Why the volume drop for this .5mv cartridge
@tlainhart 1V is the rated input to drive the Ragnarok to full output - note how in the specs here they are all referenced to 1V input. As I noted you are in effect using a passive pre into the 26dB power amp stage so getting no real preamp gain http://www.schiit.com/products/ragnarok |
Tlainhart, re 5 cm/sec, note in my post from 7-4-2012 which I linked to earlier that 5 cm/sec can mean two different things, which differ by 3 db. Re 26 db of gain being too low, note that I said 26 db is "very low for an integrated amp." The Vidar is a power amp, and as Folkfreak indicated earlier 26 db is a typical gain for a power amp. Also note that the 28 db figure for the Parasound Halo integrated applies to its power amp section. A separate figure of 10 db is presented for the gain of its preamp section, so its total gain is 38 db. As you’ll realize that is 12 db more than the gain of your Ragnarok. Generally speaking gains provided by integrated amps tend to fall in the area of 36 to 40 db or so, which approximately corresponds to the sum of the gains that would typically be provided by the combination of an active preamp and a power amp. Using a phono stage whose gain is appropriate for a particular cartridge in combination with a low gain integrated amp and a low sensitivity speaker can be expected to result in the volume control having to be used in the upper part of its range, as you’ve found with the Grado. As Folkfreak indicated, what is surprising is that the same issue doesn’t arise with the Ortofon. But as long as you never find yourself wanting to turn the volume control higher than its max setting, and you are happy with the sonics (as you appeared to indicate), as some of the others have said there’s no need to take any further action. Regards, -- Al |
@folkfreak @almarg (Al) - thanks for the education. I get it now - I didn't realize that there wasn't any real preamp gain. I assumed (without knowing anything) that since the Ragnarok had preamp outs, that there was something of signficance there, gain-wise. Looking at Schiit's other preamps, I see that their Sega has "1" for gain output, and the Freja has "14db" for their tube stage. Rogue Audio's preamps seem to have between 10 and 14 db for line-level gain. Thanks again -- Todd |
