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Psychological effects of volume control

I just bought a new DAC and found the volume control on my preamp has to be boosted way beyond my normal settings in order for me to reach an acceptable level of sound.
Although there is no distortion or clipping in the amplifier, I somehow feel the sound is compromised even though objectively I know it is much better than before, as the DAC is far better quality than the old one. It’s just my reaction to boosting that volume control.
Does anyone else have this type of neurotic reaction to changes?
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gdhal
1,641 posts
 
@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. 
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shadorne
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@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...
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gdhal
1,641 posts
 
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 :)
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