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I've got an insane question... (OR: Schwarzenegger's fairy tale)

post #1 of 8
10/9/03 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
Grüß Gott and Schnitzel !

Next on CNN:
Schwarzenegger goes for President and I ask my question...


The question is a theoretical one:

How to connect a STAX SRM-007t Vacuum Tube Driver Unit Amplifier with an ACCUPHASE D-85 SACD/CD-Player?

Let me explain a little bit:

The amp has, as far as I know, one XLR input and two RCA jacks.

The SACD-player has... I really don't know!!! That's my problem.
But I've heard that you are able to extend the outputs of the DP-85. So it maybe might be eventually the case that the DP-85 has XLR and RCA outputs, too.

If that is the case... what would be the best way to connect the amp with the player... RCA or XLR ?

One last question:
The German magazine "audio" (it's written in German, so Schwarzenegger probably can read it, too) is convinced, that the cinch cable "audioquest anaconda" is the best over all the other cables.
Accuphase have their own cables for sale... WHAT can a cable do for the sound? Can there be SOOO much difference between them at all... I mean: are you able to hear a really difference, if you already have got high quality components (Accuphase and Stax)?

I thank you very much for reading my words!

Greetings from here to there

Frank, whose family name is an Austrian one and really close to Schwarzenegger
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post #2 of 8
10/9/03 at 6:08pm
I read once an informed opinion as follows (this was a
professional article, not a forum post). I am quoting
by memory, because I can't remember where I read
that.

The relevance of connectors between finals (amp) and
drivers (speakers or phones) is in their behavior as
loads to the amp output, and as "parts of the power
supply" to the drivers. In other words, amplifiers in general
behave differently on loads with different impedence;
because the cable alters the impedence of the driver
as seen from the finals, then the cable may alter the
behavior of the amp hence the sound. A similar argument
goes for the dumping characteristics (what the drivers
see towards the amp.) So, it's the cable, but only as a
piece of the pie. And not always super-optimized cables
do good things--it just depends.

Personally, using a good amp I think those who can
hear a difference are not many. Not me, for sure.
But if you have everything else . . .
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post #3 of 8
10/9/03 at 8:19pm
Try the xlr connection - chances are, that the Accuphase as well as the Stax sound better the balanced way, and usually you can get better cable quality for less as well with xlr.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Dir gib i glei a Schnitzl! A hoibe Sau und a Semme konnst ham!
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post #4 of 8
10/9/03 at 8:30pm
If you're running cables no longer than 3 meter (10 feet) i will choose RCA because of cleaner signal path (no transformers).
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post #5 of 8
10/9/03 at 8:42pm
Mastergill: Are you sure they'll be using transformers? I'd assume they solve it the solid-state way...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
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post #6 of 8
10/9/03 at 9:10pm
Hi lini,

I think most of the time you've got trafo-XLR output when it's balanced (but i could be wrong), anyway with solid-state the signal need to go through a extra stage too.
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post #7 of 8
10/9/03 at 9:44pm
Mastergill: I don't think that additional stage is neccessary, either - it would look like an easy job for just one normal plus one inversed opamp per channel as output driver, for example...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
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post #8 of 8
10/10/03 at 1:57pm
you have an accuphase dp-85?!?!

sell the 007t immediately and contact zzz to build you a custom blue hawaii.

anything else wont be doing your incredible player justice.

BTW what headphones do you have, omega IIs right?

edit:
i also wanted to add that the accuphase is FULLY BALANCED, so it doesn't have crappy inverting transformers. USE THE XLR OUTS!!!
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