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RE: Noise levels and dynamic range

Try this. As I am sure your Sony AVR has a digital volume readout, play a Channel, Telarc, Pentatone, etc. Note the volume setting. Increase that by 4 dB and play a BIS. Tweak the resulting volume as necessary up or down. It should not take much, less than 1 dB, probably, either way. This should get you to a comfort level much more quickly. Make a mental note of the level you liked for the BIS. Use that as the starting point next time you play a BIS. Get fancy and put a sticky label on the case of the disk with your final volume setting if you wish.

This is not guaranteed to work every time, and might only work for orchestral material. As we know, since time immemorial, small ensemble and chamber music usually is recorded at much higher levels by comparison. So, they often need a lower setting than orchestral music. Hence, my caution to you about Praga. Their string quartets, etc. need to be turned down by 6dB, typically, vs. "normal" orchestral music.

Get to know the tendencies of different disks and labels in terms of playback and remember those tendencies to use as a starting point. Yes, the ear is the final arbiter. But, trying to do everything just by ear alone takes time. Use your digital volume readout to get you in the ballpark of the right level. Then, usually, only minor tweaking will be necessary.

It is not as if this is a new game. I have been doing it since way back with my LP's long before digital readouts by remembering volume control position - 9 o'clock, 8, 10, or whatever as a starting point. So, for me, this has been an almost unconscious process that I do instinctively to get maximum enjoyment out of my music.


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