Why do I have to turn the volume level so high?

Newbee is on the right track. The volume control (or gain) knob is actually an attenuator. Without such a control, your preamp would simply pass the full voltage signal to the power amp. It is therefore necessary to have a control that reduces, or attenuates, the signal being sent to the power amp. Therefore, any volume setting that produces enough volume to satisfy your listening, without also producing a lot of noise, is doing the job. Most volume controls actually attenuate the signal voltage at much too low a level, which greatly reduces the flexibility of the control. I'd rather have a volume control function that reaches the "0" db point at about 3/4 of its rotation, thereby providing a greater range of motion with finer gradations of gain.

I've noticed this on several different surround processors that i've tried too. I didn't know if it was a problem that only i had run into or it was something that others were dealing with also. I assumed that it might be a combination of running amps that needed slightly more drive to meet rated output as compared to others or if it was just because my speakers in the HT system are in-efficient ( 86 - 87 db's ). Now i think that some processors ARE low output AND i need more drive to get the job done AND my speakers aren't sensitive enough.

I've had to have some my previous processors running around the "0" mark in order to get pretty decent volume out of them. The one that i remember having the most problems with in terms of gain only went up to appr +9 if i remember correctly. I was afraid to really crank her up much past that, as i didn't want to start clipping the preamp. If that would have happened, it would have put a bunch of "crap" into my amps and possibly damaged the speakers ( primarily mids and tweeters ). As such, that processor went out the door pretty quickly even though it sounded decent. I like "LOUD" and i couldn't do it with confidence or peace of mind with those units.

My current processor max's out at a read-out of "0". I have had it as high as "-15", which was roaringly loud and shaking the hell out of the house. This was in two channel mode with a very well recorded demo disc. I would not doubt what so ever that i could cause structural damage if i sustained that level in HT mode with the same disc. As such, i've finally achieved what i was looking for in an HT system. I can now EASILY replicate an earthquake and not worry about the system. I just hope the house is still standing : ) Sean
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Thanks for all the info! I should mention that as a total amatuer I have very little idea of what most of you are talking about. Clipping, dB's etc. are all sorta over my head. But the general point is that I should not worry, right? Thanks again!!

Marantz, like early Yamaha gear prefers to have the volume control a very slow (low) slope from off to maximum. This is actually a more accurate way to set up the control, as opposed to obtaining clipping levels just a short turn off the stop.

You would have a problem if you turned your Marantz to maximum volume without being able to obtain full output.

Your system description and resulting sound pressure levels leads me to believe that this is not the case. Just enjoy it, and understand that the engineering was good, even if it is different from what you are accustomed to.

think of 0 gain as a point where your preamp is passing the source signal onto the amp unattenuated. - gain is when you are reducing the gain of the source and + gain is when your preamp is amplifying the source signal. each source signal is different, some very strong and some weak - a difference of 12 to 15 db's would not be unusual. at -15 db's you"re not even using your preamp to amplify the signal. sounds to me like your controls are just wired more uniformly. many preamps have gradiated increments which get smaller as the volume is increased.

Check to see if there are input level trims. Also, check the speaker level settings. You should calibrate them so that the center channel is at zero on the Marantz when reading 75DB on an SPL meter playing the speaker test tone (Rat Shak SPL meter...if you don't got it...get it).

If all the levels are correct, then don't worry about it as long as it gets loud enough for you...matter of fact there may be advantages since most volume controls sound better in the upper ranges.

Kevin
The Sound Broker

I've got a SR7000 and I have to go to about -25 or better to get to listenable levels. Srikes me as a little odd, but I figure it's just the way Marantz wires the suckers. (By comparison, I've also got a Rogue 99 preamp, and I can't get past about 1/3 of full volume without it getting TOO loud for reasonable listening levels (at least as far as the neighbors are concerned) and that's even with the gain turned down pretty low). It'll be interesting to see whether others have had the same experience, but I expect it's no big deal.