I don't know much about tube preamps because most of what I have dealt with are solid-state preamps and processors. I had seen some DACs and preamps that do have separate actual output circuits for XLR and RCA, however, they are all opamp-based and it's really easy and cheap to just plop in another opamp to drive RCA outputs (and just chain them from the same input stage). In the case of discrete circuits or tube preamps, the manufacturer will have to design and allocate space for an entirely separate tube output stage (in the case of discrete, this could mean another 5" x 5" section of the board or more). This is definitely expensive for the manufacturers to support a situation that might happen 5% of the time. Al may be correct in his statement. That being said, you're right in the sense that ARC (and BAT now that I look) do have multiple XLR outputs.
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You are spinning your wheels.... Your amp is not differentially balanced and therefore you will hear no improvement. Balanced connections actually have 2 separate circuits ...one for the plus and one for the minus signal. What you have is XLR connections that are there for bragging rights. ..that's not denigrating your amp...it probably sounds fine. If it were to have true balanced connections, the unit would cost twice as much. |
Your amp is not differentially balanced and therefore you will hear no improvement. Balanced connections actually have 2 separate circuits ...one for the plus and one for the minus signal. What you have is XLR connections that are there for bragging rights. ..that’s not denigrating your amp...it probably sounds fine. If it were to have true balanced connections, the unit would cost twice as much.Stringreen, I suspect that you meant to refer to the OPs Marantz 8802A, which is a "network audio/video surround processor/pre-amp/tuner," not to the amp. The model of the OP’s Krell amps has not been stated, and some Krell power amps are fully balanced. Also, it can be inferred from the specs of the Marantz 8802A that it does in fact provide true balanced **connections**, since the specs indicate a "rated output" that is twice as great for the XLR outputs as for the RCA outputs. What it presumably does not have is a balanced internal signal path, which IMO has no relevance to the questions that are being discussed. And as we’ve discussed in past threads balanced connections between components having unbalanced internal signal paths (and, again, the Krell amps might very well be fully balanced) IMO may sound either better than, worse than, or similar to unbalanced connections, depending on the specific designs. Regards, -- Al |
When I was researching the 8802a a while back, I could not absolutely determine if the internal circuits were fully "differential balanced". A piece of equipment could have a true balanced output that is not differential - it depends on how the circuit is implemented. That being said, looking at a detailed pic of the 8802A fully discrete HDAM module (below), I could definitely believe that each module has 2 analog circuits (which would make a truly balanced differential circuit). The HDAM module looks to have a 9-pin connector to the main board, so there are enough pins to support 2 circuits. The 8802A has 13 of these modules, so 2 of the XLR outputs are lacking these circuits (maybe the subwoofer output?). Each module has a couple of 220uf caps along with smaller 22uf caps to power the circuit -- Marantz did an excellent job of designing this 8802 and I would think it's an excellent piece (until you start comparing it to stuff like the Krell). http://www.schwartzpr.de/de/newsroom/Marantz/MarantzAV8802HDAMBoards.jpg |
@auxinput Yes the CP800 is a pretty unique beast and it took me quite a long time to find such a beast that can do what it does. I still use it today strictly as a PreAmp and get no sense of it being a weak point in my system despite it actually being the least expensive component in my whole rig. Heh, my speaker wire has a higher price tag :) @mgould Please share the model Krells you are thinking of using in this setup. I'm inclined to think there must be at least two, 2 X channel amps at your disposal of the same exact type and similar age...etc? The good news is that IME, the B&W D2 and I suspect the D3 have a pretty high power handling capability so that shouldn't be an issue unless you go full crazy mode. I was pushing my "Upper Section" with a Mono amp capable of 575w into 2ohms and the " Lower Section" was pushed with a matching separate amp of the same capability and the speakers never even blinked. My neighbors would have been knocking before the speaker even showed signs of braking a sweat. My balls ran out usually in the 112db range at seated position. Anyway, based on what I'm hearing regarding the PreAmp at play you may be better served by Bi-Wiring until a more suitable Pre can be obtained. No offense meant by my statement :) |
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