My AV setup includes an SB3 as one of several sources. All sources are analog, and one's a phonograph. The setup uses a 20-year-old low-end Denon receiver that I'm pretty happy with, except for the volume control. It's got a motor-driven knob that that's marked for volume levels 0-40. I never have it higher than 10 or 12 (and that's *very* rare -- only when nobody else is home, etc.), and usually don't get past 4. Yes, 4 out of 40. One consequence of never turning the knob much above minimum is that it's very difficult to get the volume just right with the IR remote -- very low WAF. So I end up using the junky speakers in the TV more often than I'd like. :-(
What I'd like to do is effectively recalibrate the volume so that my normal listening volume would be much higher than 4 / 40. Since the SB3 isn't the only source, I have to change volume on the receiver. Since the receiver doesn't have preamp-out / main-in RCA jacks, I can't do "line-level" attenuation. So I'm tempted to buy a speaker-level volume control, maybe something like one of these from Madisound & build an external volume control box. (Descant 43dB impedance matching control, designed for in-wall, multi-zone type setups): http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=404_83&products_id=244 I can solder big items (resistors, not IC chips), but I'm not at all qualified to actually design circuits. Could I trust something like http://www.webervst.com/lpad.htm to help me design a fixed attenuator? I know this isn't really an audiophile question, but I don't think it belongs in General, either. I'd appreciate any advice. Will adding one of these attenuators cause undue stress on my old receiver? How do you all deal with gear whose volume curves are such that you can barely turn the volume knob before it's entirely too loud? Do new low-/mid- fi stereo receivers / integrated amps ($250-$600 USD, Denon, Yamaha, etc.) have better volume curves? I just tried to figure out how much attenuation I'd need by tweaking my SB3 volume. I had to drop the volume about 70 steps (35 dB) before I could get anywhere near the speaker volume I wanted. Sure, my speakers are old Polks rated at 4 ohms, but that shouldn't explain but a few dB. I expected I'd want maybe 20 dB, so I'm pretty shocked that I really need my receiver 35+ dB quieter... does this really mean I oughta open up my receiver and replace the caps or something? TIA, Peter -- peterw http://www.tux.org/~peterw/ free plugins: http://www.tux.org/~peterw/#slim AllQuiet BlankSaver ContextMenu FuzzyTime KidsPlay KitchenTimer PlayLog PowerCenter/BottleRocket SaverSwitcher SettingsManager SleepFade StatusFirst SyncOptions VolumeLock ------------------------------------------------------------------------ peterw's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2107 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=62792 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
