Electro-Voice MA-1212
Little is documented about the Electro-Voice MA-1212 outside of its own manual, but what survives is enough to place it. It was the larger of two models in EV's MA-1200 series of commercial mixer/paging amplifiers. The MA-1206 was the 60-watt version, and the MA-1212 was the same unit with twice the output at 120 watts. Both were rackmount designs aimed at background music and public address installations in warehouses, shopping malls, retail stores, churches, office lobbies, hotel conference rooms, and waiting rooms. The manual lists compatibility with EV's EVID ceiling and surface-mount speakers, paging horns, and drivers.
The feature set was the point of these amplifiers. There are twelve input channels. Inputs 1 through 10 are switchable between balanced/unbalanced low-impedance microphone and line level, with 24-volt phantom power available on any of them. A signal at input 1 automatically mutes the rest unless a front-panel switch defeats it. Inputs 11 and 12 are auxiliary line-level, with dual RCA jacks that sum a stereo source down to the built-in mono amplifier. A rear-panel telephone paging input has its own gain control and mutes everything else when it receives signal. A preamp output and power amp input let you insert an external processor, such as a graphic EQ or compressor, into the chain. The preamp out can also drive a separate power amp and speakers without interrupting the internal amplifier. Speaker output is on a barrier strip with taps for 4, 8, and 16 ohm loads as well as 25, 70.7, and 100-volt distributed systems.
Known specifications for the MA-1212:
- Output power: 120 watts at 1 kHz
- Frequency response: 50–15,000 Hz (±3 dB)
- THD: under 1% at 1 kHz at rated output
- Mic input sensitivity/impedance: 0.3 mV / 600 ohm (balanced)
- Line input sensitivity/impedance: 75 mV / 47 kOhm (balanced)
- Power amp in: 1 V / 10 kOhm (unbalanced)
- Auxiliary: 100 mV to 1 V (unbalanced)
- Signal-to-noise: mic >52 dB, auxiliary >65 dB, paging >65 dB, power amp in >90 dB
- Tone controls: ±10 dB at 100 Hz (bass), ±10 dB at 10 kHz (treble)
- Muting: 40 dB attenuation; protection via three independent Slo-Blo fuses (primary AC and DC)
- Power dissipation: 390 watts; supply 108–132 V AC, 50/60 Hz
- Dimensions: 15.0 cm H × 48.0 cm W × 32.0 cm D (5.9 × 18.9 × 12.6 in.)
- Weight: 12.0 kg (26.5 lb) net; 12.7 kg (28.0 lb) shipping
The manual also notes 24-volt powered operation for emergency power requirements, an independently adjustable low-power monitor output, and integrated rack ears for mounting without additional hardware. No production years, original price, or period review coverage is recorded here. The manual is the only surviving documentation.
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