2. cables
  3. 1056130643

Signal degration over length, source vs. output ?

Which signal is more likely to degrade over length, source to amp, or amp to speaker? I have a pair of 300B monos on the way and don't know where to place them relative to preamp and speakers. Is it generally better to place the amps close to the pre-amp and use a short interconnect and a longer speaker cable or the other way around? Any insight would be appreciated.
jamesddurkin
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
speaking of 8...10' you loose almost nothing with longer speaker cables.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Kr4...I didn't know that you could get 50 ohms output impedance with a tube output stage (usually a 12AU7 cathode follower: 600ohms). What kind of preamp do you have, and did they slip in a transistor line driver?

sean...Yes: balanced lines are better for long runs, but that's another discussion. I only meant to suggest that a long run of low level signal is not the end of the world.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,688 posts
 
Sonic Frontiers Line3. Output impedance 45ohms SE, 90ohms bal.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Kr4...Your SFI preamp looks like a nice unit. They confim that the output stage is "parallel tube with feedback" (not a transistorized line driver as I suspected) providing output impedance which they agree is low for a tube preamp. Looks like you get any tube advantages without one of the drawbacks.
More to discover