2. amps-preamps
  3. 1397944726

Using high powered amp at low volumes power

On my extreme near field desk based system (3 feet from the speakers) I've had a recurring problem of not getting enough "Attack" from the system, it seems too laid back. I am using a 400 watt amp, but since I am sitting so close to the speakers, the volume dial is very low. Would this have anything to do with the amount of attack the system seems to produce. I've been through a few amps, all hybrid amps, and they all seem to have similar results.

Specific setup:
Gallo Strada
Peachtree Grand Integrated Amp
nemesis1218
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
For low volume levels I would stay away from passive preamplification. Buffered active unity gain as implemented in McCormack preamps is the right choice. I use the lowest gain setting on my preamp which is adjustable.

Quiet volume listening on my setup is little to no compromise:

Mytek digital preamp --> Sunfire 300-II --> Aerial 10T

For some of the recordings I'd benefit from changing the gain settings on my preamp, but would rather not sneak under the chassis everytime I need to do that. User friendly preamp with external gain settings is encouraged after all.
puffbojie
115 posts
 
Does anyone know if a (higher end) class D amp such as Audio Research-type would run with less noise than solid state at low volumes if the 'high wattage' was exactly the same? Say 350 watts class D vs. 350 watts class A?
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Per design class D amps will have noise in lower volumes.
It dictates that SPEAKERS should be used with low sensitivity.
More to discover