impedance match of preamp and main amp.


I am considering mating a Mcintosh Mc602 with a Bat Vk 51se. I noticed the input impedance on the Mc602 is 10K. While most Bat amps are much higher. Does anyone see a problem with this? It seems I remember a Stereophile I used to know told me about a ratio minimum of 1 to 25. I am not sure though.
cturnem

Showing 1 response by mapman

Good stuff, as usual.

Its good to know detailed impedance measurements when available, but in lieu of that a good rule of thumb seems to be to use an amp with 60Kohm or higher input impedance to be safe with most tube amps. Slightly higher than the 10:1 minimum (as applied to worst case measurement at particular frequency) usually cited is a good and safe insurance policy.

FWIW, you will find most amps that explicitly mention or support use with tube pre-amps tend to have at least 50-60Kohm input impedance spec, often 100kohm unbalanced and twice that even balanced, which is usually preferred for the best and most consistent results.