replacing the jumpers on my integrated amp

[michael_w]

The guy that I bought my kimber heros off of told me that replacing the little jumpers that go inbetween my #2 preout and the main in makes a huge difference. My question is what kind of wire should I be using for this? The original one is just a metal bar on the positive...

http://geocities.com/minilegolas/pics/pin1.jpg http://geocities.com/minilegolas/pics/pin2.jpg

[F1nut]

Never had any gear with those jumpers, but this is my educated opinion. If you're not going to use that feature and want to clean up the signal path, go inside, clip the leads to those posts, solder the appropriate wires together, tape them and call it a day.

[gmorris]

I thought I was pretty knowledgable when it came to this stuff, but what the hell is that? I've never seen jumpers on an amp. Can someone explain this?

[polkatese]

up till about 10 years ago, it is very common for integrated amp to have an modular design of the preamp and amp sections separately, so that you can expand the system both ways (i.e. add amp or pre-amp, depending your needs). In fact, I sold my Denon AVC3030 to a fellow member, Ryan (he was long gone, I think) a couple of years ago (time flies, I guess) and forgot to send him the jumper (since I had it replaced with a better quality interconnect). So, we ended up spent a good hour, trying to figure out what was wrong with the sound, until I remembered about it.

[michael_w]

mm I'd rather not do any internal modification like that since I might be adding an external amp in the near future. What polkatese said... with the jumper in place it is usable as an integrated amp but with it removed it disconnects the amplifier section so that I can use it as just a pre if I choose to buy an external amplifier. (or vice versa and use it as an amp)

Thanks for the replies.

[F1nut]

In that case, just leave it alone, buy the amp and call it a day.

[michael_w]

lol jeeze you guys always tryin to get me to buy more stuff :p ... I'm workin towards that still, not like I don't have the cash for it I'm just trying to ease myself into the hobby and stretch out my cash while I still have it. (not going to have money in a couple years while at school)

[dkg999]

The NAD C720BEE receiver I just bought has the same type of connection between the pre and main amps, so I think this feature is making a comeback, as I have also seen it on some other high-end integrated amps. You coud just substitute a set of short IC's and see if it makes an improvement.

[Polkitup2]

I use these on my NAD C370 and I could hear an improvement over the stock jumpers.

[michael_w]

Those are nice... where'd ya get them? I was thinking of making a set instead but wasn't sure what kind of cable to use since I've never done diy cable. Would I use a coax style cable or could I use speaker wire....?

edit: found them here (http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AAQFPS) but ouch $40 usd... I think I'll stick to making my own.

[faster100]

That small 2" jumper should not make that big a difference... id either leave it stock until ya get an amp or use some 12 -14 awg wire and call it a day. its to short a run to worry about IMO..

[michael_w]

Well I tried some ratshack cables in place of the jumpers. I switched between the two about 5 times and didn't really hear anything. I guess the person that I bought my cables off of and told me to do this either had really crappy stock ones or he replaced them with rediclously good cables.

[dorokusai]

I would think twice about any internal modifications, as it RARELY helps retail resale when you're an amatuer DIY.

You're thinking too much, stick with the stock jumpers.

If you choose to go into jumpers, just make your own and sleep on it.

[michael_w]

Yea I'm definatly not going to do internal modifications to something that I have bought brand new and spend lots of money on. If it was a 75 dollar dvd player or something I might think about it but I'm not touching my NAD. I'm one of those people who is paranoid about keeping their stuff mint and keeping everything in case of resale, although I'll probably own it for a long time.

I'll keep an eye out for some inexpensive plugs but until then I guess I'll put off this project since I now know that it won't be a defining factor of sound quality.