent or flat position of the controls the tone circuit components are removed from the signal path The illustration to the right shows the fundamental frequency...

Page 30: ...dows a spe cial McIntosh USB Audio Software Driver needs to be installed on the PC Computer The driver needs to be installed before connecting the MA7900 USB Input to an USB Port on the computer Note If an Apple Macintosh computer is used with the MA7900 no additional driver is required The McIntosh USB Audio Windows Driver and Installation and Operation Guide are available for download from the M...

Page 31: ...31 How to Operate the MA7900 con t and Photos ...

Page 32: ...32 Photos ...

Page 33: ...mplifier 29dB Equalizer Controls Digital Input Sample Rates Optical 16Bit 24Bit 32kHz to 96kHz Coaxial 16Bit 24Bit 32kHz to 96kHz USB 16Bit 24Bit 32Bit 32kHz to 192kHz Power Control and Trigger Output 12VDC 25mA Intermodulation Distortion 0 005 maximum if the instantaneous peak power is 400 watts or less per channel with both channels oper ating for any combination of frequencies from 20Hz to 20 0...

Page 34: ...t 2 35 amps 240 Volts 50 60Hz at 2 25 amps Standby Less than 0 25 watt Note Refer to the rear panel of the MA7900 for the cor rect voltage Overall Dimensions Width is 17 1 2 inches 44 45cm Height is 7 5 8 inches 19 37cm including feet Depth is 22 inches 55 88cm including the Front Panel Knobs and Cables Weight 75 pounds 34 1 kg net 93 pounds 42 3 kg in ship ping carton Shipping Carton Dimensions W...

Page 35: ...d interior parts only if they are all in good serviceable condition If a shipping carton or any of the interior part s are needed please call or write Customer Service Depart ment of McIntosh Laboratory Refer to page 3 Please see the Part List for the correct part numbers Packing Instructions Quantity Part Number Description 1 033888 Shipping carton 4 033887 End Cap 1 033697 Inner carton 1 033725 ...

Page 36: ...ucts is the policy of McIntosh Laboratory Incorporated who reserve the right to improve design without notice Printed in the U S A McIntosh Laboratory Inc 2 Chambers Street Binghamton NY 13903 www mcintoshlabs com McIntosh Part No 04138801 ...