McIntosh MAC 4100 Receiver

For Sale by Original Owner: the coveted, vintage McIntosh MAC 4100 Receiver, serial number BY6061, with manuals and original store literature. This receiver is collector quality in near Mint Condition. It has been stored in an unused room in the house for the past 12 years and was used very little before that. Tuner Section is superb with high sensitivity, high selectivity and low distortion. It has two meters (signal strength and center-tuning) making tuning a snap. This newer version of the MAC 4100 has a PRESELECT switch on the rear panel. When the PRESELECT is OFF, the tuner is super-sensitive. In strong signal areas, turning the PRESELECT ON makes the tuner nearly overload-proof so that strong stations won’t bleed all over the dial. This switch is much more sophisticated and works much better than the typical local/distance switch found on lesser receivers. Preamp Section has TWO PHONO INPUTS, TWO AUX and TWO TAPE INPUTS. The PHONO inputs (both MM type) are strictly for turntables. The two AUX inputs and the two TAPE inputs can all be used for any high-level sources including CD players, DVD players, TV sound, an IPod, computer, or almost anything else. The volume control is actually a soft-feel selector with many positions. It “feels” nice and smooth. It adjusts in minute steps. Each position is associated with a laser-trimmed resistance element, so channel balance is within 1/2dB across the range. These volume controls seldom need cleaning or show ANY signs of wear. McIntosh used them in their top-of-the-line preamps for years, and this receiver has one. The receiver also has CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE LOUDNESS compensation. The MAC 4100 has a FIVE BAND EQUALIZER that uses controls centered on 30Hz, 150Hz, 500Hz, 1500Hz, and 10kHz just like what is in McIntosh’s top-of-the-line preamps. Amplifier Section is rated VERY conservatively at 100 Watts per channel into 4-Ohms and 75 Watts into 8-Ohms. The MAC 4100 has connections for THREE pairs of speakers. You can play any combination including all at once, due to the massive heat sinks and power supply in the MAC 4100. Other receivers with connections for three speaker pairs (and that alone is rare) never allow all three to play at once. There are two columns of LEDS that show, continuously, the peak power being delivered. They are on the far left side of the dial window. The amplifier is also protected against overheating by thermal CUTOUTS. They activate if the receiver is run at high power AND the ventilation holes on top get blocked. The receiver is protected against shorts in the speaker wires by SENTRY MONITOR. This circuit shuts down the amplifier channel until the short is fixed WITHOUT FUSES! The amplifier and your speakers are both protected from overdrive by POWER GUARD. If you try to play the receiver at its volume limit, which is close to 200 Watts per channel on peaks, POWER GUARD lights flash. If you drive the amplifier further, POWER GUARD circuits come on and electronically turn the volume down for the moment that was too loud, turning the volume up again when the loud peak is over. The secret is in the operational speed…less than 1/1000 of a second! It uses PHOTO-OPTIC circuitry. A short compendium on the MAC 4100 can be found at: http://mcc.berners.ch/receivers/MAC4100.pdf Shipping not available. Cash sale only