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Need Help with Volume Issue (Long)

Posted by JimC (A) on January 31, 2017 at 14:47:09

I'm having an issue with the volume when I use my Classe CAP 101 integrated with a newly-purchased Sony HAP S1. I hope someone can help me understand what is going on. The Classe has 5 sets of RCA inputs (and one unbalanced set). It's volume control has a range of 0-50 in half-steps.

I have a Sony CA70ES cd player that I have used for years with the Classe, connecting its Line Out to the Classe's Reg1 input with a pair of "upmarket" Radio Shack interconnects. For as long as I have used it, my typical volume range has been 16-22, depending on time of day, music, my mood, etc. At my listening position, which is 7-8 feet from the speakers (Harbeth Monitor 30s), a sound meter app on my iPad reads roughly in the 50-62 db or so for that volume range. According to Sony, the output voltage for the CA70ES is 2 volts.

I connected of Line Out of my new Sony HAP S1 to the Classe Req2 input using a spare pair of very basic RCA interconnects. (To be clear, I'm not using the Sony's internal amplifier, and its volume is set at "Min" or zero.) To my surprise, the "usable" volume range for the HAP S1 reads on the Classe from 4.0 to 6.5, and most often at the lower end. Lower than 4.0, and it's too soft; higher than 6.5, and it's way too loud. According to Sony, the output voltage for the HAP S1 is 2.2 volts.

I think I lose a lot of flexibility in setting the volume when I use the HAP S1. I've tried everything I can think of to try to figure this out. I scoured the internet without success. I asked my dealer, but he had no clue. I contacted Sony Support, which tried to duplicate the issue but could not, and therefore told me that the problem was not in the HAP S1. I tried connecting the cd player to the Classe's Req2 and the HAP S1 to the amp's Req1, and I tried connecting the two sources to all the different inputs on the Classe, but I got the same results. And, I tried switching the interconnects, using the basic RCA with the CA70ES and the "upmarket" interconnect with the HAP S1, but again the same results.

Can anyone provide some insight as to what is going on and what, if anything, I can do about it? Thanks for reading and for your response.

Jim

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