Marantz MA500 and MA6100 triggers (1 Viewer)

[Barry_New]

I am bummed. I made an educated guess from reviewing the "engrish" translation of the Marantz MA6100 manual that it would be the solution to my compatibility needs for remote power-on of the 5 MA500s currently in my system. The MA6100 adds a standard 12V trigger capability, unlike the MA500, which uses Marantz's proprietary RC-5 interface. I bought the MA6100 solely with the intention to drive it via the 12V trigger from my Rotel 1068 and then rely on it to cascade the trigger via the RC-5 interface to the rest of the MA500s. Long story short - it doesn't work. I'm done with Marantz home theater gear. Dealers can't answer questions (believe me, I tried). Their phone support is useless... Anybody in the market for used MA500s and MA6100s? I have 5 MA500s and 2 MA6100s for sale if somebody needs them.

 

[John Garcia]

There are two settings via a selector switch on the MA500s for how they turn on, IIRC - the setting differentiates between the type of signal being fed to them because it is different for certain types of equipment. I remember the manual wasn't clear about how it worked, and I had to try both settings to get it to work. Mine cascade fine, but I am only using 500s. Not sure if you can go from 12v to RC5 from one amp to the other, but I thought I remember seeing that in the manual. I'll check my manual tonight to see if I can help.

 

[Mifr44]

Barry,

Just to be sure, you need to power on all of the amps via their front panel switches. You will need to power on the 1068, then power it off to first trigger off the amps. After that point, the 1068 should control the amps.

"Not sure if you can go from 12v to RC5 from one amp to the other, but I thought I remember seeing that in the manual."

It works that way with my MA-700's which have the same setup as the MA-6100's. The first MA-700 receives a 12v signal from my preamp to its Video/5-13V input (yellow), then outputs its signal through the Remote Cont Out (which matches the MA-6100). From there, the daisy chain is Remote Cont Out (MA-700 also has System Out, which the MA-6100 doesn't have) to Remote Cont In on the next amp.

Michael

 

[Barry_New]

Michael, thx again for watching this thread... IIRC, I think your situation is all MA700s, and it seems like they must be cascading the trigger successfully. I'm not sure what the difference is, but if the 2nd MA700 triggers via the RC-5 input when the 1st MA700 triggers via vid/12v input, ONE WOULD THINK that the MA500 would work the same way in combination with the MA6100. That's what I thought, but I have dbl and triple checked this every way I can and it just won't fly. I also checked the selector switch on the MA500, but all that seems to do is switch the RC-5 input between two different proprietary Marantz schemes - it doesn't make any difference with my scenario. (The MA6100 triggers just great from the Rotel though, despite an annoying ground loop hum when I connect the cable!). For now, I think I'm going to take the route of a Panamax with switched power-up outlets to solve this problem.

 

[Mifr44]

Barry,

Since the MA-6100 can be triggered by the Rotel, it would seem logical that the MA-6100 can trigger the MA-500, especially since you were able to trigger your MA-500s with your Marantz processor (if I recall correctly from your PM).

Is the "second" MA-6100 triggered by the "first" MA-6100 via the RC-OUT/RC-IN connection? If so, then something is amiss here. I can't believe that Marantz would change their "RC" trigger system with the MA-6100.

Michael

 

[Barry_New]

Hi Michael,

The 12v trigger from Rotel to MA6100 vid input (yellow jack) works properly. I have tried the following steps, with no success (I, too, can't believe that this would NOT work as one would expect, maybe I'm doing something wrong?).

With Rotel connected to MA6100 as above....

a. Connect MA6100 RC-5 out to MA500 RC-5 input (orange jack). Manually power on Rotel, MA6100 and MA500. Use remote or front-panel Standby button on Rotel to turn off proc. MA6100 powers off a couple of seconds later. MA500 remains on.

b. Switch position of DBUS selector on MA500. Power everything off. Power everything back up manually. Repeat the Standby power off test. MA500 still does not trigger.

I can't explain it, but it appears the MA500 does not respond to whatever output code the MA6100 is sending. But I'm sure that another MA6100 would work fine. I have a 2nd one, and I'm going to try that test to prove my point.

 

[John Garcia]

This is the same problem I have, and I am using a Marantz receiver. I actually have to hit the receiver power off button on the remote again after turning off my receiver to put the amps in stand by. When I turn them on though, they come on at the same time as the receiver when turning the system on with the remote. If I turn the receiver on manually, the amps will not trigger.

 

[Barry_New]

John, I think you might actually benefit from flipping the position of the DBUS selector on the MA500. According to the manual, it toggles operation of the RC-5 connector between "older" and "newer" Marantz systems - in one case having a single Power button which toggled the ON/OFF state, and in the 2nd case having separate ON and OFF buttons. Can't remember which is which, but it might not hurt to try flipping it in your case and see if that helps. Remember to manually power off the MA500 power button and turn it back on manually after you change this selection. Powering off the amps manually will NEVER trigger anything to happen, the trigger only works when in Powered On mode (green LED) and Standby mode (red LED).

 

[Mifr44]

Barry,

I can't explain it, but it appears the MA500 does not respond to whatever output code the MA6100 is sending. But I'm sure that another MA6100 would work fine. I have a 2nd one, and I'm going to try that test to prove my point.

Also, if you haven't tried this yet, connect to a different MA-500 from the MA-6100. If you have only tried one MA-500, it's trigger input might be defective. It's probably a long shot, but since you are already testing, give it a try.

Also, try a different RCA trigger cable from the MA-6100 to the MA-500. Again, probably a long shot here too.

Other than that, it sounds like you have tried all possible tests. I would email Marantz tech support and see if they know of an issue mixing the MA-6100 with the MA-500.

Michael

 

[John Garcia]

John, I think you might actually benefit from flipping the position of the DBUS selector on the MA500.

My receiver is an 8300, and it has separate on and off functions. Having the switch the other way didn't turn them on at all, unfortunately. Just out of curiousity now, I'll try them again. Thanks

 

[watsmaster]

im interested in the MA500 if you still want to get rid of them.
watson