XMC-1 noisefloor

[smarties]

I'm looking for a new av pre-amp. Currently have a Lexicon MC-8 unbalanced V2.
ATI 2003 for front three, ATI 2004 for side and rears.

The ATI's have a high amount of gain at 34dB on RCA, with 28 on XLR, so there is a little bit of hiss when the MC-8 switches on.  With the amps on, but with the Lexicons off it is dead silent. But when I switch on the MC-8, there is hiss.

I would prefer XLR av pre-amp.  The ATI's have lower gain on XLR, but I believe with XLR it's double the voltage output from the av pre-amp? So does that mean hiss would be the same, if I had a MC-8B?

Or if I compare any other av pre-amp with RCA and XLR pre-outs?

My subwoofer also has XLR, and have bought a full set of 8 XLR cables.

What is the noise floor with the XMC-1?

I'm not looking for something with all bells and whistles, from the backplate the XMC-1 is sufficient. There's the Marantz AV7702 mark I which is a bit bulky and has legacy connections like composite and component.

[repeetavx]

Lexicon only has one spec for the "Main" audio performance of its MC-8 preamp:

THD + Noise • Below 0.008% at 1kHz, maximum output level
Dynamic Range • 108dB minimum, 111dB typical, 22kHz bandwidth
Signal-to-Noise Ratio • 108dB minimum, 111dB typical, 22kHz bandwidth

While Emotiva lists four specs of the audio performance of the XMC-1:

Balanced Input to Balanced Output (Reference Stereo Mode)
THD: <0.0005% @ 1 kHz
THD: < 0.002% (20 Hz to 20 kHz)
IMD: < 0.004% @ 1 kHz
S/N ratio: > 123 dB (A weighted)

Unbalanced Input to Unbalanced Output (Reference Stereo Mode)
THD: <0.0007% @ 1 kHz
THD: < 0.003% (20 Hz to 20 kHz)
IMD: < 0.005% @ 1 kHz
S/N ratio: > 114 dB (A weighted)

Digital Input to Balanced Analog Output (HDMI PCM)
THD: < 0.00025% @ 1 kHz
THD: < 0.002% (20 Hz to 20 kHz)
S/N ratio (all main channels): > 110 dB (A weighted)
S/N ratio (subwoofer channels) > 100 dB (A weighted)

Analog-to-Digital Converters
(Analog Input to Analog Output via digital signal path)
THD: <0.0007% @ 1 kHz
THD: < 0.0007% (20 Hz to 20 kHz)
IMD: < 0.005% @ 1 kHz
S/N ratio: > 106 dB (A weighted)

So I doubt that the change in preamps would make much difference in your hiss problem. I would be curious to hear about your opinions between the two DACs.

[etc6849]

I noticed less hiss going from Marantz AV8801 to XMC-1. Was driving an ATI AT2007 amp using XLR inputs at the time.