will
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Nice overview mrchipster. Interesting and important that the CXNv2 with ModWright mods, with transformer coupling, giving the same voltage out RCA or XLR, and that you like the ZBIT as a way to lower gain.
For a long time, my amp, speakers, and room needed pretty maxed out "volume" for deeper late night immersion listening, on the edge for strong transient distortions. This made it more obvious that stacking pre-stages can be tricky with how the components can use what comes before, and how the signal changes. I am thinking that each stage, gradually tuning and enhancing signal qualities, though as you say, the sonic potential can be pretty amazing, it seems a powered up signal has its costs for ultimate volume before distortion. Aside from, and associated with how each component tolerates the incoming signal, I am thinking that with progressively increasing signal "strength," including dynamics, the transients are faster and more powerful at a given volume, causing distortion at a little lower overall volume if your amp is pushed near its limits.
So I think progressively tuning signal clarity, speed, density, lucidity....the signal "strength" we can get with synergistic gain tuning, can sound really complex and beautiful, and also compound even subtle challenges already there in how the components fit together.
For many of us who's DAC's XLRs put out a higher voltage, seems we use the ZBIT for a tunable net gain increase. But how you use the ZBIT to lower gain makes sense to me from my experience with relatively high gain DACs I have had followed by one or several signal altering stages in sequence. I first noticed it with the ZStage quite a while back...I thought turning down the DAC signal some (in my case using my player software), the Zstage seemed to fit better relative to subtle distortions, while making gain tuning a little freer before audible distortion. I have not looked into this, the DAC still putting out the same voltage, but without knowing technically why, it seems to help lowering the signal before the DAC some. Any thoughts on that?
Then, later, having several stages before the amp, the beauty that can be found with different, but complimentary ways of altering the signal sound, initial gain consideration remained ... For me, with the gains I prefer for sound, it all seems close... and generally, when I notice an overload through a component, or from the signal being tuned up by all together, it is with certain recordings, and not at all on lots of others. But I need my system to work across recordings, and I have been close to power edges in my room, so this stuff is important for me.
As much testing as you did, am I guessing right that using the ZBIT to lower the gain before the ZRock, you still like signal modifications you get from the ways the ZBIT transformers, potentiometer, wires, connectors, and cables tune the signal qualities?
I have had hum challenges with my ZRock2 version also, and I use the same chain as you... DAC-ZBIT-ZRock2-CSP3.... all pretty highly modified, so all things, including noise, are quite clear. I have not tried the ZRock after the CSP3, but can image that could be pretty wild!
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