Output / Input Voltage Question


If I have a preamp that outputs 1.5v, but the amp's input is .5v, would this be the reason I don't have much headroom when I turn the volume up?  What is an ideal voltage match for preamp/amp combo?  Sorry if this is a dumb question.  Electrical stuff is not a strong point for me.
terrapin77
If the loud volume on a low setting does not bother you then don’t fret. It would bother me. BTW, I use the SYS to tame down the volume on my CDP to match the volume on my turntable!!
But as usual the self proclaimed Guru of high end audio likes to show his wit with a ridiculous answer to the problem that the OP is having! 
For the record, it is you - and others! - who have proclaimed me guru. I have never done so myself. Don't really consider myself a guru. Maybe I should, since so many others do. Be that as it may, all I did was help the OP with overwhelming complexity by showing how to make it all very simple. With my clumsy words. 

Now learn from a real guru. Seriously. Listen and learn.

https://youtu.be/pkOYrQ3QhRI?t=70
 My amp is a rebuilt and upgraded Quad 405 driving 4 ohm speakers. Can't go past 40% volume without being way too loud. I do have a small listening room though.

Unfortunately this is really more of a historical issue.  Lets define a word:  gain.

Gain is the amount that a device increases the output based on the input.  It's really just a muliple, but we talk about it in decibels (dB), and is calculated using this formula:

    20 x log( Vout/Vin )

The point though is that the critical parts are the Voltage out / Voltage in.

For historical reasons, preamps tend to have way too much gain. This was so you could turn up the volume on really low volume sources.  This is why we generally can't turn the volume up past 10 O'clock except perhaps with a legacy system like an AM radio with a very faint signal.

Amps also have voltage gain, and I believe by convention it's 23 dB.

A preamp output rated as the absolute maximum output voltage.  Sometimes this is quite high, up to 15-20V. 

Amplifiers may be rated as either V needed to a certain output, or V needed to reach maximum.

But keep in mind that all of this is multiplication of the input, not a fixed value. :)