2. amps-preamps
  3. 125173-4976

can you alter the gain of an amplifier?

I never use active preamps and prefer sources with built-in volume controls over passive preamps when possible.  I've had great success using cd players by Consonance, Theta, & OPPO directly in my amp(s) but find that sometimes, even with the volume full up, the sound level is just not loud enough.  With my big, solid state amps, I know I'm not out of power, just not enough gain (this was particularly problematic with an Aleph clone).  I was wondering if it's possible/feasible to alter the gain of an amp to achieve better results using a passive volume control or the on-board volume control in the source?  I won't be doing the work myself.  I just want to know if a decent repair/mod shop could make the alterations.  Thanks!
lcherepkai

Showing 2 responses by bombaywalla

bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,958 posts
 
I agree with Almarg.
Now, I do have a Crown amp that does have a 3-position switch that can change the gain of the amp to 3 different settings - 0.7V for max output power (which has gain=32dB), 1.4V for max output power (which has gain=34dB) & a fixed 26dB gain (which has a sensitivity of 3.1V for max output power).
In this case I was lucky that i can change the gain without much fuss.
If such a switch is not provided then changing the gain is much more complicated & will have effects on many performance parameters like Almarg cited.
bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,958 posts
 
Whoops! Almarg is right, I was wrong. :) It's been a while since I had to do transformer math, but you got the idea. :)

Best,


Erik
yup! everything changes (up or down) by the square of the turns ratio....
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