Please Recommend a Low Gain Solid State Amp ARC


Hi all,

The amplifier I am using is a McCormack DNA-125, which has 30db of gain. I have an Audio Research SP8 MkII preamplifier. I had Audio Research lower the gain in my SP8 recently, but needless to say, the volume through my Vandersteen 3A Signatures still gets loud in a hurry. I was wondering if someone could please recommend a low gain, solid state Audio Research amplifier that is rated between 100-200 watts per channel? I do not want a tube amplifier, and I do not want to get rid of my precious (SP8 MkII).

Thank you!
distortions
Bad idea since the preamp will not be stable. It's been designed for a specific feedback and increasing it to lower the gain may bring amp to oscillation.
I had ARC reduce the gain on my SP8 a couple months ago. I was told by the service manager that they do lots of gain reductions on SP8's and their other older preamps. ARC said that reducin gain might lead to a slight loss of transparency, but that it would not be noticeable. ARC also replaced all of the original caps with new Nichicons. One of the caps was indeed faulty.
I bet ARC had to do lots of tweaking of their circuit to reduce the gain. Transparency loss is due to the excessive feedback they have to apply. Their preamps designed to be best with tape or analogue sources.
Yep, I think their preamps were designed with phono and tape in mind, esp. the SP10. I was told that the service tech removed a resistor on the bottom of the board, and they left it hanging so I can re-solder it if I should want full gain again.
Yes, an old trick with ARC preamps is to run CD into the tape monitor input, you get higher gain but more transparency.
For amplifiers the std is usually 26db, I had Rowland amplifiers that had adjustable gain internally from 20db to 32db, you might want to check those out.