Thanks for welcoming me and offering some guidance! Also, apologies if I should have posted in the “game changer” thread instead of here. If I could cut and paste my post, I would.
2. Great answer. That solves that!
3.,4. That’s nice that you’re using the upper end of your volume control for the most part. This is not the case in my current system, but because the ARC volume control has 103 steps, I find the adjustments are fine enough for my taste even though I never listen to anything louder than volume setting “75” (typical volume is around 20-40). I’ve been reading up on gain staging so that if and when I upgrade to a DEQX, I won’t have more gain than I need for proper volume range. I’ve seen that Bryston and Bel Canto amps have adjustment gain settings, the lower of which (around 23 db) might be more suitable for my needs. My speakers are rated 88db sensitivity and my room is on the small side of medium. After thinking about gain staging recently, I find it odd how little I see this mentioned in audio websites/magazines. I suppose it doesn’t matter much if you have a fantastic preamp, but not everyone does. I’m currently trying to learn more about the interplay between voltage gain, power output (watts per channel) and current delivery.
5. I think it’s telling that multiple posters to the DEQX threads have gone through the DEQX setup process, including with customer support and no one has mentioned speaker ports. I’ll take that as a sign that it doesn’t come into play very much in the company’s opinion.
10. Great answer. That solves that!
Lastly, I too had read John Darko’s recent review series on DEQX and am looking forward to part III. I hope he gives the crossover functionality a spin. It would be nice to get his take on integrating a subwoofer, but who knows if that’s his bag.