I just wanted to say thanks for the VERY fast help I received from people here with my balanced input problem and the bad adapters. Thanks folks! My test cable to verify the issue was just using alligator clips, so after a bit of a soldering session, I made this balanced TRS > RCA franken-cable that will work well enough until the correct adapters that I ordered show up:
Now that I can actually listen to the PA5, it sounds fantastic and has more than enough power for my Revel M105's near field, even with unbalanced inputs. My ears hurt long before I get to the top. The pic below is my new stack all hooked up.
Signal path is: Mac > (USB) D10s > (optical) E30 > L30 > SX45 > splits to PA5 and Sub
USB on my MacBook Pro is noisy. You can gear GPU/CPU noise clearly in the tweeters, and the only way I've found to isolate it is to convert to optical to decouple grounds from the Mac, so that's why the D10s is in there. The SX45 is in there because no matter how much I tried, I just could NOT get a good mix with my sub without a real crossover. Just using the sub's crossover to try and match the Revel M105's did not provide a good smooth blend.
Why did I get a PA5 (I know you didn't ask but I'm going to share)? Building a hi-fi system in my office has been a new project of mine. I recently got a NAD 3020 V2 thinking it would be perfect for this, and I really liked it at first, but the sub sounded bolted-on (the NAD doesn't have a crossover). I added a Rolls SX45, which gave me the seamless speaker/sub blend I was looking for, but requires me to use the NAD's analog input, and means the NAD is then just an amp, so the other inputs didn't get a sub, volume control was awkward, the headphone jack was useless since it was after the high pass filter, and it standby mode doesn't work with analog input. Still in the return window, it's going back to Amazon. The replacement L30/E30/PA5 sound no different to my ears, which is great new because the NAD sounds excellent. Based on measurements, any difference would likely be placebo. The main win for me is that since my setup is now separates, it's easy to insert the crossover into the path, and usability is much better.
As an aside, this Rolls SX45 crossover is headed to Amir for measurements after the holidays. Other than the SX45 and the miniDSP, the next small desktop sized crossover is probably the
K231 at $500, or miniDSP's more expensive units like the new Flex. I may end up there, but I want to see how this SX45 measures first. I don't have high expectations, only high hopes.
Oh... the other nice thing is the PA5 is quite a bit smaller than the NAD, and it doesn't get as warm: