New to Mcintosh - Free Ma 6200 Problems

Hey everyone,

Altough not a stranger to vintage audio, I've been collecting for a year now and just picked up a free McIntosh Ma 6200. I received the unit from a gentleman in New York when I picked up a stereo console that he was giving away, which had this unit vertically mounted in it. After hauling the console home, I took the McIntosh out and was able to to power it on and get lights. It did not come with the original pre-out/main-in jumpers.

When I got it back to my home set-up I attached my speakers, an auxiliary 3.5mm to rca connection, as well as some RCA jumpers to the back of the unit. I tried to play audio through the aux port and am getting no sound from the unit whatsoever. I've tried all other inputs with the cord and same deal. The power guard gauge has not lit. Both fuses look okay. I'm not getting any sound whatsoever from the unit.

I'll be able to tinker with the unit if it's something that anyone think is simple enough for me to do on my own, and I would love some advice on what you think might be the next best course of action. If worse comes to worst, I will always be willing to have the unit serviced.

Thanks,
Alex
 

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Simple things first......spk1 turned on, and are you positive the R pre out is going to R amp in......would not be first time someone tied the two outs together......
 
Alright, I just double checked and the left and right pre-out/mains-in are matched correctly. Speaker 1 button is selected, but no sound from either the headphones or the speakers. I don't even hear the hiss of a live channel on either.
 
We got our first MA6200 I believe in 1980 to a very auspicious start.......so they are approaching 37 years old....

Of coarse you should try a second source but that said...it could be.....

Power supply, open speaker relay, blown channels the list goes on and on.

Best to bring it to a tech and have it repaired correctly....it is well worth it.
 
Given that you can't "hear a hiss" from either speakers or 'phones, it sounds as if the unit is due for service. It sounds as if there is some budget given the price of admission!

FWIW, the MA6200 remains my favorite integrated amplifier of all time - they're that good ...
 
Hello
1) when you switch your MA6200 on , you should hear a click (after 3/5 second) coming from the speaker relay . In this case and only in this case , that mean that everything is fine .Wrong switch position , or speaker switch affected to speakers not on "on " position ...Tape "on" ....Many possibilities , but nothing drastic .
2) when you switch on and you don't hear after 3/5 second the click coming from the speaker relay , that mean that one channel is dead and the relay will not be activated to preserve your speakers from DC Offset coming from the bad channel . In this case you will not get any sound on both channel
3) I saw on you pictures that your speakers wires are not insulated at the end (left channel) and closer to be shorted near your left speaker terminal , be carefull with this ! main amp in this unit do not like shorted output .
4) your unit miss end cap both sides . I don't know if they still available at factory (I think they are not) but you cant ask Larry member here (Vintagemac) he his manufacturing brand new ones !
 
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Hello
1) when you switch your MA6200 on , you should hear a click (after 3/5 second) coming from the speaker relay . In this case and only in this case , that mean that everything is fine .Wrong switch position , or speaker switch affected to speakers not on "on " position ...Tape "on" ....Many possibilities , but nothing drastic .
2) when you switch on and you don't hear after 3/5 second the click coming from the speaker relay , that mean that one channel is dead and the relay will not be activated to preserve your speakers from DC Offset coming from the bad channel . In this case you will not get any sound on both channel
3) I saw on you pictures that your speakers wires are not insulated at the end (left channel) and closer to be shorted near your left speaker terminal , be carefull with this ! main amp in this unit do not like shorted output .
4) your unit miss end cap both sides . I don't know if they still available at factory (I think they are not) but you cant ask Larry member here (Vintagemac) he his manufacturing brand new ones !

1) I do not remember hearing the relay click after turning it on, so I'm starting to think that this may be the problem. I definitely had the unit on long enough for it to have switched on, at least a couple minutes when hooked to speakers.

3) It's definitely time for me to upgrade my speaker wire, as I've definitely been using a higher gauge and have crossed ends once before on my sx 1250. That was scary enough when that happened. I'll be making sure to get a lower gauge and do what I can to insulate the ends.

4) what is it that you mean by end caps? Could you mean the little male RCA jacks that terminate on an unused port?

We got our first MA6200 I believe in 1980 to a very auspicious start.......so they are approaching 37 years old....

Of coarse you should try a second source but that said...it could be.....

Power supply, open speaker relay, blown channels the list goes on and on.

Best to bring it to a tech and have it repaired correctly....it is well worth it.
Given that you can't "hear a hiss" from either speakers or 'phones, it sounds as if the unit is due for service. It sounds as if there is some budget given the price of admission!

FWIW, the MA6200 remains my favorite integrated amplifier of all time - they're that good ...

I'll definitely be making sure to take this unit in for repair, as I've also got a Fisher 800b to be be restored as well. I plan to take both to Wargo's Electronics, which is local to me, and need to finance their repairs by selling a couple Technics 1200s. Until then I don't make enough during college to justify the repairs.
 
4) what is it that you mean by end caps? Could you mean the little male RCA jacks that terminate on an unused port?

He means the vertical metal trim pieces that attach at the left and right of the glass faceplate. Besides making the face look more finished, they provide some finger leverage for pulling the amp out of a panloc case. Do a quick search for photos of an MA6200 and you'll see what I mean.
 
He means the vertical metal trim pieces that attach at the left and right of the glass faceplate. Besides making the face look more finished, they provide some finger leverage for pulling the amp out of a panloc case. Do a quick search for photos of an MA6200 and you'll see what I mean.

Okay, I see what you mean. You're definitely correct that they aren't there. I'll definitely consider getting in touch with Larry (Vintagemac) for those end caps.

I do know that I'm also missing the little rubber feet for the bottom of the unit. Would anyone be able to tell me where I could get another 4, or closest available alternative?
 
Hello DolphnSmooth

Larry again !
I made a great feet model for heavy units ! I have no doubt that Larry can supply you the right size for your MA6200 with new end caps !
 
Hey everyone,

Altough not a stranger to vintage audio, I've been collecting for a year now and just picked up a free McIntosh Ma 6200. I received the unit from a gentleman in New York when I picked up a stereo console that he was giving away, which had this unit vertically mounted in it. After hauling the console home, I took the McIntosh out and was able to to power it on and get lights. It did not come with the original pre-out/main-in jumpers.

When I got it back to my home set-up I attached my speakers, an auxiliary 3.5mm to rca connection, as well as some RCA jumpers to the back of the unit. I tried to play audio through the aux port and am getting no sound from the unit whatsoever. I've tried all other inputs with the cord and same deal. The power guard gauge has not lit. Both fuses look okay. I'm not getting any sound whatsoever from the unit.

I'll be able to tinker with the unit if it's something that anyone think is simple enough for me to do on my own, and I would love some advice on what you think might be the next best course of action. If worse comes to worst, I will always be willing to have the unit serviced.

Thanks,
Alex


Hi Alex - I was looking closely at the back side of your integrated and noticed you are not using jumpers at the preamp/amp location. I'm using a pair from Cardas and they work great. Note - jumpers and interconnects are not the same.

Cheers,

Dbl. J
 

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Hi Alex - I was looking closely at the back side of your integrated and noticed you are not using jumpers at the preamp/amp location. I'm using a pair from Cardas and they work great. Note - jumpers and interconnects are not the same.

Cheers,

Dbl. J

Dbl. J,

This could be the best news I've heard all week! I didn't know that interconnects and jumpers we're different, and who knows how long it would've taken me to learn otherwise.

I'll definitely be looking into sources for ordering another pair, and in the meantime, will try another pair from one of my other amps. Although I am not hearing the relay click as others have suggested, this will certainly be something else to try before considering service. This and some of the other advice from others should lead me to a basic restoration of basic function and appearance.

I'll get back to everyone as soon as I can with any updates as to the function after using a pair of jumpers.

Thanks,
Alex
 
If your individual patch cables go from the preout to amp in with R and L correct you will be OK as a test for function. I would doubt both cables would be open. As to special sound with special jumpers, well first you have to get sound before that judgement can be made.
 
Alright,

I did go ahead and buy a pair of jumpers from AudioQuest, however, as I imagined, this wasn't the solution to my problem. No biggie, at least I've got a pair of jumpers for the amp now, which needed done anyway.

As far as where to go from here, I will be getting in touch with Audio Classics within this month to ask about servicing the amp and arrange to drive it there myself as opposed to shipping. Soon thereafter I'll get in touch with some of the other members here who said they make replacement end caps and feet for the unit.

I'm looking forward to the restoration as it's one of pair of my recent pickups which i have not yet heard. I've never heard anything McIntosh before, and have heard its got a slightly warm and detailed sound. It will be compared with Pioneer SX-1250, Sansui 9090DB, as well as the other currently non-restored Fisher 800B. I'll be driving a pair of Genesis Physics Model 3's with all.
 
I had a problem with my new-to-me MA6200 with a channel going out after a little warmup,

With the help of some great experts here, the problem was resolved with a $10 part, a relay for speaker protection, It was a simple pull out the old and plug in the new. So simple, a blind man could do it and I'm half blind. Works great now - I hear that click as the relay closes once the power supply is stabilized.
 
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I had a problem with my new-to-me MA6200 with a channel going out after a little warmup,

With the help of some great experts here, the problem was resolved with a $10 part, a relay for speaker protection, It was a simple pull out the old and plug in the new. So simple, a blind man could do it and I'm half blind. Works great now - I hear that click as the relay closes once the power supply is stabilized.

FauxHall,

Would you be able to point me in the direction of where I could find this part, if not any identification for it as well?

The general consensus that I'm getting is that the relay may be the the problem at the moment. Some have suggested it isn't clicking off because of a problem in the circuit. Would it not stand to reason then that if a cheap replacement would also not click off, then there would be internal problems after all?

This seems like a great next idea that would tell me for certain whether or not the relay is functioning correctly, and if the circuits are truly damaged.

Thanks,
Alex
 
The common fault mode of this relay is a channel dropping out. It does happen but very rarely that the coil will go open causing the relay to not engage.
 
I started a thread on fixing my MA6200 a few weeks ago.
I have a snip of the Mouser catalog with part number etc. I'm on the road in Kathmandu now and didn't bring my laptop so that will be your best source
 
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