can I connect 2 sources directly to power amp (one XLR one RCA)

Depends on a lot of things.  The two sources could fight each other, detecting the other source as noise.

this is what preamps and switches are for.

Does the anthem has a selector switch?  If not, then the two inputs are just parallel connectors to a single input and hooking them both up generally won't work.

I had the same problem with my amp (decware) so I installed a simple selector switch.

Jerry

Never worked, but tried quite awhile back....use a 6in/6out switched patch box to cure the problem.  All rca, but that's what gender benders are for.

You won’t hurt anything,  but it might not work either.  With the Node being on all the time, it will most likely mess with the SQ of the Lumin.  You need something to switch from the Node to the Lumin. 

Can be done on a McIntosh  501 monoblock as they have a switch  which let's one input or the other hook up to it. I was looking at doing this with a McIntosh  tuner and a wadia  cd player for my bedroom. 

I have done this on a McIntosh MC462, which has a selector switch on the back. It worked. But when I unplugged the XLR cables, volume on the RCAs increased significantly. I’m unsure why?

Hello AudoCanada!  If the power amp has a switch on the back for choosing the input you want to use, it's probably OK to plug in both inputs. If there is no input switch, don't do it! The inputs will be wired in parallel and they will interfere with eacj other. NEVER flip input switchs with the power on! You are risking serious speaker damage, and possible amp damage.. Happy Listening.

Only when there’s a  seperate input  switch. Listen to , what’s the best option ! 

Hello,

Buy the Lumin P1. It has analog inputs so you can plug the Node into the Lumin. The Lumin P1 also has several HDMI connections. Since the P1 is a DAC you can run the NODE into the P1 using a coax audio cable. The other way is to get a used preamp for a few hundred dollars. 

Even if it has an input switch, those switches are generally not designed to be used as an alternative to a preamp and may not be the most suited to frequent switching back and forth. Even if feasible, it's very sub optimal as a long term solution to input selection.

@erock79 I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I wonder if having both XLRs and RCAs plugged in at the same time was somehow affecting the impedance of the source as seen by the amp. In other words they may have been rated very differently, and even if they had the same rating, in parallel, they may have appeared to be much less to the amp. Then there is the issue of how the XLR cables were wired, signal ground on pin 3 and/or chassis ground to the shell, etc. etc. 

good advice thanks

not going to do this, seems way too risky, can't afford to cause damage over a little inconvenicnce on a temporary set up