6 channel amp with only 4 RCA outputs from the head unit

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

i wouldnt split it any more than once unless you have 4v or higher pre outs and even then i dont like having that many y adapters. You're supposed to use the y adapter at the head unit only according to the manuals i've read but i haven't seen any evidence for it, i think they put it in there for a reason though. you'll definitely have to adjust your gains accordingly for the loss in pre out voltage, consider a cheap line driver if you have any issues.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

i wouldnt split it any more than once unless you have 4v or higher pre outs and even then i dont like having that many y adapters. You're supposed to use the y adapter at the head unit only according to the manuals i've read but i haven't seen any evidence for it, i think they put it in there for a reason though. you'll definitely have to adjust your gains accordingly for the loss in pre out voltage, consider a cheap line driver if you have any issues.

You'd have to split it several times for the voltage to be noticeably affected.

Y cables are a parallel connection on the pre-amp.

Just like running two 4 ohm speakers in parallel on an amplifier channel reducing the output to 2 ohms -- A good amp will just double its power output -- so will a pre-amp.

But since the input impedance of an amplifier is so high, and the current demand is so low the pre-amp can double its output many times w/little effect on signal quality.

It's all beside the point though, since I don't think y's are needed for this application.