Thanks Erno. That helps explain why I have less noise in my system with Iconoclast XLR cables. FWIW, I like the Townshend Fractal cables a lot, and they are much easier to route than Iconoclast, but I prefer to have the same cables throughout, and my brain has convinced my ears they sound slightly better. 
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Erno thank you so much for all the research and the patient explanations for people like me. Iâm happy to say that your advised configuration is working out as well for me as it has for Greg.
Iâm sure itâs hard to grapple with some of the different scenarios, particularly when some of them are hypotheticals for now.
I donât (yet) have any of the T+A gear, but know that theyâre going to feature in an upcoming audition. The things Iâve learnt on this forum (and tried at home) have meant that I now approach possible purchases with a bit more thought than I used to. Seems some time spent matching equipment pays off! Hence me trying to work out whether I should consider T+Aâs PA3100HV integrated or the A3000HV power amp with the Allegri Reference that I love so much. Your posts are helping enormously.
Speaking of whichâŚand bringing this post a bit more on topicâŚI spent a very, very enjoyable weekend working out whether it would be the Pass XP-30 or the Allegri Reference sticking around for the New Year.
The answer for me was the Townshend. It wasnât my preferred choice for everything, but had choosing favourites been easy it wouldnât have taken all weekend! More often than not, the Allegri had my grin wider and my feet tapping harder, and thatâs why I spend the time and the cashish.
The XP-30 is an incredible preamp, and it wasnât at all difficult to find it a new home. Highly recommended. It has has left a rather large hole in my rack â I especially miss its look. Going from an industrial full-width, three-boxer to the diminutive half-width Allegri is taking some getting used to.
For my simple needs (one input and a way to bleed away some of the 6V from the DAC) though, the Allegri Reference has worked out brilliantly. Bring on the tunes!
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Ben, I have started looking at my savings, in case I could not resist, after a home demo of the Allegri Reference. I found a dealer nearby⌠First resolution for 2021 
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Ha â Iâll end up trying the Benchmark as you try the Allegri Ref 
A fair exchange 
Congrats Ben! Took me a while to get accustomed to the deep but narrow appearance of the Allegri Ref, but I no longer give it a second thought. And the sound is just superb.
Hi.
Is it possible that my Bartok sounds much more better with 6v rather then 2v?
I mean more vivid and brilliant?
Or is just suggestion and it just a volume matter?
I have made a lot of tests and seem to be that 6v is really better.
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Owning a Bartok for almost two years now, I definitely prefer the 6v output setting. So much more dynamic. I have an Audio Research Ref 6 preamp and that can take 15v on the XLR inputs before overloading.
I guess you might hope dynamics would improve with 6v. But what for me was unexpected, is the ambient space or atmosphere of a (good) recording is more palpably present. Difficult to put into words, hope it makes sense.
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Thanks!
Exactly my opinion.
I have and Audio Research too (An integrated Dsi200).
I was afraid it was suggestion.
But I am experiencing a real difference.
ambient space or atmosphere are the right words
Naim 500 series user here. I prefer the 6V setting on my Rossini.
Dunc also runs a Naim 500 set and uses 6V as well.
Best
Gregg
I prefer the 2V over the 6V setting on my Vivaldi into my Momentum HD pre-amp. I have a bit more flexibility with the volume control and âifâ there is a SQ differences between the two voltages it isnât worth considering in my set-up.
Yes, the choice of voltage setting is very much related to the individual circumstances of the user. That is why dCS have made it a choice, there is no universally applicable " best".
Like you 2V is the optimum line level voltage for me. 6V into my preamp would exceed the rated maximum output voltage of 5V so I see a potential problem there. Directly into my power amps ( sensitivity 0.5V) I would find myself with the volume control set between -30dBfs and -20dBfs. Too much resolution loss and kind of awkward as a user experience too.
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Hi to all, I am new here and would like to drop some idea about volume control and level matching of Bartok and power amp input voltage. I also have a pair of Pass Labs XA 60.8 an there are still breaking in (2nd week now) and currently as digital front end still a Lindemann Musicbook Source. My BartĂłk is ordered and will arrive in 5 weeks. Now, I experienced when using Roon and its ability to upsample to 64Bit, then reduce the level to e.g. -20dB oder even -30dB, then convert back to Bit Level of original signal, I can turn up the analogue volume control of Lindemann Source to 90% or 100% and have a significant (!) better overall sounds - more dynamics etc. Now couldnât âthis solutionâ be an appropriate way to adapt Bartokâs Level of 6V to input sensitivity of 1,1V of Pass Labs XA 60.8 amp? The signal path could be kept as short as possible and some funds could be saved. Thank you very much in advance for any helpful response to this idea. Best, Robert
Maybe this is useful to read, as it also is about the XA 60.8:
Hi Erno, thank you. Yeah, the 6V setting achieves best signal quality of Bartok, that is why I thought one could spare out a preamp by digitally upsampling to 64 Bit and THEN lowering level -30 DB in ROON. This would make possible top directly connect Bartok to Pass XA 60.8 without using the volume control of Bartok at all or only a very little bit. And if there is need to listen at higher level, one could set Level in Roon to less reduction, say -20 dB etc⌠What do you think? Best, Rob
I think it is best not to touch the incoming signal, before it gets processed in BartĂłk. I set Roon to 0dB out, and leave all processing to BartĂłk. Then the output of BartĂłk has to be adapted to the input sensitivity of a power amp. This can be done by BartĂłk itself, in this case at 2V out, and use its volume knob. If you must have 6V out, then use a preamp. This way you use everything in the chain as intended.
The compromise you suggest, just to save a preamp, on paper is to negatively influence the source signal (upsampling and DSP in Roon), which you cannot correct afterwards anymore. You probably will have created distortion and a lower SNR. Actually you use Roon as a digital preamp, to pass the digital preamp function of BartĂłk.
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Thank you, I understand your point.
Since my Pass XA 60.8 should not get much more than 1,1 V at balanced input, I would in fact have to set Bartok to 2V.
How do you compare quality of sound of Bartok 2V vs. 6V? Thanks again.
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This whole topic is about 2V vs 6V. You may need to find out what your opinion is, once you have your BartĂłk. My conclusion was: 6V out into preamp (if your preamp can handle 6V in).
ok, thank you. Will see and post results here. Best