2. amps-preamps
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How to

Hi.

I have a Lamm LL2 driving a McIntosh MC275 MkIV, driving B&W 804S. I'm really enjoying the combo. When I added the Lamm (my latest piece in the system), I set the gain attenuators on the MC275 down so most of my listening would happen between 3 PM and noon on the Lamm volume pots. I was enjoying it.

Then last week I turned up the attenuators on the MC275 to 100%. Of course I had to adjust the volume down on the Lamm, but man, did it sound better!

So now I can't go back, but my listening is done between 3 clicks up from rock bottom and 3 PM in the Lamm. Am I right to think the Lamm will work better higher up in its volume range? What could I do to "fix" this?

Thanks!
lewinskih01

Showing 1 response by dhl93449

dhl93449
455 posts
 
Not sure about the MAC, but my some of my Parasound power amps have input attenuators and I always use them maxed out. This will give you the lowest input impedance from the driving preamp to the power amp, and will remove any non-linear effect of the input potentiometer on the sound. That is why they sound better this way.

Changing the gain on the pre-amp is another problem. I would live with the lower gain settings if overall it sounds better.

Whether the pre-amp sounds better at higher settings depends on how they use the volume control in the design. Without knowing specifics, its hard to tell.
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