2. amps-preamps
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Amp for use w/ REL Stentor III?

Hi all,

I recently took delivery of a REL Stentor III sub (damaged in shipping, thanks UPS!). Unfortunately, unlike the pic on REL and Sumiko's website, there are NOT dual left/right input jacks for either XLR or Neutrik inputs! I am told that this pic is of a prototype and this feature never made it to production. Major bummer...

The problem is that my amp (Ayre V-5) is balanced differential output so it is impossible to hook up the REL as a mono summing sub. I have called Sumiko and Ayre and neither had any bright ideas except to buy another Stentor(!). So my question is: Are there any amps out there that are as pure as the Ayre (corny, I know, but it IS a really good amp) but with common grounds at the speaker binding posts? I prefer SS and balanced inputs if at all possible. Equipment is Wadia 830, MD Etude, ARC LS12, homebrew monitors of flat 4ohm load.

Thanks for your suggestions and happy holidays!
karls

Showing 2 responses by bhouser

bhouser
112 posts
 
Karl- I JUST bought a Pass Labs X-250 to go with Martin Logan speakers and an REL Storm series 1 sub. It replaced a Bryston 4B-ST. The Pass is a fully-balanced, differential amp as is yours, connected via XLR Shunyata Aries interconnects from my Anthem preamp. The Storm is far more limited in it's input & adjustments then your Stentor, which may mean another upgrade is on the way (a Stadium III, maybe)!

Anyway, I started to get a bad ground hum from the REL when it is connected to the Pass via high-level Speakon connection in the 'traditional' setup method in the manual. It was most noticeable with the amp in standby mode. Connected in this manner is supposedly very bad for the amplifier inside the sub. This, of course, does not apply to the line-level LFE input.

I talked to Jim at Sumiko, who said to move the Speakon connector to the Hi-level BALANCED input, but ONLY connect the red & yellow wires to the positive speaker connectors. The black wire then attaches to a good chassis ground on the amp - not the right channel negative as normal. This will put it back into summing mode - I Think - I haven't had enough time to get my system back together completely yet to test it fully with the new amp.

Did they mention or have you tried that combination?

Hope this helps & Good luck.
Bob Houser
bhouser
112 posts
 
Karl-

An update on my Pass x-250 & REL situation-

I tried the balanced input on the Storm to no avail. Connected as Sumiko recommended, there is hardly any low-level output from the sub at all. I have to assume from this that the Pass is not a differential amp??

However, reconnected in the standard Hi-level Speakon input with the cables setup as I described (black to chassis ground) seemed to do the trick. I am going to call Sumiko back to verify, but this at least outputs levels that I thought it should.

I still have some fiddling to do - I also upgraded my Anthem AVM-20 to version 2.08 with the new DSP chip, and I am not sure where the biggest changes in sub operation came from - the new amp or the new programming. (I know - I made too many changes at once....)
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