2. amps-preamps
  3. 1323999458

Have I mismatched my preamp/amp?

Hey all; I recently purchased a Cary SLP-50B which I will be mating to a Rawson clone of the Pass Aleph 2. When I started doing the math, I know I'm slow, I looked up the output impedance of the Cary and its Aleph 2 from the Pass site and it's 2.2 K Ohms I checked the Pass site for the Aleph 2, being I don't have the exact spec on the Rawson, and the input impedance is 10 K Ohms unbalanced and 25 K Ohms balanced differential. The Cary only has unbalanced outputs. So, how mismatched is this? I understand the 20:1 rule and I'm way off. My point was to use the Cary to warm up the sound a bit of the Rawson, its brutally sharp and I thought warming it up was a good idea. Advice/Comments are welcome. Jack
fz1jmp
jult52
155 posts
 
I've always heard it as a 10:1 rule and it looks like a mismatch although your ears should be the final guide. But it sure sounds like you don't like your amp.
fz1jmp OP
33 posts
 
Thanks for the response, but I did not mean I did not like my amp. They sound excellent. I was looking to warm them up a bit. When I said they were brutally sharp, I should of been more expressive, they reproduce the music on the sharper side, I like a tad of warmth, I figured I would be able to warm them up with a nice tube preamp.
fz1jmp OP
33 posts
 
So, I gotta say this is a great site. I send tim rawson an email and he responded,and it was a good response. He said typically it should be either 100k ohms or minimum 47k ohms input impedence on his amp, all nicely above the 10:1 or 20:1 ratio. I suppose I'm in good shape.
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