? for ya, Al


Hey, Al, I figured you would know the answer to a question that I have, so here goes. My system sounds best when I conect my sub to my rca pre outs for my left and right front channels, and then connect my amp to the xlr pre outs for my front right and left channels also. I'm wondering if this is bad in any way. When I shut my sub off, I can hear the amp in the sub doing that "fart" shut down noise through my front right and left speakers, so I'm wondering if the amp in my sub is cross talking with my power amp for my speakers in any way. I'm also wondering if havinv both rca's and xlr's connected for my front right and left channels at the same time is degrading the signal coming out of my pre amp in any way. If you are wondering why I don't just hook my sub to the sub pre out on my pre amp, the reason is because then I am forced to cross my speakers over at 80hz and this doesn't sound as good as running my speakers full range and using the crossover in my sub set at 40hz.

My pre amp is a classe ssp 25 and my amp is a classe ca-150, if this helps.

Also, anyone is free to answer this question but I'm sure Al would know, that's why I directed it towards him!
128x128b_limo
I had an SSP25. Its not balanced. The xlr's are for convenience (or to fool someone that doesn’t know better). Be careful with the rca's, though. They break very easily.
Zd542, thanks for pointing that out. But to clarify, do you mean that there is only one signal on the XLR connectors (the "hot" signal on pin 2), and pin 3 is grounded instead of being provided with the inverted or "cold" signal that would normally be provided on a balanced output? Or do you just mean that the internal signal path in the preamp is not balanced?

Regards,
-- Al
Al, Thanks for your response! I do have xlr inputs and outputs on my sub. Maybe I'll try the splitter, as well as using the xlr inputs and outputs on thesub. I'm assuming that itwouldcross my front speakers over if I went that route. It seems that my little 5 1/2 inch drivers are actually happier at really loud volumes, being crossed over at 80hz; visually, less of that flappy driver thing that occurs when your speakers are turned up too loud.

Zd, That's interesting what you said about the xlr's not being balanced; bummer. The sound is better using xlr's though, and it was the only way I could get rid of a ground loop hum that I had. I didn't try removing the ground plug from my amp or pre amp power cord though, and that might of resolved the issue. I realized a month ago that the power cords I'm using have ground plugs that you can unscrew, I'm assuming for that very reason. Anyways, what did you think of the ssp 25 in terms of sound quality for a 2 channel setup? Any other thoughts about the ssp? I know what you mean about the rca's. Every time I disconnect a cable, they pull out.