- RE: Volume control - DanK tubes 19:57:47 07/02/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by StevenJ on June 30, 2009 at 18:59:50
Just to be safe you should look at the schematic for the preamp to make sure the are compatible.
Here is a situation I ran into. I built an RCA phono stage that had enough gain to drive directly into my amps. It was one of my first projects and I didn't think about it much when I built it. Both the phono stage and the power amps had volume controls. I noticed it sounded different when I compared two scenarios of volume up and down. Looking at the phono schematic (see link) I realized that the output had a coupling cap before the volume control. This is fine if you are driving directly into a grid of another tube (almost no current flow). But with the volume pot at the input of the power amp, I effectively set up a high pass filter with the roll off frequency tied to the phono volume pot.
With a preamp you are probably fine, but you might want to check the schematic to see that you don't have this problem.
Dan
- RE: Volume control - OFC 18:03:59 07/01/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by StevenJ on June 30, 2009 at 18:59:50
FYI, I believe Shindo recommends, when possible, to adjust the amplifier so the pre amp's volume control is in the 12:00 range while listening.
- RE: Volume control - danlaudionut 13:01:14 07/01/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by StevenJ on June 30, 2009 at 18:59:50
Steve
What I would do is -
1) Turn the amp all the way up
2) Adjust the preamp to as loud as
you will ever want it plus some
(Giving you the max signal to the amp)
3) Then use the amp volume control
DanL
- RE: Volume control - Paul Joppa 19:35:01 06/30/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by StevenJ on June 30, 2009 at 18:59:50
Assuming both volume controls have good sonic quality, the optimum settings would be those that best balance between noise and overload distortion.
This is not that easy to figure out, and (IMHO) the problem arises because of a lack of standards for gain and signal levels in domestic audio. Most components have too much gain, to allow for the occasional combination that needs it. So in most cases, you would set one volume control to optimize the signal levels, and leave it there. Then use the other one for adjusting levels on a daily basis.
I have a white paper posted on the Bottlehead web site under the "Community" heading, which provides more details than most people want (!) - I have not been able to cut it down without leaving out things I think are important. It might be helpful.
- Just checked it out... - RC Daniel 03:02:11 07/05/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by Paul Joppa on June 30, 2009 at 19:35:01
Looks most informative - not overly detailed at all.
Thanks for the effort and info.
Raymond
"As long as we have any intention to be right... we should be wary. So long as words have the slightest ego attachment, they are dishonest."
Charlotte Joko Beck
- RE: Volume control - StevenJ 05:57:58 07/01/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by Paul Joppa on June 30, 2009 at 19:35:01
So the advice to take one potentiometer out of the signal path by turning it all the way up is not a one size fits all piece of wisdom? I thought maybe the preamp or the amp might work better all the way up. Could you list the URL for your white paper? Thanks.
- RE: Volume control - Paul Joppa 09:18:52 07/01/09
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- In Reply to: RE: Volume control posted by StevenJ on July 01, 2009 at 05:57:58
Well actually it has a black background with white letters, so maybe it's a black paper? Anyhow, here it is.
- RE: Volume control - Paul Joppa 09:18:52 07/01/09
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- Just checked it out... - RC Daniel 03:02:11 07/05/09
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