2013.05.04.

Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

Thesefewpagesaremeanttohelpoutthoseperformingtheirownrestorationofthisclassicamp.PicturedaboveisapairofMC30sIcompletely overhauledrecently,bothcosmetically&electronically.Theoutputtransformerisontheleft,thepowertransformerisontheright.Thetallmetal tubeisthepowersupplymultisectionelectrolyticcapacitor.Thetwotubesatreararethepowertubes.Thebigtubeatfrontistherectifier, whoseonlyfunctionistoconvertACintoDC.

Letslookinsideanalloriginal,unrestoredMC30

Hereistheamprestingonthetopofitstransformerswithbottomcoverremoved.Front,fromlefttorightpowersupplyfiltercap,2power resistors,5U4tubesocket,12AX7(driver)tubesocket,12BH7(voltageamp)tubesocket,12AU7(phasesplitter)tubesocket,and12AX7 (preamp)tubesocket.Notethatthe12AX7furthesttotherightisonlyusedforoneofitssections(pins13).pins678arenotconnectedto anything.Behindthetubesocketsisabakeliteboardcontainingmostoftheampscomponents.Behindthataretwomoretubesocketsforthetwo 1614/6L6GC/5881powertubes.Thewirescomingfromthetwoholesontheleftareoutofthepowertransformer,ontherightareoutofthe outputtransformer.

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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

Thebakeliteboardwementionedearlierhasmostlyresistorsononesideandcapacitorsontheother.AsMcintoshsoldtheMC30fornearlya decade,atleastfourcircuitvariationsexist.Thepicturesshowwhatisbyfarthemostcommonversion.

Resistors(frontsideofamp)
LetterRmeansresistor,letterCmeanscapacitor,andallpartnamesrefertotheirnamesinMcIntoshsschematicyouwillfindintheMC30 ownersmanualinourarchives.R2isonlyinsignalpathwhenyouareusingtheoctalsocketinputandfeedingaudiothroughit.Ifyoudonotplan tousetheoctalinput,youcaneliminatethispartw/oanyconsequenceonrestofcircuit.R9,hereshownasitisonschematicas680K,ismore oftenfoundtobe1M.Canbeeitherwhilerestofcircuitryisthesame. C7Yes!Thatresistorlookingthingisacapacitor,asmallvalue(470pF),usedinnegativefeedbackcircuitryinparallelwithR13.Itissometimes foundonthereverseside. R19R2012K2WplateresistorsthatMUSTbematchedwithin2%ofeachother.Ifoneis12Kexactlytheotheronemustbenolessthan 11.76Kandnomorethan12.24K.IgothroughdozensofAllenBradleycarboncomprestofindtwomatchedones(notworththeeffort),buthave hadverygoodresultswith(surprisingly)VishaymetalfilmsorTantalumsorKiwameandprettydreadfuloneswithDaleandMills(harsh,bright andmetallic).

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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

SeleniumrectifierandR30changetheseleniumrectifierIMMEDIATELY,withadiode(1N4007forinstance)andreplaceR30withahigher valueresistor,either8.2Kor9.1K.Thosetwocomponentsarepartofthebiasvoltagecircuitry.R30svaluedirectlyimpactsthebiasvoltageyou canmeasureatpins2,3,6,7of12ax7ontheleftsideofamp(see1stpage).(youreokbetweenNEGATIVE42voltsandNEGATIVE45volts fromallthosepinstoground).Ifyourvoltageistoohigh,raiseR30,iftoolow,bringitdown.Buttheoriginal3.3kresmustbeincreasednearly threefoldasthe1N4007willboostvoltagesomecomparedtoSeleniumrect.NotethatR21MUSTbeveryclosetoitsnominal120Kforallthisto workaccordingtoplan. R23veryoftenmountedontheothersideoftheboard.Donotoverlookiteitherway.

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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

Capacitorsside(rearofampandupsidedowntomaintainorientationwithpreviouspage)
C2isonlyinsignalpathifyouusetheoctalsocketinputandnottheRCAjack.Otherwiseyoucansnipofforeliminatealtogetherorreplaceitif youwishtoremaintruetooriginaldesignofamp.GoodthingtodoifyoueverwanttoplaywithaC8preamp. C13Biasvoltagecapacitor,essentialtoreplaceasitwillmakeyouroutputtubeplatesgocherryredifleakyorbad.Somechoosetodoubleits value(from10uF/450vto20or22uF/450or500v).Caution:+sidegoestoground,sideconnectsto820K,seleniumrectifier,andR25R26 foundonothersideofboard. ItisessentialthatALLcapsandresistorsbewithinspecsforyouramptofunctionandperformsafelyandasintendedbyitsdesigners.Onceyou haveanampthatisindeedonspec,thecapacitorsthatwillhavethemostaudibleimpactonsoundqualityareC1(seenonotherside),C5,C8& C9,andC11andC12.Theyandonlytheyareintheaudiosignalpath.Ifyouintendtoengageincapacitorrolling,thosearetheonesto experimentwith.Youwillfindthatmostsocalledboutiquecaps(readexpensiveMundorf,Sonicaps,Hovlands,etc.)willyield unsatisfactoryresultsastheyalltendtoboostuppermidrangeinvariousbutalwaysunpleasant,solidstateyways.Ihavefoundthatjustafew brandsofcaps(mostmylar/polyesterssuchasMallory150)andacoupleofpolypropylenes(mostrecentlylittleknown,NewYorkState produced,wholesaleonlySTK,usedbyMcIntoshinoneorseveraloftheirtubeanniversaryreissuemodels),managedtonotharden/brightenthe sound. Andbyallmeansforgetthoseoldbumblebees.Iownatrue,highvoltagecapacitancetester(notthehandheldtypewhichfeeds3voltstothecap
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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

andtellsyounothingofitsperformanceatnominalvoltage).IhavetestedhundredsofthoseoutofMC30,MC60,MC75etcLessthan1%are anywhereclosetospecandnotleaky.Theyareontheirlastlegsifnotalreadydead.Pullthem!Orwaitforthemtofail,butatyourownrisk.

Powersupplycircuitry:
R27,R28,andthethreecapscontainedincan(40,80,20UF)regulateandfiltervoltage(knownasB+)tovarioussectionsoftheamp.Abad C12A/B/Cistheprimarycauseof60cyclehum.Replacealways,justlikeallotherelectrolyticcaps.Ashortedonewillsend500voltstoyouramp chassis,toyourgroundnetwork,backtoyourpreamp,andanythingelsethatisconnectedtoyouramporstereo.Nofunatall

Lastly,theoutputtubesockets:
CH1andCH2areneithercapsnorresistors,theyareinductors(chokes).Inmyexperience,theyarerarelybad,althoughtheycanbechanged.I havenotyetA/Bdnewonesvsoldonestoseeifthatmakesanyimpactonsonics.Ifyoudecidedtochangethemtheservicemanualcontainedin theschematicssectionofthissitegivesyouthepropervalues.

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AUDIBLETROUBLE?WHEREANDWHATTOLOOKFOR
Letsidentifythebasicsymptomsandtheirlikelycauses(weassumeallyourtubesareproperlyandreliablytested,thatyouroutputtubesare
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Anatomy of an Mc30 | Vintage Vacuum Audio

matchedforcurrentdraw,thattherestofyourequipmentfunctionsproperly,thatyourcablesaremakingpropercontactetc.) Ampblowsfuseimmediatelyuponpowering:Badtransformer(badnews)orbadfiltercap(C12A/B/C).AlsopossibleoneofthePVC coveredwiresinsidehasgottenstrippedorburntandiscausingshort. Amppowerson,stayson,butnosoundatall: Checkthatspeakerareproperlyconnected,andthatgainpotisturnedallthewaytotheright (maxsetting).Alsomakesurethatyoucansealltubesnicelylit,esp.the5U4GB.Ifthattubesocketismakingnoorbadcontact,ampwillproduce nosoundbecausenovoltageisgoingtoampsvarioussections. Soundisheardbutaccompaniedbysteadylow(60Hz)hum: Mostlikelyculprit:C12A/B/C(assumingyouvealreadyadjustedthehumpoton sideofchassistoitsquietestspot) Soundsgoodatfirstbutdistortsincreasinglyasampstayspowered:Mostlikelybadcouplingcaps(C5,C8,C9,C10orC11) Afterafewminutesthegrey/blackplatesofoneorbothofyour1614/6L6GCetc.outputtubesturncherryred(usuallyaccompaniedby hum):replaceC13,checkR30,R2. Constantorintermittentsizzle,likethesoundoffryingbacon/eggsinapanEitherone(orseveral)badresistor(s),abadcontactinoneof thetubesockets(esp.thesmalltubesatfront),orabadvolumepot. Asaruleofthumb,neverpluginoneoftheseforthefirsttimewithoutattheveryleastcarefullyvisuallyinspectingtheproverbialgutsforany burnt,badlydiscolored,orshrivelledresistors,crackedorgookoozingcapacitors,strippedorburntwires,andotherevidenceofpastorcurrent trouble. Andofcourse,neverpluginthisorANYtubeampwithoutspeakersconnected,withoutinputconnected,afuseoftherightvalue(3ampsloblo), andleavethemonunattended,especiallyiftheyhavenotbeenproperlyrestored. ThevariactechniqueisNOTrecommendedfortubeampswithtuberectificationlikethisone,butisOKforampswithsolidstaterectification.You risktodomoredamagethangood.Andsinceweremythbustingtubeampsshouldnotbeleftonatalltimes.Yourtubeswillnotlastforever. Everyhourtheampisonisanhourlessinyourtubeslife. Goodluckwithyourampsandrememberwhatgotyouhereinthefirstplacethemusic,notthehardware.

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