Too Much Gain the Issue ? (preamp and amp)

Hay @avanti1960,  I also own the Cary SLP-05 and my power amp is the Parasound JC5, which has an input gain dial for both channels.

There is no question that the output gain from the Cary is very high.   When I got my Cary earlier this year,  I was playing around by adjusting the output gain dials of the Cary and the input gain dials of the JC5.   

Parasound suggests the gain dials to be set a the maximum position whenever possible.  I do seem to agree with them.   I feel like I'm getting more bass, when the input gain dials are set at their max.

I finally settled on setting the output gain dials of the Cary at around the 3 o'clock position, and leave the JC5 input dials at max position.  I found that anything less than 3 o'clock on the Cary makes the sound a little lifeless.   Whereas setting them higher can sound a little bright on my system.

I'm pretty happy now with this settings.  My usual listening level is between 8 and 10 o'clock on Cary's volume dial.   It doesn't bother me that I can't use a wider range on the volume.  Anyway, the days of listening to loud music is over for me.  I need to preserve my aging hearing for as long as possible. 😀

BTW.  Cary support did tell me once that they have a gain reduction modification, which will bring the gain of the Cary down by 6db.  It costs $140 bench fee, plus labor and parts.   I didn't go for it.

Anyway, good luck, and hope this helps.

@avanti1960 sounds like you have a good plan. 

sibilant in the upper midrange - several issues can cause this

1-gain

2-bias adjustment

3-source

Happy Listening.

Here's a USA purchase source for Rothwell, but I'm not familiar with them (purchased mine almost 20 years ago).

They are listed under accessories and I think that I paid $40/pair ages ago.

I went for less expensive as the AI preamp was a loaner from a friend.

DeKay

I use Rothwell 10db XLR attenuators and they work wonders between my tube pre and power amp..  I bought them new from Analogue Seduction on EBay and received them from the UK in less than a week.