At least your speakers are not too sensitive 
All other components seem to contribute to excessive gain, especially in balanced mode. The Cary is probably the worst offender. It is an obviously bad idea to feed its output into a box with additional gain.
What i would do is modify one of the REF3 AUX inputs with a fixed resistor divider. Not sure about the exact additional attenuation but something in the order of 3:1 or 5:1 seems appropriate to get the ARC attenuators into a more usable range. A series resistor of something like 68-100k and a 20k-40k shunt to ground. Once the optimum values have been established i would get two pairs of nice nude Vishays and solder them between the input jacks and the relay board. If you are reluctant to solder inside the ARC you can probably modify a pair of interconnects with the divider inside the XLRs.
All other components seem to contribute to excessive gain, especially in balanced mode. The Cary is probably the worst offender. It is an obviously bad idea to feed its output into a box with additional gain.What i would do is modify one of the REF3 AUX inputs with a fixed resistor divider. Not sure about the exact additional attenuation but something in the order of 3:1 or 5:1 seems appropriate to get the ARC attenuators into a more usable range. A series resistor of something like 68-100k and a 20k-40k shunt to ground. Once the optimum values have been established i would get two pairs of nice nude Vishays and solder them between the input jacks and the relay board. If you are reluctant to solder inside the ARC you can probably modify a pair of interconnects with the divider inside the XLRs.
If you decide to get a bit more adventurous it won't be difficult to convert the ARC to just a cathode follower. It shouldn't take more than removing two tubes, lifting one side of a resistor and putting a link inside a tube socket. All entirely reversible and safe. Sound should gain a bit in transparency.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.