McIntosh C200

Commentary

This control amplifier was announced as the flagship model of the Macintosh.

Inheriting the dual chassis used in the C100, analog circuits are concentrated in the lower chassis and power and control systems are housed in the upper chassis.
This configuration separates the analog circuit from the noise of the power supply and control system, and eliminates mutual interference.

It is equipped with a fully balanced circuit and all stages from input to output are balanced.
In addition to the amplifier circuit, input switching and volume control are also arranged on the + side and - side of each channel.

A separate power supply circuit is installed in each amplifier section, and double wiring is provided from each power supply to the signal circuit.
A monolithic ceramic capacitor is connected in parallel to the electric field capacitor of the power supply to ensure decoupling of the power supply over the audio band and RF spectrum.
The power transformer is double-shielded with copper and iron to prevent noise from the transformer from entering the signal.

The relay switch uses a high-grade relay with gold-plated contacts and then plated with rhodium and ruthenium, which is considered to be the best contact material. In addition, inert gas is injected into the relay switch to prevent reliability.

In order to be compatible with analog disks, a phono equalizer is mounted. With an open loop gain as high as 10,000, low noise and low distortion are achieved by an appropriate NF circuit.
In addition, it is equipped with an input transformer dedicated to the MC cartridge, uses silver wire for the winding, and is housed in a single mu metal shield.

It is equipped with an input level matching function, and it is possible to set the volume for each input in the memory and align each level.

The volume control stage is well balanced, and a total of four microprocessor-controlled high-precision logarithmic attenuator sections are installed on the + side and - side of each of the left and right channels. This eliminates common noise and distortion, achieves accurate tracking accuracy, and realizes 213 steps in 0.5 db increments with an error of ± 0.05 db or less.
In addition, three control patterns are available to take advantage of processor control : Slow covers the entire dynamic range the entire dynamic range, Fast with one revolution, and VRV with a volume curve that is equivalent to a normal ボリュームポテンションメーター.
There are also two modes for the balance control. One click corresponds to 1 dB, and the knob is slowly rotated in 1 dB steps, while the knob is rapidly rotated to obtain a large change.

After the volume control stage is a discrete balance amplifier, each pair driving the left and right balance outputs.

Equipped with a setup menu function, you can adjust the brightness of the display, display the selected source in full word or short, trim source to align each input level, switch source on / off to skip input selection, select volume control mode, select balance control mode, pass-through, and select remote control mode.

A pass-through circuit allows the front left and right audio signals from the home theater processor to pass through the C200 as is.

It has an extra audio output for multiple amplifier speakers.

It is equipped with a control jack capable of turning power on/off such as power amplifier from C200.

Equipped with a muting circuit to cancel noise at on/off time.

Both input and output connectors use gold plating with excellent corrosion resistance.

If the microprocessor is locked up, it can be reset by pressing and holding the red power button for more than two seconds.

When the system is not used for a long period of time, the value calibrated in the non-volatile memory is retained by the rocker switch.

It comes with a multi-functional remote control that can be used with a Macintosh CD player or FM/AM tuner.

Model Rating

Type	Stereo preamplifier
Frequency characteristic	10 Hz ~ 40 kHz + 0 -0.5 dB
Rated output	2.5 V (balanced / unbalanced, main, switched 1/2 respectively)
Output impedance	100 Ω (Balanced) 50 Ω (unbalanced)
Maximum output voltage	25.0 V (balanced main / switched output, 10 Hz to 40 kHz) 12.0 v (main / switched unbalanced output, 10 Hz to 40 kHz)
Total harmonic distortion factor	Maximum 0.002% (20 Hz to 20 kHz at rated output)
Input sensitivity	Phono : 4.4 mV (0.5 mV IHF at 2.5 V rated output) High Level : 450 mv (50 mv IHF at 2.5 v rated output)
S/N ratio (A-network)	Phono:86dB High Level:98dB
Maximum input signal	Phono MM:50mV High Level : 5 v (balanced)
Input impedance	Phono MM : 47k Ω Phono MC : 5 Ω High Level (balanced) : 44k Ω High Level (unbalanced) : 22k Ω
Voltage gain	70 dB (MC → Tape out) 40 dB (MM → Tape out) 0 dB (High Level → Tape out)
AC outlet	Switched : four systems Unswitched : 1 system
Pwer	AC100V
Power consumption	25W
External dimensions	444 mm wide x 137 mm high x 508 mm deep per chassis
Weight	18.4 kg (Control Part) 15.9 kg (Preamplifier Part)
Attachment	Wireless Remote Control