Balance not fading speaker

Ckoffend-

You are correct, when I disconnect the sub(Bob Carver Dominator)the correct balance adjustment returns. My only concern is that there is no negative effect on the music playback or the equipment.

Before doing this hook-up I talked with both ARC and Carver tech reps plus a post here and all said that wiring the sub directly with the regular speakers to the amp is fine since the ARC equipment does not have a separate sub input/output.

The sound seems very satisfying, just doesn't seem normal when the balance isn't functioning the way one would assume it should.

I disagree with their statement that everything should be fine. Just out of curiosity, when you are playing a piece or disc you are very familiar with that has noticeable placement of instruments on one side or the other, do you still get this full width soundstage when the sub is connected? My assumption is that the soundstage collapses when the sub is hooked up as both channels are getting the same signal, and this is why your balance control does not work. I am of the opinion (but by no means am I an expert) that the sub or its connection is jumpering the two channels together, at the very minimum giving you cross talk. I am not familiar with the recommended connections for this sub, but I do know that the Rels have very specific instructions for connecting to a dual differential (ie. balanced) amplifier. If you need the Rel instructions to see if they would apply also to the Carver, let me know and I can e-mail them to you.

Are you using Y cables? If so, you may be converting the output to mono.

No Y cables but they were recommended as an option on an earlier thread I previously started . One of the responses I received was:

"Right, you can't use the 'tape out' connections because they're not controlled by the volume control on the preamp, meaning the volume coming from the sub wouldn't change as you adjust the volume to your main speakers.

If you do want to split the preamp output you can use one of the devices Steuspeed recommended. He suggested one from Audioquest and there's another from Monster. Click here to see what the one from Monster looks like. Both it and the Audioquest version are solid connectors, no wire involved.

You shouldn't worry about using the speaker wire connection method, though. The subwoofer amp won't be pulling any substantial power from your main amp and won't overload it at all. That connection method is the one recommended by both REL and HSU, makers of some of the better subs out there. You should definitely do what you're most comfortable with, however, it's your gear."

There was a long discussion about the dual wire hook-up and everyone(incl. ARC) seemed to think it was perfectly fine, but maybe not?? The sub manual does address the Y adapter hookup but others poo-poo'd it for various reasons. Maybe it is the way to go??

Think I got it. Reviewed the Carver sub guide and a third option is to go from the pre out to the sub line in, sub line out to the amp. The higher frequencies pass through to the amp and main speakers while just the low freq is processed by the sub.

Now balance works correctly and sound is very good once again.

Thanks for steering me in the right direction.