2. amps-preamps
  3. 126293-371

Would increasing the gain in the amp give more weight to the sound? Any negatives?

I have an integrated amp with passive preamp section and I feel that the sound is not full-bodied enough. The separate phono stage has 42db of gain and I use MM cartridge. When I play cassette deck, the sound is just right in this respect.
I talked to the designer, and he said that increasing the gain is theoretically possible, though time consuming.
And if I do want to increase the gain - by how much? The amp is 120 watt/ch/8ohm, speakers are 89db efficient, 8ohm.
inna

Showing 3 responses by dekay

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,348 posts
 
Being a simpleton I would first experiment by adjusting the VTA of your cartridge (granted that this is doable with your deck/arm).

Too lean a sound would dictate lowering the back/tail of the cartridge.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,348 posts
 
Being a simpleton I would first experiment by adjusting the VTA of your cartridge (granted that this is doable with your deck/arm).

Too lean a sound would dictate lowering the back/tail of the cartridge.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,348 posts
 
PS, and sorry for the double post (was distracted).

An easy way of checking this (if your deck uses a platter mat) would be to shim the mat a bit higher.

To start, place a thin LP (like an 70’s/80’s Euro import) under the mat which will effectively lower the tail of the cartridge.

If the sound is more to your liking, but you want more fullness then try a thicker LP/shim.

If positive results are achieved then look into adjusting such properly through arm adjustment.

There could also be cartridge loading problems, but I won’t go into this as I don’t know what gear you are using (plus I probably wouldn’t know enough to give decent adcice anyway-:).
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