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Triggering a McIntosh Power Amp (5v) with a Non-Mac preamp (12v)

CreamSupreme

CreamSupreme

New Member
After some research I found a great solution to trigger Mac 5v triggers using standard 12v triggers. I spoke with McIntosh and they said 12v triggers would work but would likely wear out the trigger, so I opted for a DIY method.

Basically I purchased a 12v trigger surge protector to be triggered on by my amplifier. Also I modified a 5v wall wart to trigger on the Mac amp from the power strip.

The 12v surge seems pretty straight forward, other people talked about "smart surges" but I preferred the control from my preamp. The Iot Relay Surge Protector was a great option because it had some controlled outlets as well as "normally on and normally off" features.

I then found a standard 5v wall wart at my local thrift store. mac uses stereo triggers instead of the standard mono trigger. So I soldered a stereo 3.5mm end to the cable, making sure the center was positive.

Boom, that's it. Now when my preamp turns on, it triggers the surge to turn on. The wall wart is plugged into the surge and turns on the Mac via its 5v. And when the preamp turns off, so does the Mac power amp.

I am in no way a pro at this stuff but just figured I would pass along the idea in case anyone else ran into this issue. Thanks!

Iot Relay - Enclosed High-power Power Relay for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, PIC or Wifi, Relay Shield https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WV7GMA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_miSsAbK4Y2WT5
 

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Nice simple solution...Good writeup.

I had to convert wall voltage to 3 volts for an LED wall sconce...Found some 120 to under 12 volt converters and applied something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/L7805CV-Posi...rd_wg=bT2uo&psc=1&refRID=PWQVJYHZWTZS6R4D9G91

(An L-7805 voltage regulator for your project, an L-7803 for mine)

The lucky part for you is you begin with 12 VDC, I had to convert to 7VDC (or so) then apply the voltage regulator.

It was fun, really.

Mike
 
Two equal value resistors in series would create a voltage divider with 6V capability. That would be pretty simple. Or, one could chage the ratio slightly to get 5V.
 
I would be curious about doing this with the voltage regulator but I'm not advanced as far as DIY. Where exactly does that get installed?
 
A voltage regulator circuit would be placed between the source of the 12V trigger supply and the recipient of what you want to receive only 5V.

McIntosh certainly would be the expert in this regard but I am surprised by the answer you received.
 
CreamSupreme said:
After some research I found a great solution to trigger Mac 5v triggers using standard 12v triggers. I spoke with McIntosh and they said 12v triggers would work but would likely wear out the trigger, so I opted for a DIY method.

Basically I purchased a 12v trigger surge protector to be triggered on by my amplifier. Also I modified a 5v wall wart to trigger on the Mac amp from the power strip.

The 12v surge seems pretty straight forward, other people talked about "smart surges" but I preferred the control from my preamp. The Iot Relay Surge Protector was a great option because it had some controlled outlets as well as "normally on and normally off" features.

I then found a standard 5v wall wart at my local thrift store. mac uses stereo triggers instead of the standard mono trigger. So I soldered a stereo 3.5mm end to the cable, making sure the center was positive.

Boom, that's it. Now when my preamp turns on, it triggers the surge to turn on. The wall wart is plugged into the surge and turns on the Mac via its 5v. And when the preamp turns off, so does the Mac power amp.

I am in no way a pro at this stuff but just figured I would pass along the idea in case anyone else ran into this issue. Thanks!

Iot Relay - Enclosed High-power Power Relay for Arduino,9 Raspberry Pi, PIC or Wifi, Relay Shield https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WV7GMA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_miSsAbK4Y2WT5
Click to expand...
I was considering something similar to trigger my c48 into HT bypass mode, as my Oppo 105 has no triggers. Thats one negative I have against Mac.
 
Well folks FWIW, I use in some cases of my living room`s complex rack system a very simpler power trigger setup, though it`s not used to switch high current devices, like power amps.

I use smart/"green" power outlet strips..

These outlet strips that have a 120 v "control outlet, that when you turn on the "master device"(in one case here, my mac preamp) it energizes the 4 other controlled 120 volt outlets, thus turning them on(like a DAC, whole house L/R audio distribution amp/s, ect.

And in in another use, when I turn on my OPPO UDP-203 player it powers up various HDMI multi-room active distribution equipment, ect. that do not need to be energized until the OPPO is turned on for movie watching..

Same with my HT Sony projector power triggering various 120 volt active Cat 6 to HDMI/UGA, ect. convertors from the racks Video sources that would only need to be energized when the projector is turned on for the projector`s use..

In fact all 5 rooms A/V systems have their own separate triggered power strips so if only audio is desired, like daily background music, then only the possibly needed active devices are powered up when the room`s stereo is turned on..

Same with all the 5 room`s flat screen display energizing(being turned on) for it`s needed active Cat-6 to HDMI or UGA computer active Cat-6 to proper signal end point decoding devices..

I has all been working flawlessly here for almost six years, and in my case, why have all these "vampires" running 24/7/365 without being required, plus these triggered outlet strips have some UL rated surge/spike protection..

Just a easy inexpensive solution for some power switching applications, me thinks, and plus the switched outlets are delayed turning on & off..
Mine are a Belkin brand..

Regards, OKB
 
audiobliss said:
No, you have to trigger it into bypass with a voltage from your processor, which only Mac processors have.
Click to expand...
Every single AVP and AVR worth having has 12V trigger outs - fully compatible with the Pass Thru input trigger. My C200 is triggered via an Integra DHC-80.6.

The Oppo is not a preamp. Rather it is a Bluray player with an onboard preamp - big difference.
 
whoaru99 said:
Interesting.

This, I presume, means selecting the source/input assigned to bypass does not engage bypass?
Click to expand...
Todd - the Mc way is seamless and designed to be family friendly. When the AVP or AVR is turned on, the Mc preamp automatically switches into Pass Thru - setting gain and input automatically. No guesswork. Fully compatible with the 12V triggers on any AVP / AVR.
 
The processors I've seen do have trigger outputs. You're using the Oppo itself as the pre/pro and source, which explains no usable trigger?
 
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