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Bi-amping - Conrad Johnson CAV-50 & McIntosh MC275

Need some advise on the setting of the McIntosh MC275 volume pot.
Earlier today I hook-up my Conrad Johnson CAV-50 (integrated amp with pre-out, max. 45 Watts/ch) to the bi-wire input to drive the tweeter of my speakers, and then I connect the preamp output of the CAV-50 to the McIntosh MC275 (power amp, Max. 75 Watts/ch) to drive the woofers. Since there are 2 Volume potentiometers on the MC275, just wonder where should I set them to. Here are more info:

From the CAV-50's manual:
"PRE-OUT:
Connect this output to the input of a secondary amp......We recommend the use of an amp with an input impedance of 50k ohm or higher.....
Specifications:
Hum and Noise (PRE OUT): 94 dB below 2.5V"

From the MC275 manual:
"Sensitivity
1.2 Volt unbalance (since I am using RCA's, so I assume it's unbalance)
2.5 Volt balance
While the name plate of the amp MC275 specify:
Input Sensitivity
Unbalance - 1.2 V variable, 60 kohm
Balance - 2.5 V fixed, 180 kohm"

Again, where should I set the volume knobs to? 1.2 V or 2.5 V; or even somewhere in between to get the right balance of sound.
pioneer48

Showing 1 response by pioneer48

pioneer48 OP
11 posts
 
Thanks folks for all the ideas and comments.
What I did last night was:
1. using my regular preamp Joule Electra LM100MKII on the MC275 and get a feel of how it sounds.
2. Then put the CAV-50 back and adjust the MC275 to closely resemble the balance of high/low as with the Joule Electra.
I found the best balance is setting the volume control of the MC275 to approx. 3V around 10 O'clock position.
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