2. amps-preamps
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Please alleviate my fears

I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 840A v2 integrated driving a pair of Usher Dancer Mini 1 speakers. It sounds great, but I have concerns (hopefully unfounded). When the volume is all the way down, the digital readout is 95. This number decreases as the volume increases. I have to turn the volume control all the way from 95 to 50 before I hear anything from the speakers. At that point the music gets substantially louder quickly. When the readout reaches 8 the system is playing pretty close to concert levels (in fact, as loud as I've ever played it). But, it appears that I'm having to turn the amp up 85 to 90% of the way to achieve this volume (way more than my old Yamaha amp). Is this amp approaching it's clipping point (full power)? Is the visual representation showing the actual percentage of power this amp can produce? Or, is there headroom left between the 8 mark and 0? It has never sounded distressed. Thanks in advance for your shared knowledge and insight.
danoroo
danoroo OP
239 posts
 
@ Schubert

Yes. The Yamaha AS-2000 looks like an awesome piece, but it's even less powerful than the 840A. The only objection I have to the 840A is that apparently it lacks the muscle necessary to drive these speakers and maintain a level of headroom I'm comfortable with. What do you guys think of the Wyred 4 Sound STI line?
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 
Maybe the digital display should read -95, -65, -50, -8, etc. Maybe the LCD screen where the - or + should be is burned out.

My NAD T175HD pre/pro does not really get audible until around -50 on the display and I am using 200w Acurus amps in a 5.3 channel configuration. From -40 to -20 the volume really increases rapidly.

On the other hand, my older Luxman R-117 receiver jumps very quickly with a small turn of the knob with speakers of the same sensitivity.

Your "issue" could just be a voltage or volume gain difference between your Yamaha and your 840A.

Bill
danoroo OP
239 posts
 
@ Willland

My apologies Willland. The display does in fact say -95 etc. I just forgot to add the minus sign. I'm also thinking that maybe the reason why there is so much dead space before there is sound is because the input signal from the DacMagic is weak.
donjr
1,335 posts
 
according to the Yamaha website the A-S2000 is 2 x 120 watts (8 ohms).
martykl
3,578 posts
 
There are a lot of volume pots/readouts that work that way - a long span of inaudible, highly attenuated output and a digital indication of how far down the listening level is from unity gain. It doesn't necessarily mean anything at all regarding available headroom.

Marty
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