Volume Control Too Sensitive

Total opposite, my preamps don’t even have signal til 45db

  the McCormack LD-2 and Sanders “preamp” have 1/2db attenuators, I press play, and turn up volume, no volume until the vol knob is above 45-50+ db on knob. 
 

 It’s nice, as when the Scotch is poured, and I’m in the mood, the vol is slow to increase, I love this!

 B and K pro10 and Onkyo p-308 volumes are more sensitive, and get louder much faster with vol knob!

 All preamps sound different, the Onkyo adding some deep tones to music, while others are more revealing, then Sanders  is quite revealing, allowing the recording to come through as it is on the cd/lp. 
 

Make sure Preamp is set internally to the lower setting. Use RCA’s instead of balanced, also check if you can change input sensitivity on the power amps. 

I recently purchased a well-reviewed & very powerful headphone amplifier that I have running off my DAC, which outputs 3.0 volts single-ended (50% higher than the nominal 2.0 volts output standard that gave me no gain issues).

Well, between that hot DAC output & the lack of any gain stages on this new amp, I found myself in claasic too-much-gain territory--ie, using the amp's volume pot at the extreme counterclockwise rotation with almost no real-world volume adjustment possible before the volume on headphones became intolerably loud.

So I got a pair of the 10 dB in-line RCA attenuators by Rothwell. These work exactly as described, and are quite transparent sonically: I listened before and after installation (w/approximately matched volumes) and couldn't hear any difference. 

So I recommend these attenuators.

Note that if this were for a huge, expensive 2-channel system in the living room, I might escalate to a pricey passive volume controller known to be uber-transparent. 

I really am enjoying all of these wise ass comments your giving me. I guess it gives you a hardon to insult those with questions. Such brilliant comments such as 'buy a better preamp' FYI, the Bryston BP-26 was rated high by the Absolute Sound magazine. I know magazines have their own agenda, but there is a point where after doing research, you go based on what information you gather.

The input sensitivity of your Class’e amps are 1 volt. That is on the low side. Like I originally suggested all you need to do is add an attenuator. It is no big deal to do that. I use the Schiit SYS to solve the problem that I had with my high gain preamp!

Here are the specs for the Class’e!

Specifications

Power output: 200 watts into 8Ω (mono)

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz

Total harmonic distortion: 0.004%

Gain: 29.02 dB

Input sensitivity: 1V

Signal to noise ratio: 135dB

Speaker load impedance: 4Ω (minimum)

Dimensions: 11.5 x 16 x 9.5 inches

Weight: 48lbs