Question about amplifier input sensitivity


I'd like to use my Wadia di122 DAC as a preamp and I've been looking for amps that have an input sensitivity > 2 volts - which is what Wadia recommends.  Their actual quote in the manual is this: "...due to a wide range of power amplifier designs, it is important the input sensitivity of the amplifier be at least 2 volts.  This will assure the playback of of most music recordings are reproduced with adequate dynamic range."   

I've researched about ten amps and they all range from 1 - 1.5 volts.  The only two amps I found that were at least 2 volts were Mark Levinsons which are way out of my price range.

Is this a recommendation that I really need to follow?  Are they suggesting that there won't be enough gain from "lesser" amps?  The only other relative specs I have for the Wadia, per the manual, are a variable output level of 0.0-4.0 Vrms for the unbalanced outputs and 0.0-8.0 for the balanced outputs.  I'm not sure this matters, but the output impedance is less than 100 ohms for both balanced and unbalanced sections.

Is something I really need to worry about when looking for an amp?  FWIW, I was looking at a PrimaLuna Prologue Four which has an input sensitivity of just 600 mVrms!  

Thanks in advance for any help or advice on this subject.  


chuke076

Showing 2 responses by chuke076

Thanks for that!  I read a review in Hi-Fi Choice that says "The volume adjustment is by upsampling the incoming signal and then shedding superfluous information rather than via the cruder bit reduction method."

Same essential thing right?  Or better the way Wadia is doing it?
Thanks again.  Yeah, nothing in the manual about adjusting the output voltage.  I appreciate the link.