Connecting Loudspeakers - McIntosh MA6600 Owner's Manual

Caution: The supplied AC Power Cord should not
be connected to the Rear Panel of the
MA6600 Amplifier until after the Loud-
speaker Connections have been made.
Failure to observe this could result in
Electric Shock. For additional instruction
on making Loudspeaker Connections con-
tact your McIntosh Dealer or McIntosh
Technical Support.
When connecting Loudspeakers to the MA6600 it
is very important to use cables of adequate size, so
there is little to no power loss in the cables. The size is
specified in Gauge Numbers or AWG (American Wire
Gauge). The smaller the Gauge number, the larger the
wire size:
Loudspeaker Cable Distance vs Wire Gauge Guide
25 feet 50 feet
Loudspeaker
(7.62 meters) (15.24 meters)
Impedance
or less or less
2 Ohms 12AWG 10AWG
14AWG 12AWG
4 Ohms
16AWG 14AWG
8 Ohms
Refer to the Connection Diagram located on the
separate folded sheet "Mc1B" when making Loud-
speaker Connections to the MA6600. This an example
of a typical audio system, your system may vary from
this, however the actual Loudspeakers would be con-
nected in a similar manner.
1. This McIntosh MA6600 Integrated Amplifier is
designed for the connection of a single Loudspeak-
er per amplifier channel, with an impedance of 2
ohms, 4 ohms or 8 ohms.
Note: The remaining Loudspeaker Terminals on the
Amplifier should not be connected to another
Loudspeaker.
2. Prepare the Loudspeaker Hookup Cables that
attach to the Amplifier by choosing one of the
methods below:
Bare wire cable ends:
Carefully remove sufficient insulation from the
cable
ends,
refer to
figures
1, 2 &
3. If the
cable is
stranded, carefully twist the strands together as
tightly as possible.
Note: If desired, the twisted ends can be tinned with
solder to keep the strands together, or attach
spade lug and/or banana connector.
100 feet
(30.48 meters)
or less
Spade lug or prepared wire connection:
8AWG
Insert the spade lug connector or prepared sec-
10AWG
tion of the cable end into the terminal side ac-
12AWG
cess hole, and tighten the terminal cap until the
cable is firmly clamped into the terminal so the
Figure 4
wires cannot slip out. Refer to figures 4, 5 & 6.
Banana plug connection:
Insert the banana plug into the hole at the top of
the terminal. Refer to figures A and B.
Note: Banana Plugs are for use in the United
States and Canada only.
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4
Figure 5 Figure 6

Connecting Loudspeakers

3. Connect the Loudspeaker hookup cables from a
single Loudspeaker to the output terminals that
match the impedance of the Loudspeaker
careful to observe the correct polarities. Output
impedance connections of 2 ohms, 4 ohms and 8
ohms are provided. If the Loudspeaker's imped-
ance is in-between the available connections, use
the nearest lower impedance connection.
WARNING: Loudspeaker terminals are hazard-
ous live and present a risk of electric
shock.
4. Connect the MA6600 Power Cord to a live AC
outlet.
For the best performance it is important to minimize
1
an impedance mismatch. An impedance mismatch can
occur when a Loudspeaker of a given impedance rating
is connected to the MA6600 Output Terminals with a
different impedance rating. For example, a Loudspeaker
with an impedance rating of 2 Ohm is connected the
MA6600 8 Ohm Output Terminals. The impedance of
a Loudspeaker actually varies as the Loudspeaker repro-
duces different frequencies. As a result, the nominal
impedance rating of the Loudspeaker (usually measured
at a midrange frequency) might not always agree with
the impedance of the Loudspeaker at low frequencies
where the greatest amount of power is required.
, being
1
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