Barix Exstreamer Impedances

[CityRadio91.9]

Does anyone know the impedance ratings for the Barix Exstreamer 110?

[ChiefEngineer]

10k ohm I think the book says.

Are you using mp3 in to the system?

I would have expected for the format you would have used an uncompressed stl.

[sonic]

Chuck - I've looked everywhere and cannot find an ounce of literature or anything via their website that confirms the output being unbalanced 10K....can you confirm where you read that?

[Chuck]

Just about every modern solid state audio device uses an opamp for the audio output.  They typically have an output impedance in the 10-15 ohm range.  Although there might be an exception, I can't recall any common devices that are less than 125 ohms output impedance.  For that reason, I think it is fine to consider the Barix as a low impedance source.  Unless you are feeding a terminating resistor that represents a load of less than 125 ohms or so, you will have no problem.  Going from a low impedance source to a higher impedance load will almost always work fine.  The only issue will be level.  From my experience, the Barix has plenty of poop to overcome most situations.   

Keep in mind that most all modern audio equipment that does not have a transformer input (whether it is balanced or unbalanced) has a usual input impedance of 10,000-15,000 ohms.  They may rate it at 600 ohms, but that is a reference for signal to noise and other measurements.  In reality, it is usually much higher than that.  Even a lot of modern stuff that does have a transformer is really in the area of 15K ohms input impedance.  This is done so you can parallel several devices (amplifiers, for instance) across the same source without having to use a distribution amplifier.  The only real exception to this rule is some vintage audio gear which really was designed with a 600 ohm terminating resistor at the input.  That was usually precision equipment built by RCA, Western Electric, etc. 

Unless you are dealing with a lot of tube type audio equipment, just plug the Barix box in, add a level matching box if you don't have enough drive (Henry's Matchbox is a good one) and move on to the next project.

[LA_Guy]

Ask and you shall receive:

Output impedance: 10 ohms
Output will drive any load from 8 ohms upward (the output amp is a 120 milliwatt per channel stereo amplifier).

The headphone output comes off the same amplifier, but its output coupling caps are half the value of the main outputs (60 vs 120 uf). To get low end down below 50 hz, I'd suggest running the main outputs into a load impedance of 25 ohms or higher.