The best way to operate multiple volume controls in your system.

What to do when you have multiple volume controls in your system.
Digital or analog? (see my previous video)
On your pre amp or on your power amp? (see this video)
Check out my experience in this video

[ramana]

Very informative video. I've been looking for an answer to that question for a while, and like you I got contradictory answers. I think I'll stick with maximum, or near maximum volume on the amp, and adjust from the preamp.

[coenheydenrych]

Good, you found a solution that works for you. And that is the only thing that matters.

[terrywho]

The "turn the power amp to 60% full volume" and control with the preamp is what you do in sound reinforcement (live audio) situations. The idea is that you stay in the linear, lower distortion region of the power amp no matter how the preamp is set. Regardless, the Silver Night is a gorgeous amp. Congrats on picking that up.

[terrycard]

I knew you would find a solution Ivar. Great set up my friend. Best wishes Terry uk 🇬🇧 ❤ 👍.

[andredevries]

Hoi ivar.
Fijn om te zien en te horen dat je de juiste oplossing hebt gevonden voor jou set.
Ik ben heel erg benieuwd hoe het klinkt.
De laatste keer dat ik samen met Judith bij jou ben geweest vond ik het super mooi spelen met de decware.
Is het nu veel beter dan toen nu je een zwaardere eindversterker hebt.
Ik wens jullie een heel fijn weekend.
Gr André de vries.

[James-hbee]

I looked at photos on the web of the insides of your power amp and your preamp. Both pots (volume potentiometers) appear to be made by Alps (they are well known for making quality pots), but the one in your preamp seems to be the more serious piece of kit, as the Brits would say. Therefore, I would set and forget your power amp at a point where you have sufficient gain for the loudest levels you are likely to play and also lets your preamps volume operate in its most linear region, which for most analog volume pots is from 10 on up to no more than 4 o'clock. I would try to avoid either one running wide open as quite often volume pots are not linear in that region as well. Hope this helps.

[hoobsgroove]

valve power-amp likes to be driven hard so I would say probably set it so the preamp volume adjustment is between 2 oclock to maximum, or whatever sounds best to you.

[marcbrummel]

Hello from Berlin an thanks for the Question (that is not answered jet) because whats really the best way for volume control (I don't know).
Many say that a passive Volume control, made out of super resistors is the correct way. Other use an electronic volume control. Just can say that two volume control in Line are not necessary, you could bridge the volume in the power amp (btw it's an integrated amp, just have seen volume control in power monoblocks but for balance).
Maybe the 300b has no dedicated preamp stage, seen from the put elektrical side!?!?
So many new questions ...I will follow and hope that someone who really knows could explain.
Have a nice evening in Rotterdam! 😄

[michaelmuetstege]

Het is niet een kwestie van wat moet….het is een kwestie wat jij prettig vind. Door de gain op de eindversterker iets terug te draaien en daarmee het regelbereik van je voorversterker te optimaliseren, is het regelen van de volume op je voorversterker prettiger. Je moet alleen oppassen dat de voorversterker niet gaat vervormen. Op veel professionele eindversterkers zit een gain regeling zodat het signaal van het mengpaneel goed te regelen is t.o.v. de eindversterker.
Dus stel de volume knop op de eindversterker zo in dat je prettig de volume kan regelen op de voorversterker. En hou rekening mee dat je de voorsterker niet te ver moet open draaien dat deze gaat vervormen.

[likesnoozn]

I’m guessing vocals sound heavenly with this current setup?

[hiendaudioinsinhalesesong]

I have a dac with digital volume control and pre-amp normal volume

[AT-wlyq]

There's only one way to say this. You're getting a lot of information from people who think they know what they're talking about. You're not working with a clock. Any time someone starts talking about 6 o'clock, 2 o'clock, or whatever, move on. Looking at your system, and what you are trying to do, the very first thing someone should say is, do you know what the difference is between a volume control and a gain control? If someone doesn't bring this up early in the conversation, they don't know what they are talking about.

Why is this so important? A volume control can't distort the signal, only a gain control can. Volume controls are on the output of a component, and gain controls are on the input. A perfect example to illustrate this concept is a guitar amp. Most of them have a gain control and a volume control right next to each other. You first set the gain control to get the amount of distortion desired by overdriving the input tubes with gain. Once you get the sound you are looking for, you then adjust the volume control to how loud you want it to be. A guitar amp is probably the only type of amp where you would want to make it distort on purpose, but if you are not aware of this you can do the exact same thing with your home audio system. (tube or solid state). As far as the o'clock positions on a volume control, it doesn't matter. If you have 2 line level sources and one puts out a fixed 2mv signal and the other is 3mv, the volume control will be in different places to achieve the same amount of loudness. Unless you are running out of adjustment, the position of the volume control doesn't matter.

Its pretty safe to say that the control on your preamp, (it looks like an EAR) is an actual volume control. However, I would never assume that for your amp. In most cases, a "volume" knob on a power amp, is really a gain control. Your owners manual will definitely tell you what it is. And you need to know that. If its gain, you set that first and leave it. Then use the control on your EAR to adjust loudness. So, in your setup, if you are getting any type of gain related noise, or hiss, you can only fix it by lowering the gain. Volume won't make that noise go away.

And that should do it. If you have any other digital components that adjust volume in the digital domain (dac, cd player, etc...), the correct way to deal with them is to put them at maximum volume. Otherwise, you'll run into a problem called bit stripping.

[johncoscia]

The furthest volume control upstream of what ? Signal end or speakers end of the whole train ? The last one before your loud speaker is not the nearest of furthest ? Clear as mud respectfully. The volume levels are everything, and very difficult for me to set for an even balanced db from 2 fronts and an active subwoofer .

[mrpmj]

Using 2 volume knobs is adding unnecessary distortion.

I have a mixed use movies 7.4.4/music 2.2 system.
My preamp is Parasound 2100 and I use its volume knob to send the signal to my NAD c298 amp

[EddyTeetree]

Sell the amp as the preamp is better and you have too many components in the sig. chain. And instead of asking inane questions ppl can just listen and react to where the distortion sets in. Life is simple!

[magicfields]

Don't do that... Not god. Maybe on you set-up it's ok but.. a lot of amps can break this way after time. Depends on what amp and how the volume button correlate to attenuation etc. The same thing on preamps.. and also it depends on how good the overall design of the amps perform. So other amps other attenuation relation which should be used for optimum.