Volume Control

[Darren M]

New poster here - been reading for a while but had trouble getting my password until today.

I recently replaced a Yamaha integrated amp (DSP-A1) with a Rotel RSP-1066 and RMB-1095. I have very efficient speakers (Klipsch).

With the Yamaha, I had the volume up about 50% to watch DVDs. It was a 110 Watt per channel amp. I find to get the same volume with the Rotel equipment, I have the volume set to "50" (max is "90" I believe). With 200 watts per channel, I'm a little surprised I need this much. I love the sound - much better bass and rear separation than with the Yamaha, but I don't know what to make of this. If this setting about "normal"? Could the volume controls be different (maybe linear on the Rotel and loaded towards the bottom on the Yamaha)? Should I even care - I still have a long way to go before "Max"? Appreciate your thoughts. Many thanks.

[eelco74]

Hi,

It all depends on how the manufacturer has designed volume control. My 3801 does it in -x dB. So when it says -10 it is 10Db minus the maximum. But it goes upto +10.

So you can hardly compare. You can find out how high the 1066 goes, by trying. Just leave the poweramp off and see how far the counter goes.

Remeber, in order to get twice the volume, you need 8x the power.
So a 80 watt amp goes twice as loud as a 10watt amp.
To go twice as loud as a 100W amp, you need to get a 800W amp

This shows how important a good powe supply is. While your Z1's output was about 110 Watss, it was not able to do mutch more. The 1095 however will be able to produce more power for a short period of time. So be carefull with the volume. Your speakers will handle short high power burstst. But not for a long time.

[DrBoom]

Volume controls aren't standardized, except on THX equipment.
So no point in comparing those, and certainly not with different brands.
And to get twice the volume, you need 10x the power, not 8x