Need recomendation for an IC to fill out and enrich the sound between amp and pre-amp.

3) Jensen Transformer with their cables which are Canares Star Quad.

Hi Jim,

First, to be sure it’s clear you can use any cable brand with the Jensen transformer. And you needn’t use the same brand for the RCA cables and the XLR cables, for that matter. The particular seller of Jensen transformers I suggested just happens to also sell many Canare cables.

I would strongly suspect that the Jensen transformer option will make the most difference, among the options you listed. And I would expect it to be more likely than not that the difference will be in the right direction, from a subjective standpoint. It is also conceivable, though, that the difference may be in the wrong direction, subjectively. But if that were to occur I would interpret it to mean that the root cause of the problem is elsewhere in the system. As I said earlier, a Jensen transformer, which would provide the BAT amp with a true balanced pair of signals, is IMO the right way to implement this kind of interface, at least within anything close to the price range you are considering.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Also, I am not sure I completely understand the RCA and XLR IC arrangement you explained above.

Hi Jim,

"Its" in that paragraph refers to the Jensen transformer.  Saying it a little differently, RCA cables from preamp to transformer, and short XLR cables from transformer to amp.

Model PI-2RX would be suitable.  You can find it here for $20 less than if you were to order it directly from Jensen.  Note that in the drop-down box near the bottom of the page the input connector choice should be changed from the default selection of XLR (which corresponds to model PI-2XX) to RCA (which corresponds to PI-2RX).

Regards,
-- Al

Jim, as you realize but others commenting here may not, your BAT VK-200 does not provide RCA inputs. So the RCA-to-RCA cable you are asking about would have to be used with an adapter (or an unbalanced to balanced converter such as a Jensen Transformer), and the cable would be providing the signal to a balanced input.

For those reasons I would not necessarily expect the experiences others are basing their suggestions on to be applicable to your system. And personally I would consider using a Jensen Transformer in conjunction with RCA cables on its input side and short XLR cables on its output side to be the "right" way to implement this interconnection. Including cabling, that could be accomplished for close to your stated budget.

Also, seconding the comment by Wlutke just above you might want to take a look at what kind of 6C4 tubes are installed in your preamp. Trying different tubes would seem likely to be a more efficacious way of accomplishing the sonic changes you are looking for, especially given that 6C4’s appear to be relatively inexpensive. I found this statement in a 2003 thread at another forum:

6C4 tubes are available from Watford Valves of England as the Mullard CV4058 (military number) which is also known as a KQDD/K or M8080. These tubes are the best 6C4 variant that money can buy, and Conrad-Johnson uses them in their new PV-14L audiophile preamp. They told me they have never found a better 6C4 tube. They were made for Britsh military mobile radios and can really take a thrashing, as well as a minimum 10,000 hour useful life.

Finally, I see that the PV-14L is phase inverting, so if you already haven’t you may want to try interchanging the + and - connections to the speakers. That is likeliest to make a difference on recordings that were engineered with "purist" techniques, meaning a minimal number of microphones and minimal post-processing.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al