Bi-amping question - XLR out split


I am currently bi-amping my Legacy Focus speakers and am liking the sound so far.  But I am looking at getting a new preamp so I can use XLR connections from preamp to my two amps, both have XLR ins (please let’s not get into the XLR vs RCA benefit rabbit hole). My question is related to purchasing a new preamp with one XLR out pair or two XLR out pairs.  If I buy a preamp with one XLR out pair and then get an XLR Y cable to send to my two amps, will this lead to any degradation of the sound?  vs just having a preamp with two XLR out pairs (assuming same signal in both XLR out pairs) ?

Thanks - Kevin

kevinshunt

Showing 2 responses by mulveling

It’s usually fine to just use adaptor splitters or Y splitter cables, with no degradation of note. Electrically that’s the same as preamps with dual outputs - it’s just a convenience to have the extra outlets right there.

If you find a situation where it causes problems, then that preamp was probably already marginal into a single amp. What you want to avoid is a pre with high output impedance (> 1K ohms) into amps with low input impedance (< 10K ohms, or < 20K ohms for dual amps). That’s more likely to occur when mixing tube pre with solid state amps, but in most cases even that is fine. The last few tube preamps I’ve owned have had output impedances <= 300 ohms, and will drive pretty much anything (even twice) with no problem. 

Just be aware some amps spec a much lower input impedance on their XLR inputs versus RCA, in case that becomes a factor. Though rare, you could find use cases where RCA is the better choice, based on that alone.

That’s a fair point but it’s actually the other way around - you’ll get the higher input impedance on the balanced (XLR) inputs.

Ooof, how did I get that mixed up - thanks cleeds.