RCA to XLR adapters?

My DAC is a Mark Levinson 36. Do you know if this would give a problem?

Don't know, but I found some specs indicating that its output impedance is "less than 6 ohms." That is worrisome, because it would mean that large amounts of current would be drawn from the output stage by a short to ground, unless some protection mechanism kicked in.

The adapter choices you linked to look good, except that I would suggest that you confirm with Cardas that that particular adapter leaves pin 3 open.

Regards,
-- Al

Just a FWIW: using adapters is always tricky and should be regarded as temporary. If you are interested in getting the most out of your gear, take your cables to a tech and have him install the connector on the end of the cable such that it satisfies your needs. The mechanical connectivity of adapters can job the system of bass impact and dynamic punch- I have seen it many times.

Hi Atmasphere

Thanks for the reply.

I am hesitant to reterminate the cables as it would make the resale value even worse.

That's probably true- unless maybe you have the manufacturer do it. FWIW though if you set up the system entirely around the idea that everything has to be sold, that *can* limit the performance you can get.

Now if the amplifier has a single-ended input, it might be moot in that application. Its my opinion that if you keep the cable short, you are probably better off using a single-ended cable than you are getting a line transformer to convert to balanced. Most transistor amplifiers have differential inputs and don't care if the input is single-ended or balanced.

However beware if the amplifier's balanced input only works if the amplifier is monostrapped. Such amps often do not have differential inputs so it makes a big difference how you drive them!

Mikey, I can relate to wanting to preserve the resale value . . . But having the correct termination for your application pretty much trumps all other cable-quality parameters. Also, the additional mechanical stress that Atmasphere noted from using an adapter is a very real and common issue; one errant tug on a big XLR cable/RCA adapter can wreck the preamp's connector in pretty short order, leading to a much greater loss in value.

But if you're just wanting to try out the CJ preamplifier before making a final decision, here's what I would do. First, contact Krell and see if their power amp will work with an adapter cable. If they say yes, then use the Markertek adapter (pin 3 grounded) and your existing XLR cables. If not, then use a Jensen DM2-2RX with a short RCA cable from the preamp.
Then just use an RCA cable to connect the DAC to the preamp via unbalanced in/out.

And if you keep this setup, then you can upgrade RCA cables as you see fit, and/or reterminate your amp cable.