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Help hooking up a new amp

I just bought a Belles Aria integrated amp.  I have a question about how to incorporate it into my system. My TT is going into the phonostage on the Belles. I have a Cocktail Audio X30 media streamer that is going to go into on of the inputs on the back of the Belles. Here is my question.  In my old set up, I had a phono preamp that would connect to the X30 and then the X30 would run into my AVR amp.  In that way, I could do needledrops of my LPs into the X30.  How can I achieve using the Belles and eliminating the preamp?  Would I run interconnects from the pre outs or mon outs from the Belles into the input on the X30?  The music would be going into the Belles from the TT and then out either the pre outs or mon outs into the X30. That should work, right? Thanks in advance.
128x128boneius
13 responses Add your response
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The music would be going into the Belles from the TT and then out the mon outs into the X30. That should work, right?

Right. Only notice I deleted pre out. Mon out and pre out are the same except mon out is fixed, pre out is variable. You want fixed.
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,180 posts
 
Connect the X30 analog out to Belles Aria mon in and the X30 analog in to Belles Aria mon out.
boneius's avatar
boneius OP
14 posts
 
@imhififan , thanks for your help, but I'm curious. Why wouldn't I connect the X30 analog out to one of the analog inputs on the Belles? Let's say I just wanted to listen to the X30 directly, wouldn't I just switch to one of my analog inputs? Is there an advantage to using the monitor "in" in that way?
erik_squires
16,049 posts
 
The mon outs will keep the volume control out of the way, so it's more convenient. Otherwise, if you use the pre outs you have to manually set the volume each time to avoid overloading the X30.

Best,

E
boneius's avatar
boneius OP
14 posts
 
If I decide I like my Yamaha's phonostage better, would I set it up as TT>Yamaha>Belles Analog in? If I just bypass tone control on the Yamaha, will I then be hearing the "sound" of the Belles without any influence from the Yamaha?
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,180 posts
 

Let's say I just wanted to listen to the X30 directly, wouldn't I just switch to one of my analog inputs? Is there an advantage to using the monitor "in" in that way?
That way you can listen to the phono stage of Belles Aria directly or from the X30 output during recording.
If I decide I like my Yamaha's phonostage better, would I set it up as TT>Yamaha>Belles Analog in?
If you connect the Yamaha 'REC OUT' to Belles Analog in, it bypass the Yamaha line stage altogether.
boneius's avatar
boneius OP
14 posts
 
So, my Belles came yesterday, and I hooked it up. I like it a lot so far. It was a demo, so it is broken in, but it has been in storage for about 6 months, so the dealer said it might take a day or two to open up. It sounds good now, but I’m not thrilled with the phonostage compared to my Yamaha C-4, so I put that back into the chain. Now it’s is all magic to my ears. Now I have a new dilemma. Right now I have the following chain: TT>Yamaha phono in, Yamaha pre out>Belles Mon in. If I want to listen to my Cocktail audio X30, should I go analog out from that to a line in on the Belles, or would it be better to have the Yamaha go into a line in, and the X30 do the mon. in? In other words, where do I want the fixed volume, coming from the preamp or from the X30?
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,008 posts
 
Why isn’t the dealer helping you?
boneius's avatar
boneius OP
14 posts
 
It was a guy who sells speakers but isn't really an amp dealer.  I suppose I could ask him. 
mrdecibel
3,063 posts
 
Do not use the Yamaha pre out....use the rec out....I thought we covered this on another post of yours ?
Post removed 
Post removed 
boneius's avatar
boneius OP
14 posts
 
@mrdecibel, I did as you suggested but didn't like the sound. It sounded "thin" to me, for lack of a better word. I switched back from the rec out to the pre out. I like the sound better this way. My question is why is it bad or at least different if the preamp influences the sound with its volume and tone? Forgive my ignorance also, but can you clarify what you mean by gain stage? It is louder the way I have it now. Is that what you mean? Finally, does my preamp "color" the sound that is given off by the Belles’ amplification? Can the improved separation and resolution of the music provided by the Belles still be aided by whatever musicality is added by the Belles? I’m not being argumentative; I’m curious and relatively inexperienced, so I welcome your input.
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