This is interesting: RCA vs XLR/RCA output

I love my A8 so much I picked up a A6ME for my patio system .
My amp is an old B&K EX-442 200w /ch , dual mono I’ve owned for 30+ years and works perfectly - recently serviced.
It only has RCA inputs.

I hooked up the new A6 via RCA cables and selected RCA as the output.
The volume was VERY low - much lower than I would have thought since it outputs over 2v RCA and the input sensitivity of the amp is only 1.55v for full power …. Had to turn the volume to -20db to get decent volume - not the way my Cambridge 851n reacted with 2v output via RCA into same amp.

I was puzzled …

After a few hours I selected XLR/RCA output just to see what would happen - and the output doubled… perfect !

selecting XLR/RCA must provide the RCA outputs with the XLR’s full 5v vs the RCA’s 2.5v.

is this normal ?

Bk

 

All I can say is, when you select an output for the very first time, it’s set to -100 dB.

I only use the XLRs but find no difference between XLR and XLR/RCA. It would very much surprise me if your A6ME doubled the voltage through RCA only.

 

Read the specs,
https://www.eversolo.com/Product/spec/model/DMP-A6/target/7abWHw++oHhKKmVViAFMcQ==.html

Keith

 

Yes Keith , I’m aware of the specs …

why is the output doubled when selecting XLR/RCA vs RCA ?
Can you try it on one of yours ?

bk

 

Have you actually measured, I will get the meter out and report back.
Keith

 

Thanks…no need to measure … just see if the volume increases substantially when switching outputs…

bk

 

Out of curiosity I switched to XLR/RCA which is much quieter than RCA output

 

So... isn't there a volume memory for each output...?!? Can you please check, and set them all to, say, -40dB and then check again resulting volume among them?

 

not applicable to the A6 , just the A8 …

bk

 

Not sure y’all understand what’s going on …

if you have an A6 hooked up to an amp via RCA cables , go to the input page and toggle between the RCA and XLR/RCA buttons and see if the volume changes …

bk

 

The volume changes when you switch inputs, reverting to the default volume for each input.

 

I’m talking about the outputs , not the inputs .

bk

 

That is the point:
If the outputs have a volume memory, that could be the culprit. Just select Analog RCA, and check the volume level (what is displayed, not by your ears...). Then select XLR/RCA and do the same.

 

The output of balanced XLR is double the voltage of the unbalanced RCA. Difference is balanced XLR is 6dB louder. This is normal.

 

We are not talking about that.
The problem is that RCA output seems to be different if you select XLR/RCA or Analog RCA. It should not, but apparently it does.

 

Thanks for clarifying that. I might drag my DMP-A6 into the lab later today and run a few tests to confirm if there are any differences other than the expected 6dB in the various output mode selections.

 

That would be awesome!

 

Okay, I just finished the analogue output measurements on my DMP-A6. All measurements were performed by playing back a LPCM 16 bit / 44.1kHz sampling rate signal as a 1kHz test tone recorded at 0dBfs from the player's internal SSD.

Output voltages recorded with analogue output connectors terminated into a 10Kohm resistive load (which is a realistic simulation of the input impedance of most modern solid state power amplifiers). Output was set to fixed gain (pass through mode).

Output selected as Analog-RCA only : 2.5v RMS
Output selected as BAL-XLR only : 5.0v RMS
Output selected as XLR/RCA : 2.5v RMS from the RCA sockets; 5.0v RMS from the XLR connectors (which is a 6dB difference).

I investigated if the RCA and XLR outputs interacted in any way, so with XLR/RCA output selected on the DMP-A6 I short circuited each output independently, and yes they are truly independent. Short circuiting the RCA outputs had no effect on the output of the XLR sockets output and vice versa.

Conclusion: DMP-A6 operates according to the manufacturer's specifications for analogue audio output voltages. Of course it is entirely possible that the analogue outputs of the DMP-A6ME are differently configured to that of the DMP-A6. I don't have the ME so unfortunately I can't measure it.
I didn't measure the output impedances. I will be happy to do that if anyone specifically really needs to know.

 

Always good to have correct operation confirmed.

 

So, in the end, is it correct that:
1. RCA output is at 2.5VRMS Max, independently of what output type is selected
2. There is a different (remembered by the Eversolo) volume per every OUTPUT TYPE, so that, for example, the following scenario would be true:

Analog-RCA - volume set to -40dB
BAL-XLR - volume set to -36dB
XLR/RCA - volume set to -32db

I seem to remember such a functionality, just need confirmation.
This would easily explain the difference in volume encountered by the OP...

@Alan Rutlidge thank you for your time and patience.