Audiophile Loudness Wars—Too Much again!?

Setting up the system for the amount of gain you need or want is an important consideration. I can say that the loudness wars are real and the best equipment is the kind that grows on you not the stuff that just sounds loud on first listen.

Get an inline stereo attenuator; then, just adjust it to get the reduction in gain that you’re looking for. 

I have to wonder if the excess gain is in response to the jokers who think an amp is underpowered if they have to turn the volume control to 2:00 before their ears start to bleed.

Get an inline stereo attenuator; then, just adjust it to get the reduction in gain that you’re looking for.

And use it instead for the volume control, and get rid of the unnecessary gain, noise, and distortion, introducing active preamp.

Cheers George

Hi everybody,

If we back to the end of the eighties ,most of the tube preamp were fitted with phono stage .

My favorite preamp like  Pv 8, Pv 9a from Conrad johnson were terrific in term of matters and dynamic....
The pot volume was rarely set over 9 o'clock  in normal listening..

So'  the definition of loundness  means  an increase of volume but imply a reduction of dynamic, 
( increase of average power and decrease of 
The final sound lost in matter in many case, the dynamic is the main criteria to save in live music...

It is just an "old school audiophile point of view" but the true is in between depending of listening habits...

Raymond