2. home-theater
  3. 146986-63554

Mixing XLR/RCA Outputs on Marantz AV-8801 Possible?

My B&K 200.7 amplifier lost a surround channel (almost no sound) and it will have to go out for repair. In the meantime, I'm hooking up a spare 5-channel amp and separate 2-channel amp to run the system. My Marantz AV-8801 pre-pro has both XLR and RCA connections for audio out; I've been using the XLRs. The 2-channel amp I'll be using only has RCA inputs, and when I connected it via the RCA outputs on the 8801 and powered everything up, the sound was very faint. I do not have the manual for the pre-pro and thought it was kosher to mix output/input formats as long as each was kept to its own and not duplicated by hooking up both to an input/output. To clarify, sound across all channels was faint, not just the two surround channels connected via RCAs. Anyone ever been down this road?
discnik
4 responses Add your response
erik_squires
16,138 posts
 
Try removing everything but L and R.  Play a stereo source. Diagnose that way.
discnik OP
161 posts
 
Boy, do I feel dumb (maybe?)…..I loaded my B&K 200.7 amp into the rear of my CRV and positioned it sideways, with the binding-posts facing to the right. Since I'm right-handed, and because I'm OCD, I tested each binding post to see if it was securely tightened down. The third set had one post that was slightly loose, maybe 2 short turns. Would that have been enough to cause the volume problem if it were the post for that surround speaker output?
discnik OP
161 posts
 
Thanks for the responses...in the meantime I found a neat XLR to RCA cable by Seismic Audio that will let me make the connection to the PS Audio 2-channel amp. That should put things back on solid footing, I hope.
erik_squires
16,138 posts
 
The RCA/XLR combo has nothing to do with it. It's perfectly fine.
Disable any room tuning or EQ or correction circuits first.

Best,
E
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