Must have been confusing to more that you since you are the only one who tried to reply. Thanks for that... Now... to put this is a simple a format as possible so as not to confuse let me try this................
1)tested Yamaha Z2 with PC amplified speakers - all works as expected 2)connected RCA inputs of Lepai amp to the Z2 RCA outputs - no sound 3)disconnected Yamaha and fed a 3.5mm phone jack from my cellphone output into the 3.5mm phone jack input of the Lepai - worked fine 4) connected my cell phone via RCA plugs into the Lepai inputs - worked fine 5) wondering if levels were the cause, I connected a scope up to the inputs of the Lepai and drove the Yamaha levels to the same amplitude as the cellphone using either RCA or 3.5mm jacks- still no output using the Lepai connected to the Yamaha
Now read these steps vs. what I originally wrote and see if my original helter skelter makes a bit more sense?
Now assuming you follow my steps 1 thru 5 in a LINEAR fashion as requested, what's your take on the situation?