joessportster Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Do you find that there is an optimal spot on your volume pot for sound (I am not talking about loudness, I mean it sounds better) I have found that most amps / pre-amps seem to have a small range where the reproduction just sounds better like it opens up a bit more Let the DISCUSSION begin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You bet a little before and a little after center on the volume on the pre, and right at center on the gain on the power amp. Not to much but just enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Kinda like finding the sweet part on a motor. Somewhere whether stereo or motor, things just operates better. Sure wish my little car liked to be driven slower after I tailgated and then pass an unmarked patrol car. Now I just crank up the music and not the throttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 It might have more to do with the loudspeaker, acoustics, and human perception than the electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axz Hout Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Kinda like finding the sweet part on a motor. Somewhere whether stereo or motor, things just operates better. Sure wish my little car liked to be driven slower after I tailgated and then pass an unmarked patrol car. Now I just crank up the music and not the throttle. Damn unmarked patrol cars, there outta be a law. But sir I was keeping pace with the radio Edited March 3, 2014 by joessportster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 It might have more to do with the loudspeaker, acoustics, and human perception than the electronics. +1 I think that sweet spot is what is optimal for my ears, not the quality the system is producing (at least in the case of my "good" system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 The less attenuation you can use on a preamp, the better. Shakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 If the signal is unbuffered, like the amp we are both currently using, I believe the FR changes a little bit as you turn the knob, due to variations in impedance. This was explained to me once by someone here, but I can't remember the full technical explanation. A volume pot on an amp is not a preamp, and the sound will change as you turn that knob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 when you hit the level that the recording was mixed at the playback of the recording will have its best balance. This is obviously going to be different for each recording. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 when you hit the level that the recording was mixed at the playback of the recording will have its best balance. This is obviously going to be different for each recording. Best regards Moray James. Now thats an interesting twist on this, but makes perfect sense. so my question now is when they record an album I s that all cut in the studio as a whole or made up of several sessions of individual tracks, I would assume the latter. If its the latter several tracks they could / would obviously master each track at the levels they felt best, but when the bring them all togeather and make a master of the album, They would adjust the various tracks levels to have a balanced playback volume With this theory that would mean a volume adjustment for each track, Or would the album master allow you to set volume for the duration of the album ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) It might have more to do with the loudspeaker, acoustics, and human perception than the electronics. +1 I think that sweet spot is what is optimal for my ears, not the quality the system is producing (at least in the case of my "good" system). I noticed that sweet spot on my first six devices with a master volume control (Arkay, Eico, Dyna Pas3, McIntosh C28, Luxman L580, NAD T163), but not at all on my current preamp-processor (Marantz AV 7000). Why? Had the ideal spot not been absent on the Marantz, I would have thought that it had to do with the optimum SPL or speaker excursion, etc. Edited March 2, 2014 by Garyrc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 If the signal is unbuffered, like the amp we are both currently using, I believe the FR changes a little bit as you turn the knob, due to variations in impedance. This was explained to me once by someone here, but I can't remember the full technical explanation. A volume pot on an amp is not a preamp, and the sound will change as you turn that knob. I remember reading that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Kinda like finding the sweet part on a motor. Somewhere whether stereo or motor, things just operates better. Sure wish my little car liked to be driven slower after I tailgated and then pass an unmarked patrol car. Now I just crank up the music and not the throttle. Damn unmarked patrol cars, there outta be a law. Bit sir I was keeping pace with the radio I think he was a little paranoid. Took both my pistols while he wrote me up. When returned he put the ammo in the front seat and guns in the back seat. Said I could reload after we had left. Baloney! As he walked back to his patrol car I started reloading. By the time I had finished he had backed up 75 feet. Guess he really didn't trust me. Glad I was not in California or some other non gun friendly state. Open carry here in Oregon, and I do. No hard feelings as he was just doing his job. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmobley Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 What Moray James says makes sense to me. That's why I just purchased a preamp with a remote volume control because I'm tired of getting up to adjust the volume for every different recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Kinda like finding the sweet part on a motor. Somewhere whether stereo or motor, things just operates better. Sure wish my little car liked to be driven slower after I tailgated and then pass an unmarked patrol car. Now I just crank up the music and not the throttle. Damn unmarked patrol cars, there outta be a law. Bit sir I was keeping pace with the radio I think he was a little paranoid. Took both my pistols while he wrote me up. When returned he put the ammo in the front seat and guns in the back seat. Said I could reload after we had left. Baloney! As he walked back to his patrol car I started reloading. By the time I had finished he had backed up 75 feet. Guess he really didn't trust me. Glad I was not in California or some other non gun friendly state. Open carry here in Oregon, and I do. No hard feelings as he was just doing his job. John I like the laws in your state, I would still be in jail here in Md. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) when you hit the level that the recording was mixed at the playback of the recording will have its best balance. This is obviously going to be different for each recording. Best regards Moray James. Now thats an interesting twist on this, but makes perfect sense. so my question now is when they record an album I s that all cut in the studio as a whole or made up of several sessions of individual tracks, I would assume the latter. If its the latter several tracks they could / would obviously master each track at the levels they felt best, but when the bring them all togeather and make a master of the album, They would adjust the various tracks levels to have a balanced playback volume With this theory that would mean a volume adjustment for each track, Or would the album master allow you to set volume for the duration of the album ?? A Lady I went to school with works in the music industry in Nashville and has helped schedule concerts for Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaugn, and John Hiatt that I know of. Anyhow she once said how many hours are spent in recording an album. I know it was at least well over a hundred hours. Lot of work to get a good album right. I have some albums that I have to adjust the volume from song to song....Or maybe it's that I want to adjust volume for different songs. No I think I had it right the first time John Edited March 4, 2014 by Taz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 What Dean mentioned above is exactly correct. We discussed here some years ago. I have often heard listeners describe how their speakers begin to 'come alive' and sound better with higher rotations of the volume control, and while that may be true, there are things going on at the line level that can significantly influence what we are hearing from our speakers. I first started to explore this phenomenon quite some time ago ( I have no idea where the years have suddenly gone!), and, in studying schematics of vintage musical instrument tube amps, discovered the use of small value capacitors (as in picofarads) across the inputs and wipers of common carbon comp potentiometers. In brief, those small capacitors form high-pass filters between the input and output sections of a volume pot, which permits a pass-through of higher frequencies when the volume control is turned down - and subsequently improving HF response in general -- which is the reason things can sound sort of dull and /or veiled when the volume is turned down. Guitar amps often have something called a 'bright switch' which is associated with this. That small value cap can be switched in and out of the circuit depending on the desired sound and response....providing a useful amount of EQ, as it were, at low volume settings. When the volume is turned up, the capacitor is essentially out of the circuit. I use silver mica caps for this purpose on all my amplifiers built with on-board volume controls -- which as Dean also mentioned, is not necessarily an actual preamp, but rather a passive in-line attenuator. The control being on the amp also shortens the signal path, which similarly does away with the capacitive effects of long cable runs, which also contribute to high frequency roll off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 learning every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Well, not so much about sounding better but I had to put in adjustable attinuator on the output of my preamp to move the volume knob above about 3.5. It seems the first owner of it (VTL Ultamate pre) had the same issue and the volume knob actually gets stiffer at that point, it seems to be well worn, now I play it at about 5 but lower the signal a little on the way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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