joncourage Wrote: > > how can you estimate/know if the output would be enough to drive the > amp/speakers? > > ... also, what's a passive attenuator, what do they cost? > Thanks!
SB's output voltage is similar to a cd player, so it should work with modern amps just fine by itself. I thought I read, however, that the output (impedence?) of a good preamp was sometimes better than the analog output stage in the Squeezebox. Perhaps someone will jump in. Do you already have a D/A converter? , if so you'd bypass the analog output stage of the SB, and be using the one built into the DAC. It will be easy to ask a dealer how well the DAC will drive x-brand amp/speaker, because the SB is pretty much transparent in that setup. Also, what kind of speakers are you planning to use? I think ezkcdude mentioned amp/speakers because if you have a really sensitive amp and speakers, Squeezebox's volume setting of 'midway' might be way too loud for your setup. If you weren't able to use SB's volume controls labeled 20 through 40(upper half), because it's too loud, you might add a passive attenuator of some sort. Here is a post where someone explains using a fixed attenuator: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20719 . Passive volume control differs from a preamp in that it cannot boost the low level signal, only attenuate it. A preamp is needed on turntables, for example, because the cartridge doesn't have enough output voltage to feed a power amp, so the low level signal gets boosted by the preamp, making it appear more like a cd player to the amp. This is not generally needed, but as mentioned- I'm thinking there are other reasons for a preamp. -- Skunk ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skunk's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2685 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21165 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
