McIntosh - Hints and Kinks

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People have debated whether or not speaker cable or other cables or wires have an effect on the sound. I found some patents that discuss the quality of copper and silver that look interesting.
http://www.google.com/?tbm=pts&hl=en

US 4874436 Method for producing high purity electrolytic copper

US 4964738 Electrical conductor of high magnetic permeability material for audio
circuits
preamp -> amp
column 3 lines 66+
Unfortunately, the only metal with higher electrical conductivity than copper is silver, and the improvement in skin depth is only approximately 3 percent--a negligible improvement at great cost.

US 5099518 Electrical conductor of high magnetic permeability material for audio circuits

US 5510578 Audio loudspeaker cable assembly
copper and/or silver column 3 lines 2-3

US 5523528 Interconnection cable for low frequency signal transmission
The inner conductors insulated from each other are shielded by a shielding layer made of copper fabric woven of high-purity copper wires or silver plated copper wires (column 1 lines 50-51)

US 5900589 Silver ribbon cable

US 6231637 Process for producing high-purity silver materials
column 1 lines 19-32
With copper wires having purities on the order of 99.9 wt %, signals cannot be transmitted correctly without phase differences and, as a result, only blurred images or unsharp sounds are produced. To solve these problems, high-purity copper wires produced by working raw materials having purities of at least 99.999 wt % have recently been introduced into the market.Similar effects are exhibited by silver wires that are produced by a process which comprises solidifying silver with a purity of at least 99.95 wt % in one longitudinal direction to yield an ingot, drawing it by either cold or warm working and further working the wire under conditions that will not cause recrystallization.

US 4582545 Method of producing electrical conductor
column 1 lines 10+
As is well known, an electrical conductor is generally made of one of two types of copper: tough pitch copper (TPC) and oxygen-free copper (OFC) The copper is generally worked so as to be circular or rectangular in cross section or in the form of a foil and then recrystallized by annealing at a temperature ranging between 300.degree. and 600.degree. C. to produce the conductor.It has recently been understood that an electrical conductor made of OFC in a transmisison line for a multi-frequency audio signal, particularly, as an inner wiring conductor or a loud speaker wiring conductor of an audio apparatus, is much superior to one made of TPC.

US 5574260 Composite conductor having improved high frequency signal transmission characteristics
Use of silver plating
 
My Mc240 had a thicker power cord installed and other than some electrical tape wrapped around the cord where it exits the chassis,there is no strain relief.Should I remove the tape and install a strain relief in the chassis if I can find one that fits without enlarging the hole in the chassis?
 
Original cord was 16 gauge two conductor non polarized, for an amp that never draws over 2.5 A this is more than adequate. I use neoprene HPM heater cord that I found on Amazon, forget 3 wire grounded cords, the 240 will have ground loop humm due to its design and not knowing how the power transformer is wound (winding start unknown).
The grommet is a Heyco SR-4K-4, chassis hole of .5", and flat cord.
 
I have a mx130 mated to two mc2105's running klipsch RF-7's bi amped, I am wondering if the mx130 can be made a contender or should I just put my money into a better analog pre amp?
 
What is a contender? Everyone's definition is different.

The MX130 is a outdated theater preamp tuner.....but it certainly, in certain areas, will outperform a older stereo preamp (certainly if it has not been restored) both in noise, distortion and convenience....it has a tuner and a remote control.

Have you had your MC2105 amps restored or at least recapped?
 
That is on my to do list, I need to figure out which caps I should replace and which are the best sounding at a good price
 
I found an interesting McIntosh patent that shows some familiar circuitry.
http://www.google.com/patents/US3573648 (view or download pdf)

US 2825766 High fidelity audio amplifier
McIntosh - looks like MC-30

US 2860192 Amplifiers
McIntosh

US 2886655 Amplifier
McIntosh

US 2929028 Audio amplifier
McIntosh

US 2980840 Wide band, low distortion, high efficiency amplifier

US 3153766 Mode of operation of the pentode or tetrode tube in the output stage of an audio power amplifier
 
Some newly minted McIntosh amplifier owners complain that banana plugs don't fit well, only going in about 1/2 way.

The newer McIntosh amps, such as the MC252, MC302, MC352, MC452, MC501, etc... have two separate rings on the speaker connector. The top ring is the locking ring. Loosen that one first, then loosen the bottom ring oh so very slightly. Insert the banana end and firmly seat it. Then lock down the bottom ring and lastly, tighten the top locking ring.
 
Has anyone tried to replace a burnt out bulb in the moving dial pointer? Is the bulb and red filter just pushed down the tube or glued? How did you remove the old bulb? In the MX113 I just acquired, the bulb is working but the bulb and filter are rotated 45 degrees in the tube so the lamp appears off.

Thanks
 
Some more related patents.

US 5302912 Push-pull audio amplifier with crossover distortion compensation
pentode ultralinear fig. 3

US 4532476 Power amplifier capable of simultaneous operation in two classes
complete absence of crossover or " notch" distortion (abstract)

US 4713624 Power amplifier with modified dynamic response
 
Has anyone tried to replace a burnt out bulb in the moving dial pointer? Is the bulb and red filter just pushed down the tube or glued? How did you remove the old bulb? In the MX113 I just acquired, the bulb is working but the bulb and filter are rotated 45 degrees in the tube so the lamp appears off.

Thanks

I changed one in an MX114 to a small blue LED. It was a direct swap. The pic makes it look much brighter than it actually is. I really liked the change.

IMG_2458.JPG
 
Tcomisky, I finally got new bulbs from Mcintosh, how does one remove that bulb and replace it on the MX114? Thanks AL (Dial indicator)
 
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I see no mention of the Hakko being static safe.
We have used Hakko soldering equipment for years. With the exception of some of the soldering irons, all of the rework stations and temp controlled stations are grounded thereby offering static protection. Of course, using a static wrist band is a good addition. Our Hakko equipment are very reliable and have been in service for over 10 years.
 
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