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Amp for use w/ REL Stentor III?

Hi all,

I recently took delivery of a REL Stentor III sub (damaged in shipping, thanks UPS!). Unfortunately, unlike the pic on REL and Sumiko's website, there are NOT dual left/right input jacks for either XLR or Neutrik inputs! I am told that this pic is of a prototype and this feature never made it to production. Major bummer...

The problem is that my amp (Ayre V-5) is balanced differential output so it is impossible to hook up the REL as a mono summing sub. I have called Sumiko and Ayre and neither had any bright ideas except to buy another Stentor(!). So my question is: Are there any amps out there that are as pure as the Ayre (corny, I know, but it IS a really good amp) but with common grounds at the speaker binding posts? I prefer SS and balanced inputs if at all possible. Equipment is Wadia 830, MD Etude, ARC LS12, homebrew monitors of flat 4ohm load.

Thanks for your suggestions and happy holidays!
karls
ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
does it have dual inputs of any kind? RCAs? If so, get some XLR-RCA adaptors (BAT makes a very high quality one) and use those to convert to RCA out of the (pre)amp into the REL.... ?

-Ed
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,218 posts
 
Use the line level inputs on the Stentor, it's not optimal, but it will work quite well. If after awhile you're happy with the single Stentor, a dual Stentor setup will be a worthwhile step up.
bhouser
112 posts
 
Karl- I JUST bought a Pass Labs X-250 to go with Martin Logan speakers and an REL Storm series 1 sub. It replaced a Bryston 4B-ST. The Pass is a fully-balanced, differential amp as is yours, connected via XLR Shunyata Aries interconnects from my Anthem preamp. The Storm is far more limited in it's input & adjustments then your Stentor, which may mean another upgrade is on the way (a Stadium III, maybe)!

Anyway, I started to get a bad ground hum from the REL when it is connected to the Pass via high-level Speakon connection in the 'traditional' setup method in the manual. It was most noticeable with the amp in standby mode. Connected in this manner is supposedly very bad for the amplifier inside the sub. This, of course, does not apply to the line-level LFE input.

I talked to Jim at Sumiko, who said to move the Speakon connector to the Hi-level BALANCED input, but ONLY connect the red & yellow wires to the positive speaker connectors. The black wire then attaches to a good chassis ground on the amp - not the right channel negative as normal. This will put it back into summing mode - I Think - I haven't had enough time to get my system back together completely yet to test it fully with the new amp.

Did they mention or have you tried that combination?

Hope this helps & Good luck.
Bob Houser
karls OP
332 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I tried using the Ayre's RCA and XLR grounds as suggested by several people including Sumiko, but to no avail (hum from the REL). I've escaped without damage so far, but don't want to keep messing around until I blow something up. From talking with Sumiko, it sounds as though there were circuitry problems getting the separate stereo inputs to sum properly, which is why they're not on the production units. And the REL only has a mono RCA input, so no dice there either. Maybe this will be solved on the MkIV...
msa
35 posts
 
Did you try floating the ground on the Rel power line?
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