Volume Control Too Sensitive

I have/had the same problem with Allnic 8000DHT pre and Pass XA60.8 amps.  I was able to change out a set of the DHT tubes for lower gain tubes. 

Interestingly I recently added a pair of Akiko Corelli's for noise and can increase the volume a few more degrees before it sounds loud (and I hear a lot more micro details).

The Allnic has a constant impedance volume control so it is supposed to be good without having to get past 12 o'clock- although I would like to use more of the attenuator range.

I believe my problem is the input sensitivity of the Pass is  too low at 1 volt to full output.  I am looking to replace the Pass with an amps that don't reach full output until closer closer to 2 volts.

The Allnic is way to good to replace.

I have had the same volume issue with an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A. The problem - as several others have already noted - is simply too much gain (the M3A puts out 28 db). I was not aware that this was something I needed to consider when I bought the preamp quite some time ago.

I’m currently waiting for a semi-custom preamp from SMc Audio which will be set at unity gain (0 db). This should allow me to use the full range of the volume control with finer increments throughout that range.

Perhaps attenuation will work well for you. If you do decide to change preamps just make sure to pay careful attention to gain within the general environment of your system.

Good luck! 
 

JJ

Total opposite, my preamps don’t even have signal til 45db

  the McCormack LD-2 and Sanders “preamp” have 1/2db attenuators, I press play, and turn up volume, no volume until the vol knob is above 45-50+ db on knob. 
 

 It’s nice, as when the Scotch is poured, and I’m in the mood, the vol is slow to increase, I love this!

 B and K pro10 and Onkyo p-308 volumes are more sensitive, and get louder much faster with vol knob!

 All preamps sound different, the Onkyo adding some deep tones to music, while others are more revealing, then Sanders  is quite revealing, allowing the recording to come through as it is on the cd/lp. 
 

Make sure Preamp is set internally to the lower setting. Use RCA’s instead of balanced, also check if you can change input sensitivity on the power amps. 

I recently purchased a well-reviewed & very powerful headphone amplifier that I have running off my DAC, which outputs 3.0 volts single-ended (50% higher than the nominal 2.0 volts output standard that gave me no gain issues).

Well, between that hot DAC output & the lack of any gain stages on this new amp, I found myself in claasic too-much-gain territory--ie, using the amp's volume pot at the extreme counterclockwise rotation with almost no real-world volume adjustment possible before the volume on headphones became intolerably loud.

So I got a pair of the 10 dB in-line RCA attenuators by Rothwell. These work exactly as described, and are quite transparent sonically: I listened before and after installation (w/approximately matched volumes) and couldn't hear any difference. 

So I recommend these attenuators.

Note that if this were for a huge, expensive 2-channel system in the living room, I might escalate to a pricey passive volume controller known to be uber-transparent.