MC205 Question

[Yamaki]

I currently run my center and rear surround speakers on a pair of Emotiva amps. They do the job but my experience with upgrading from Emotiva to McIntosh leads me to believe that using an MC205 in their place would be a stellar upgrade.

Back Story: I have a large room with two Vienna Acoustic Maestro center channel speakers in the room, slightly pointed outwards to give a bit wider dispersion to dialogue. It may sound odd to do this but it works quite well and sounds much better than having just one speaker in play.

The Emotiva amplifier that powers the center channels is a UPA-1 which is configured as a mono-channel amp with one input but has two outputs. Power is rated at 350W @ 4 ohms and it has no problem driving the two speakers.

Since the MC205 only has one input and output for the center channel I could split the cable from that amplifier to the speakers. However, I think there may be another way to do this which should provide me with a better power connection to the speakers.

I'm thinking I could use a Y configured balanced XLR cable from my center channel output on the MX135 and connect it to the MC205s Right front and Left front balanced inputs, then connect the two speakers to he MC205s R & L speaker outputs.

This gives me better power to drive the speakers and it should work, right???

Your comments and insights will be welcomed.

[chessman]

Mike, if I have my facts straight, that should work. The MC205 is itself 5 amps in one case, so you are avoiding the impedance problem that may arise when connecting two speakers in parallel to a single amp. Volume matching will require some finesse, but should not be a real problem. Let us know how it turns out!

[1KW]

Just get the MC207 and you won't have to do any splitting

[damacman]

If these are the 8 or 6 Ohm speakers, I'd likely wire them in parallel and connect them to the Center channel of the 205. Although your Emotiva has two outputs, they're simply connected together inside the amp. Why waste a channel if you don't need to?

[Yamaki]

Thank you for your input, gents. It is appreciated.

Originally Posted by 1KW

Just get the MC207 and you won't have to do any splitting

Well, I have to split something. I only have one balanced XLR center channel output I can use on the MX135. My thought was to split the signal input from the MX vs. splitting the power output from the MC.

The MC207 is a good amp but it adds 2 more channels I won't be using. I'm leaving one unused on the MC205 as it is.

Originally Posted by damacman

If these are the 8 or 6 Ohm speakers, I'd likely wire them in parallel and connect them to the Center channel of the 205. Although your Emotiva has two outputs, they're simply connected together inside the amp. Why waste a channel if you don't need to?

I'll have one more channel than I need under the scenario I envisioned. If I can serve both speakers with their own channel on the amplifier would that not be a better approach?

My two left & right front main speakers have their own MC501's so I have no concerns over having enough outputs.

As I pondered my question last night I realized the MC205 inputs are labeled for certain functions. However, those labels don't prevent me from using the MC205 inputs for other outputs from the MX.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by Yamaki

I currently run my center and rear surround speakers on a pair of Emotiva amps. They do the job but my experience with upgrading from Emotiva to McIntosh leads me to believe that using an MC205 in their place would be a stellar upgrade.



Back Story: I have a large room with two Vienna Acoustic Maestro center channel speakers in the room, slightly pointed outwards to give a bit wider dispersion to dialogue. It may sound odd to do this but it works quite well and sounds much better than having just one speaker in play.



The Emotiva amplifier that powers the center channels is a UPA-1 which is configured as a mono-channel amp with one input but has two outputs. Power is rated at 350W @ 4 ohms and it has no problem driving the two speakers.



Since the MC205 only has one input and output for the center channel I could split the cable from that amplifier to the speakers. However, I think there may be another way to do this which should provide me with a better power connection to the speakers.



I'm thinking I could use a Y configured balanced XLR cable from my center channel output on the MX135 and connect it to the MC205s Right front and Left front balanced inputs, then connect the two speakers to he MC205s R & L speaker outputs.



This gives me better power to drive the speakers and it should work, right???



Your comments and insights will be welcomed.

Yes - this will work perfectly and your MX 135 will have no difficulty driving two inputs of the MC 205. It is actually the best option for a 205 imo.

Since your VA Maestro centers are 4 ohms, you don’t want to parallel them - that 2 ohm load would be hard for a single 205 channel to drive. You also don’t want to put them in series because small variations in their impedances will cause imbalances in output.

The only thing that might arguably be better is a single MC 501 (if you can find one) driving them in parallel off the 2 ohm tap. But then you’ll need another amp for the surrounds.

Tom

[Yamaki]

Tom... Thank you for your insight.

I appreciate it.

[W9TR]

Let me know how it all works out. You should be able to find a suitable ‘Y’ XLR cable or have your favorite cable vendor make one up for you. If both those don’t work out I can make one for you.
Tom

[eedork]

Hi Michael,

For what it's worth, McIntosh does offer an XLR splitter. I've only ever seen pictures of one , but it does exist. Unfortunately I cannot remember the model number off the top of my head. I'm sure an email to McIntosh will get you the full details on this product if you're interested.

-Matt

[Yamaki]

Matt... Thanks for the tip!