Fear of volume control


An audiophile friend of mine came over for a listening session yesterday and my set sounded better than I ever heard it. It turns out that I raised the volume control higher than normal, I guess to impress him.
Normally I place it around 12 to 1 o’clock. Yesterday I put it at between 2 and 3 o’clock.
Wow! What a difference. the room shook with the orchestra and organ at full tilt.
I was previously hesitant to push the volume much past 12 o’clock for fear of distorting the sound. There was no distortion whatsoever, just clean, beautiful, powerful sound.

Lesson learned!
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xrvpiano
Wow! What a difference. the room shook with the orchestra and organ at full tilt.
Music always sounds better at the normal volume it would be live (if your total system/room can handle it)

Cheers George
@tablejockey 

"2-3:00 o'clock-okay for few cuts, but just not healthy for long term hearing, particularly those among us with confirmed damage."

Not a very bright statement.  2-3.00 o'clock is different on each set up.  What it pushes out is a function of the gain in the system and the efficiency of the speakers.

If you want to warn us about our aural health then please work in decibels, that are universal.
Hello,
There is a lot of truth to all of this. Most preamps have attenuated volume controls. You are adding sound the louder you go. Streamers and DACs are notorious for this. I have a set of -10db RCA adapters for my TT setup just so I can get the volume louder to get the best sound possible. I know that some manufacturers use a variable gain output like Ayre instead of attenuating the input so this is not an issue. Even at very low volume you get full range of sound. I prefer this route so the subs play at the correct volume no matter what source I listen to. So the next time you are listening to Vinyl turn down the gain on the phono preamp and crank the volume on your preamp/ integrated amp. You will be amazed. Just remember to turn it back down before you listen to another source so you don’t blow your speakers.