Psychological effects of volume control

Silly question perhaps, nevertheless, I'll ask the resident experts herein.

Would having to raise the volume at the pre-amp (in the OPs case) be the same if he had an *integrated amp*?

In my experience when an amp is at 12 or above, even when all source components are powered off, if I put my ear to the speakers tweeter I can hear enough of a "sizzle" to know with certainty the amp is powered on. There is a point where the volume can be lowered enough where the sizzle is inaudible. Isn't any amp distorting that much more as the volume raised? And if so, then why would it be desirable to raise the volume control instead of lowering it to achieve the same decibel level?

@shadorne 

I surmise you may not have subscribed to this thread. I'd be appreciative if you were to provide an answer to the questions I've asked in my previous posts herein. 

@gdhal

It is always best to have your line level equipment run close to maximum when the sound is as loud as you can stand. Just like analog tape should always be recording close to the red on peaks. The idea is you want to use the full dynamic range of your equipment. If you never exceed 1/100 of the volume on an amp then you have lost a lot of dynamic range and sone important details may be close to the noise floor.

The best electronic equipment I know of has a S/N in excess of -130 dB which is amazing and will never give you the slightest hint of hiss. Most conventional gear is around -100 dB. Also some Class AB power amps are quite noisy at 1 watt whereas their specifications are impressive at full power where they perform better (these amps can hiss a lot on a 103 dB sensitivity speaker) . All line level gear should be Class A so Performance is often good through the range except at low levels.

Integrated amps are the same - if you never get past 9 AM then the amp is too powerful for your needs/speakers and you are losing dynamic range and S/N performance.

Another reason to keep levels as high as possible without clipping or saturation is to minimize ground loops and RF/EM interference on line level interconnects...

I appreciate that explanation @shadorne . In my case, my amp (Musical Fidelity M6si) is rated at >107dB S/N (‘A’ - weighted). If I use balanced input with volume at 9 (precisely), I usually get around 85db (average) of sound. Average meaning it fluctuates between 60db and 92db. Can this be used as an indicator to determine if I am getting the necessary dynamic range? (not listening to ravel’s bolero, but rock music)

I am using a Dawson DSM101N multi-meter to measure the SPL. Not a scientific instrument, but it is better than nothing. 

And yes, there are times I throttle up to say 10:30, and have produced 101db :)