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Any problem with distancing the power amp from the preamp?

151.151.98.234

I'm toying with my room setup, and may have to separate the power amp from the preamp by about 15 feet. I will be connecting the preamp out to the power amp in with one good long rca cable.

Any problems you see with this setup?

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None - JerryS 09:32:21 07/05/09 (0)
I have a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 and Marantz MA9-S2 amplifiers. The amps sit between my speakers and the preamp is on a rack on the right side of my listening room, requiring about a 4 meter connection. Both components can use RCA or XLR connections. I tested both connections using runs of similar Mogami cable. The balanced XLR connection sounds better.

The advantage, for me, of having this arrangement is that the rack is not in between the speakers (where it used to be). The provides a huge improvement in the apparent sound stage, making it much larger and more realistic.

Happy listening.

Regards,
JerryS
RE: Any problem with distancing the power amp from the preamp? - esande 07:21:16 07/04/09 (0)
If the interconnects are long, balanced is better. Speaker cables should be as short as possible.
RE: Any problem with distancing the power amp from the preamp? - Allen Wright 03:09:51 07/01/09 (3)
As long as your preamp is able to drive 15 ft of interconnect, I suspect it will sound far better than having 15ft of speaker cable.

And should be far cheaper to do it this way as well!

Regards, Allen (vacuum State)
- RE: Why do you say a 15ft speaker cable is bad? Even - audiophilect 10:57:03 07/02/09 (2)
  thick cables?
  - RE: Why do you say a 15ft speaker cable is bad? Even - Allen Wright 05:26:08 07/04/09 (1)
    I say this from experience. I always have found long speaker cables to loose far more information and power (not even counting the $$) than an equal length of interconnect.
    
    Regards, Allen (Vacuum State)
    - RE: I am running 25ft of 12gauge cable. I will try shorter - audiophilect 08:49:04 07/05/09 (0)
      cables and a long interconnect.
Some people like long interconnects... - mkuller 21:16:10 06/30/09 (0)
...but most favor short interconnects and longer speaker cables.

Experiment.
"Any problems ..." - sure. Good 15ft cable will cost a lot. N/T - carcass93 17:04:41 06/30/09 (1)
N/T
- Make the Venhaus silver interconnects for this - Bill Way 14:42:45 07/02/09 (0)
  Not expensive, sound really lovely. I have 10' runs, and replacing old Quadlink with the Venhaus stuff made a big difference.
  
  WW
  There is NO substitute for the live performance.
RE: Any problem with distancing the power amp from the preamp? - FusionLover1 17:01:40 06/30/09 (2)
Actually not a problem but a possible advantage. I made this switch recently. I had a long talk with a tech rep at AudioQuest, and he said if your speakers are a ways away from the amp, it is positive. The eason is interconnects are low voltage, so length is not an issue. But if you can locate your power amps close to the speakers, shorting the cable by a significant % is a big plus as speaker wire is much higher voltate and much more effected by distance. The key thing is the % change. Shorting 50% is appreciable, 10% probably not worth it.
- That describes my setup pretty closely... - bystander 18:39:06 06/30/09 (1)
  The amp will be close to the speakers (actually right between) so the speaker wire will less than five feet in each direction. The preamp (along with cd & turntable) will be over on a shelf, about 15' away from the amp.
  
  Hope I get the same results you got!
  - I've done the same with no issues .... - reelsmith. 20:02:37 06/30/09 (0)
    ...and heard no difference when my interconnect went from 3' to 15'.
    I used to have this wonderful set-up where my records, turntable and preamp were right next to my listening position. Once seated for a session, I never had to get up ...it was wonderful. Everything I needed was within arms reach.
    
    reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
    
    Edits: 07/01/09
RE: Any problem with distancing the power amp from the preamp? - racerguy 16:32:52 06/30/09 (0)
The amp that drives my L-C-R speakers is pretty far from the preamps. The L-R interconnects between the stereo pre and the amp are 25' long. The C interconnect between the multi-channel pre and the amp is 20' long.

HOWEVER - I am running an all-balanced setup, and the preamps are able to drive long interconnects. Until recently, the C-channel was single-ended, not balanced. It suffered noticeably in comparison to the balanced L-R configuration. Not unlistenable, but it lacked some "life" and bass weight relative to the balanced setup. Much better now that all three channels use balanced.

So - when you go long, balanced is better. If your gear has balanced outputs and balanced inputs, switch to balanced. If it doesn't, contact your preamp manufacturer and ask whether the output stage is powerful enough to drive 15' long single-ended interconnects into your amp. Chances are that it is, but it's always better to make sure before you spend the money on longer interconnects.

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