McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 2 Chambers Street Binghamton, New York MC2301 Tube Power Amplifier Owner’s Manual 13903-2699 Phone: 607-723-3512 www.mcintoshlabs.
The lightning flash 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 sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons. 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.
IMPORTANT! INSTRUCTIONS FOR REMOVAL OF FOAM INSERTS OVER THE VACUUM TUBES PRIOR TO CONNECTING THE A.C. POWER SUPPLY CORD, START ON THE NEXT PAGE.
Unpacking the MC2301 Caution: To prevent damage to the MC2301 Tubes during shipping, there is a special foam insert surrounding the Tubes located on both sides of the Power Amplifier. BOTH Foam Inserts must be removed from the MC2301 before connecting the AC Power Supply Cord to the power amplifier. Failure to do so has the potential of a Fire Hazard, resulting in damage to the MC2301 and the surrounding environment.
Unpacking the MC2301 and Ventilation Figure 3 Figure 6 Tube Cover Figure 8 Figure 7A Figure 4 Foam Insert Chassis screws Chassis screw Bracket Chassis screw Ventilation Adequate ventilation extends the trouble free life of the MC2301. Always allow air to flow through the ventilation holes on the bottom of the amplifier and a means for the warm air to escape at the top. Refer to figure 9 and the information on the next page for placement and installation of the MC2301.
Thank You Customer Service General Information Your decision to own this McIntosh MC2301 Tube Power Amplifier 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.
General Information, Cable Information, Introduction and Performance Features Introduction away or incinerated but disposed of in accordance with the local regulations concerning battery disposal. 6. For additional information on the MC2301 and other McIntosh Products please visit the McIntosh Web Site at www.mcintoshlabs.com. Now you can take advantage of traditional McIntosh standards of excellence in the MC2301 Tube Power Amplifier.
Dimensions Dimensions The following dimensions can assist in determining the best location for your MC2301. Front View of the MC2301 17-3/4" 45.09cm 11" 27.94cm 12-5/16" Side View of the MC2301 31.27cm 21" 54.61cm 20" 1-5/8" 50.86cm 4.12cm 10-1/2" Rear View of the MC2301 17-3/8" 3/16" 0.48cm 44.15cm 1-1/2" 3.81cm 12-1/4" 31.11cm 8 15-3/4" 40.00cm 1-3/4" 4.45cm 26.
Installation Installation The MC2301 can be placed upright on a table or shelf, standing on its four feet. It also can be custom installed in a piece of furniture or cabinet of your choice. The four feet may be removed from the bottom of the MC2301 when it is custom installed as outlined below. The four feet together with the mounting screws should be retained for possible future use if the MC2301 is removed from the custom installation and used free standing.
Notes 10
Rear Panel Connections and Switch Main Fuse holder, refer to information on the back panel of your MC2301 to determine the correct fuse size and rating POWER CONTROL IN receives a turn On/ Off signal from a McIntosh component and the POWER CONTROL OUT sends a turn On/Off signal to the next McIntosh Component INPUT MODE switch selects between balanced or unbalanced input Connect the MC2301 power cord to a live AC outlet.
How to Connect Caution: The supplied AC Power Cord should not be connected to the Rear Panel of the MC2301 Tube Power Amplifier until after the Loudspeaker Connections have been made. Failure to observe this could result in Electric Shock. For additional instruction on making Loudspeaker Connections contact your McIntosh Dealer or McIntosh Technical Support. 1. For Remote Power Control, connect a power control cable from the Control Center or Preamplifier Power Control Out to the MC2301 POWER CONTROL IN.
How to Connect Preamplifier Loudspeaker Connect to AC Outlet 13
How to Connect for Bi-Amp Caution: The supplied AC Power Cord should not be connected to the Rear Panel of the MC2301 Tube Power Amplifier until after the Loudspeaker Connections have been made. Failure to observe this could result in Electric Shock. For additional instruction on making Loudspeaker Connections contact your McIntosh Dealer or McIntosh Technical Support. 1.
How to Connect for Bi-Amp Preamplifier Power Amplifier Two Loudspeaker Connect to AC Outlet 15
Front Panel Displays and Controls Meter indicates the Power Output of the Amplifier METER Switch selects the display modes of the Power Output Meter and Meter Illumination 16 Standby Power On and Sentry Monitor Tube Protection Activation Indicator POWER Switch Turns AC Power On/Off, or On/Remote
How to Operate How to Operate Power On To have the MC2301 automatically turn On or Off when a control center turns on or off, rotate the power switch to the remote position. For manual operation, rotate the power switch to the On or Off position as desired. Refer to figure 8. Note: There must be a power control connection between the MC2301 and the McIntosh Control Center, in order for the remote power turn-on to function.
Technical Description McIntosh Laboratory, the company who introduced the world’s first amplifier that could be called “High Fidelity”, has done it again. The McIntosh engineering staff has created a tube power amplifier without compromise, using the most advanced McIntosh circuit design concepts. A continuous average power output rating of 300 watts makes this not only the most advanced, but also one of the most powerful tube amplifiers McIntosh has ever manufactured.
Technical Description figuration cancels many forms of audible distortion and greatly improves the Signal-to-Noise ratio of the amplifier. While conventional designs only take output from the plate, the Patented Unity Coupled Power Amplifier Circuitry takes the Power Output from both the plate and cathode of the Power Output Tubes. This allows for only one half of the turns ratio in the Output Transformer used in conventional designs.
Technical Description, con’t Power Supply Circuits To compliment the fully balanced design of the MC2301 the power supply utilizes a very large Power Transformer (golf ball is for size comparison). Refer to figure 17. It is enclosed in the legendary McIntosh Pot- Figure 15 Figure 14 Power Output Meter The McIntosh MC2301 has a large Output Watt Meter that responds 95% full scale to a single cycle tone burst at 2kHz. Refer to figure 15.
Technical Description, con’t Figure 16 is switched On, a (5-12V) signal operates the power relay in the MC2301. The MC2301 also has a remote Power Control Out Jack. The Power Control signal from this jack is delayed by a fraction of a second so that the turn on power surge of the next power amplifier occurs at a later time.
Specifications Specifications Power Output Minimum sine wave continuous average power output is: 300 watts into 2 ohm load 300 watts into 4 ohm load 300 watts into 8 ohm load Output Load Impedance 2, 4 or 8 ohms Rated Power Band 20Hz to 20,000Hz Total Harmonic Distortion 0.5% maximum harmonic distortion at any power level from 250 milliwatts to rated power, 20Hz to 20,000Hz Frequency Response +0, -0.5dB from 20Hz to 20,000Hz +0, -3.0dB from 10Hz to 100,000Hz Input Sensitivity (for rated output) 1.
Packing Instructions Packing Instructions In the event it is necessary to repack the equipment for shipment, the equipment must be packed exactly as shown below. It is very important that the four feet are attached to the bottom of the equipment. This will ensure the proper equipment location on the bottom foam pad. Failure to do this will result in shipping damage. To protect the tubes during shippment, the two Foam Inserts removed from the MC2301 need to be re-inserted.
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.
