Hi RV,
The root cause of the issue is that like many Conrad Johnson preamps yours has higher gain than most. Although many other CJ models have considerably higher gain than even yours. The PV-11 specs being 47 db for the moving magnet/high output moving coil phono stage and 18 db for the line stage, those numbers closely corresponding to Stereophile’s measurements.
My suggestion is that you insert Rothwell attenuators into the input jacks of your power amp. They come in 10 db, 15 db, and 20 db versions. I suspect that the 10 db version would result in volume control settings roughly in the area of 11:30 on the dial, and the 15 db version would result in settings in the area of 1:00. I would choose one of those two, rather than the 20 db version which I suppose might increase the possibility of unwanted side-effects.
Over the years here some members have reported compromises to dynamics or other unwanted side-effects using Rothwell attenuators, while others have had very positive experiences with them (including me in a past incarnation of my system, using the 10 db version). I suspect that some of the reasons for that discrepancy involve impedance considerations specific to the particular system. I wouldn’t want to speculate as to whether or not that would be an issue in your particular case, but given the cost of these attenuators it seems to me to be a very reasonable gamble.
Finally, I would strongly recommend against any other brand of inline attenuator, as I know that some of the others have impedances that are too low to be suitable for use in many and perhaps most consumer-oriented/non-pro applications.
Best regards,
-- Al
The root cause of the issue is that like many Conrad Johnson preamps yours has higher gain than most. Although many other CJ models have considerably higher gain than even yours. The PV-11 specs being 47 db for the moving magnet/high output moving coil phono stage and 18 db for the line stage, those numbers closely corresponding to Stereophile’s measurements.
My suggestion is that you insert Rothwell attenuators into the input jacks of your power amp. They come in 10 db, 15 db, and 20 db versions. I suspect that the 10 db version would result in volume control settings roughly in the area of 11:30 on the dial, and the 15 db version would result in settings in the area of 1:00. I would choose one of those two, rather than the 20 db version which I suppose might increase the possibility of unwanted side-effects.
Over the years here some members have reported compromises to dynamics or other unwanted side-effects using Rothwell attenuators, while others have had very positive experiences with them (including me in a past incarnation of my system, using the 10 db version). I suspect that some of the reasons for that discrepancy involve impedance considerations specific to the particular system. I wouldn’t want to speculate as to whether or not that would be an issue in your particular case, but given the cost of these attenuators it seems to me to be a very reasonable gamble.
Finally, I would strongly recommend against any other brand of inline attenuator, as I know that some of the others have impedances that are too low to be suitable for use in many and perhaps most consumer-oriented/non-pro applications.
Best regards,
-- Al