MC501 Issues

B

Bob Rollin

Virgin McIntosh Owner
I am a new owner of a pair of MC501's. The amps are beautiful and sound great when driving my B&W 802N speakers at low volume levels or at high volume during short periods. The problem I have is that the Power Guard often kicks in when playing soft rock at an indicated 30 - 50 continuous watts. The meters rarely come close to 500 watts during these occasions, yet I am unable to play for more than just a few minutes before the amps get hot and shut down.
I ask..is this normal? Are these speakers really this hard to drive? Do I have to live with this or is there a suggestion that may help. The sound from this combination is fantastic but I would occasionally like more volume.
 
No, this is NOT normal! Are the speakers connected to the right output taps? IE: 8 Ohm speakers to the 8 Ohm taps. For instance, if a 4 Ohm speaker was connected to the 8 Ohm tap, the amp would see this nearly as a short. Some speakers fall below their rated impedance. I'd be tempted to re-connect the speakers to the next lower impedance tap, making sure that the connections are clean without any stray wires touching any of the other taps.
 
The speakers are 8 ohm and are connected to the 8 ohm taps on the amps. Would it be wise to try the 4 ohm taps?
 
Bob,

Your speakers are 3.5 ohms according to the review in Hi-Fi News and Record review. Please move to the 4 ohm taps and everything should be fine.
Depending on your room some customers bi wire their N B&W speakers. If you want more bass put the bass section on the 4 ohm 501 taps and the Mid/Highs on the 2 ohm. If your room is bass heavy just reverse the procedure by putting the bass on 2 ohm and the Mid/High on 4 ohms.
Make sure the 501s are positioned so they have adequate ventilation as outlined in the owners manual. If they are enclosed in a cabinet you may want to add a low speed fan to move the hot air OUT of the cabinet.
The 501s are a nice match to your speakers. Power guard may still engage at very high volume levels which is fine. In night clubs we hit PG on every beat of the music. LOL. The better your AC supply, like a dedicated 20 amp line for each amp, the higher the power output of the 501 before Power Guard engages.
All Power Guard is doing is limiting the very highest peaks so they do not distort. Power Guard lights mean the amp just protected your tweeters where normal amp 'clip' lights mean the amp just did potential damage your tweeter.

Ron-C
 
Well, the 4 ohm taps work!
I just played John Cougar (Jack & Dianne) four times at wide open throttle with no problem. Seems that I lost a small amount of bass but the highs sound much better. I can peg the needle at 500 watts now with no more issues.
Thanks very much!

How about some suggestions on some non-esoteric (read realistic priced)speaker cables for this combo. What do ya think?
 
Well, the 4 ohm taps work!
Click to expand...

Allright Bob!!!!!:guitar: Congratulations!!!!


Good question.
I use good 14 gauge myself with excellent results. But I'm not cranking your kind of current either. Maybe somebody who does
will chime in.

Carl
 
You asked, Canare 14/4 quad speaker cable. Its pretty expensive, about $0.60 per foot but well worth it.
Ron-C
 
Thanks Ron. I'm going to start saving up right now for those Canare wires. The ol' monster cables have serviced me well. They were used on my old Techniques receiver in my college days. They serviced my Pioneer system when I got out of school and could afford a more serious system. And they handled the outrageous power of my Carver/Electrovoice system. It is time to just let them go.
 
Bob, I lied. I use the 16/4 Canare in my system. Canare is very popular with the production, both audio and video studios. Some say the best video cables and the audio cables are tour duty rated. You can run over them with a forklift.
All cables sound different of course, but stay away from the ones with the boxes, Zobel Networks, in them. Unless of course B&W and McIntosh did not know what they were doing when they designed the products, LOL.

Ron-C
 
Installed the new canare wires (bi-wired). Very satisfied with the new sound. The 4 ohm jacks do the trick too. Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Now I need to figure out what pre-amp to get to finish off the system. C2200 or C200, that is the question.
 
Good deal Bob. I was just over picking up my replacement tubes.
They had 3 MC501's setup in the HT room and a MC252 for rears. Those MC501's sure are pretty and sweet! No need to tell you
"enjoy the music" :cool:

Carl
 
I recently bought some double run cables from Frank at Signal Co. and I am very pleased. To put it in perspective, I am used to using hi buck cables and at about $150 shipped for a 12 ft. pair, I am more than satisfied with the performance and the build quality.

Bob
 
So Ron:

As one who has speakers that are 4 ohm nominal with dips to 3 and below, would you recommend trying the tweeter on the 2 ohm tap?

Thanks,

B
 
ron-c said:
Henry,

The 4 ohm tap for a 3 ohm load should not pose a problem. What speakers?

Ron-C
Click to expand...

Piega C3 Limiteds. . . I was just curious if the tweeter on a different tap might give me more power or more. . . something. . LOL
 
Bob, Try the "anti cables" they are pretty much nothing more than red 12ga. solid copper, but by all the reviews perform very well. I have just ordered, but not recieved, a 6' set for under $100. Also, with the current capabilities of those amps, I would go with 12ga instead of 14. Just my 2 cents. Enjoy those amps!

Mike
 
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