Yeah I was going to mention something like that last night Michael.
McIntosh Set-up Support Please
- Thread starter Z4J
- Start date
I would move these speakers out away from the wall at least a foot and toe them in a bit, playing with position.
Like Michael was saying you can play with different speaker taps and this is what I would do first. You don't have to set you amp in place for testing as you want to get to the back of it so just leave it on the floor for a few days.
There is a Unbalanced and Balanced switch on the back for RCA & XLR cables, set it to Unbalanced because you have the use the RCA Pre out on the 6300. I don't know what kind of speaker wire you have but regular speaker wire will work. However make sure it is all copper, these days they sell crap, copper coated aluminum, stay away form it.
I would first try hooking up to the 8ohm taps to get used to the amps sound and power , forming a base line. You can then switch to the 4ohm taps and listen for a while and see what that does.
You can also Bi-wire you speakers but there is a jumper bar / strap on the speakers that you have to remove. You can now try running the 8ohm tap to the the Low Frequency speaker post and the 4ohm to the High Frequency post and listen for SQ & performance. This can be done with all the taps like 4ohm & 2ohm but generally you would put the higher number to the low frequency.
Note
On the 402 there is a black Common tap for each of the resistant taps, 8ohm & Common, 4ohm & common, 2ohm & common, use each of the respective commons. So 4 wires going from the amp to the 4 post on the speakers.
You got some work to do and this all takes time over days and weeks to find whats best out of a setup configuration.
I truly appreciate you all taking the time to lend me a hand. I'm leaps ahead from where I started a few days ago and it's because of you all (especially you 4-2-7). Thanks again. Oh and sorry for throwing out so many "dudes" and "bros" last night. I might have been celebrating with a couple of "pops" and your system blew my mind 4-2-7!
A couple of bullets if I may-
-With my speakers being 8 ohms, I didn't no I could deviate. Are there any complications this could poise (speaker/amp failure wise)? What does lowering the Ohms actually do--possibly take the entire range lower or higher?
-Will certainly have access to the back of the 402 as I have it on a temporary sliding base while I adjust the other stand/center
-On the rebuild on the entertainment center......can 2" of upper air clearance before the next shelf allow ample air flow/cooling? I understand higher is better, but it'll look a little odd and I believe the 402 runs somewhat cool?
-My modest speaker wire is Signal Cable 2 to 4. Just seems to sound the best after trialing a few others within my budget
-Will toe and move the speakers out as they are currently 8" from the wall
-Thanks for the tap input.....from the ohms to hook up. As much as I've overread the manual, a set-up like this is still a first for me and I need all the support I can get
Have a great day everyone! Happy Friday.
--JosephH & Yamaki...just seen your posts--excellent--thank you.
A couple of bullets if I may-
-With my speakers being 8 ohms, I didn't no I could deviate. Are there any complications this could poise (speaker/amp failure wise)? What does lowering the Ohms actually do--possibly take the entire range lower or higher?
-Will certainly have access to the back of the 402 as I have it on a temporary sliding base while I adjust the other stand/center
-On the rebuild on the entertainment center......can 2" of upper air clearance before the next shelf allow ample air flow/cooling? I understand higher is better, but it'll look a little odd and I believe the 402 runs somewhat cool?
-My modest speaker wire is Signal Cable 2 to 4. Just seems to sound the best after trialing a few others within my budget
-Will toe and move the speakers out as they are currently 8" from the wall
-Thanks for the tap input.....from the ohms to hook up. As much as I've overread the manual, a set-up like this is still a first for me and I need all the support I can get
Have a great day everyone! Happy Friday.
--JosephH & Yamaki...just seen your posts--excellent--thank you.
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damacman
Resident Psycho
Using the 8 Ohm taps maximizes the power capability of the amplifier and more important power delivery to the speakers - nominally rated at 8 Ohms. If you look in the MC402 manual under the design section, you'll see some mention of current capability - maybe 70A per channel, I forget. This is a measure of how much current the amplifier can output into difficult or reactive loads. Above, it was mentioned that your speakers had an impedance dip to below 3 Ohms at certain frequencies. The 402 will react to this by delivering more current - a good thing. The net result will be a sound which is effortless and without strain.
Now, connecting said speakers to the 4 Ohm taps will reduce available power by 50%. In addition, the amplifier won't be able to drive the speakers nearly as well as current requirement is reduced. The net result will be a speaker that is driven far more easily for the amplifier and less overall heat generated in doing so.
Some will prefer the 8 Ohm taps, others the 4 Ohm taps. The former allows you to more closely experience the sound of the speakers as the designers intended. The latter may be a bit more polite - especially if the impedance dips are in the mid bass or midrange frequencies. The autoformers permit a very wide range of flexibility.
Now, connecting said speakers to the 4 Ohm taps will reduce available power by 50%. In addition, the amplifier won't be able to drive the speakers nearly as well as current requirement is reduced. The net result will be a speaker that is driven far more easily for the amplifier and less overall heat generated in doing so.
Some will prefer the 8 Ohm taps, others the 4 Ohm taps. The former allows you to more closely experience the sound of the speakers as the designers intended. The latter may be a bit more polite - especially if the impedance dips are in the mid bass or midrange frequencies. The autoformers permit a very wide range of flexibility.
I knew you were, Dan, but I hadn't seen it yet so I figured the OP should know about that little tweak as he was setting up the system just to compare the two different power factors.
Good lord, those meters are pegged! I think I hit 3-10 watts on my 45wpc receiver once and the sheer volume was terrifying. Even 0.3 usually has me feeling it within my bones and reaching for the volume knob before my ears start to bleed.
Up and running with my temp. setup... Still some tuning to do, but the speakers are doing things I had no idea they could lol. Thanks everyone. Fills a big room nicely. Plus I believe the woofers will certainly break in further to better the sound in the near future. More to come....
wstrickland1
Active Member
I have a couple pairs of RF7's running in a "garage" HT setup running off of a B&K Reference 200.7. My goodness I can't imagine how that 402 drives them. Rock on brother.
You got to exercise them, so I guess they are not to old either.
Chubba
Well-Known Member
A big congrats on the new amp! Now your cooking with gas.I went back and forth with the four and eight ohm taps and stuck with the eight ohm as I liked that the best.Take care of your ears with this system not that I always do but just saying.I had the MC-302 on demo for a while but chose to stick with the MC-252 as I really like it a lot.Ceers
Man it was a big rush to assemble and clean before my wife got home. .....it was a mess so the vacuum was mandatory...lol. The good side is I was able to "rediscover" all my crap and either clean it or clear it out. Now as much as I'd love to be testing and tuning, there some other key priorities taking place.....my little boy's big cardboard sled race is tomorrow so I had to "dad up" and build with him. Now tomorrow after the race will be a different story.....
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Thanks 4-2-7. Even waxed the three layers of duct tape on the bottom. Hopefully he doesn't reenact C. Chase in Christmas Vacation. "Later Dudes....." Oh on the age of the speakers.....about a year old but I dont believe the woofers have been challenged yet. Hope to stretch the membrane more (I believe its called that???) If so, 1 point for the newbie.....
