check the fuse(s).
McIntosh MB50 Media Streamer does not power on
The unit worked fine until now.
I tried to factory reset it, pressing INPUT and STANDBY/ON buttons simultaneously as per instructions. I do not recall if lights flashed after holding the two for a few sec. The reset may not have been completed. Now the unit is a brick. It won't power on. I see an LED inside glowing indicating power is reaching the motherboard, but no other sign of life.
Any help or similar experience to root out any obvious troubleshooting steps here? McIntosh MB50 manual is garbage.
Appreciate any help or ideas. Thank you!
S
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Thank you for inputs. I am told by McIntosh engineer that accidentally keeping WIFI/Net and STANDBY/ON buttons pressed will wipe out the firmware on Phorus chip inside. And my suspicion is that this is what may have happened. This is a software design oversight and should have been easily avoidable. A system with barely four buttons must never allow something like this to happen, however accidental. Hoping no other issue... Now, to fix the unit back into operation, firmware must be reloaded. Any experiences with how much is the ballpark charge for a simple reloading of firmware, shipping costs aside? Kota1, I did use it as a streamer only connected to my preamp DAC over coaxial digital cable. It works pretty well. I also once directly connected it to my Bryston amp, but God save you if you fiddle with volume control on PlayFi mobile device, esp. if your amp is Bryston 4BSST 300WPC. I wouldn't recommend it. Preamp vol control is for safety. |
McIntosh has a pretty extensive factory authorized service network, so it might be worth checking to see if there is someone local to do the work. It’s also possible your dealer can handle the job and if so, he may be willing to do it at no charge as an accommodation. |
The good news is there is a usb port on the back for firmware uploads. I don't see the firmware on the website but ask Mcintosh to e-mail it or send a link so you can download it. This happened to me once with a Polk S6 Playfi speaker and they sent me the firmware with instructions on how to install it. I loaded it on a thumb drive and followed the instructions, NP.
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@Kota1 thank you, asked them. I hope McIntosh is as kind to me as they have been to you. @mahler123, this unit does not have an ethernet connection but has a USB2.0 port - a $15 usb to ethernet adapter compensates for the lack of ethernet port although it is for music streaming, not firmware. I did notice there is another mini USB port snuck underneath the unit. Given its relative inaccessibility and proximity to the middle of motherboard it appears to be dedicated for firmware uploads. |
While you are waiting on McIntosh here is how to do a manual play-fi update: https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/how-to-do-a-manual-speaker-update |
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