??? Volume ???
Hi all, I have a Yamaha rxv2600 amp (130w). Can anyone tell me why the volume display starts at -60 and goes up to +?? (don't want to fry speakers) but well past 00. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical and simple explanation but it would be nice to establish what percentage of the amps power i am using at any one time. i.e. 00 = 50% power / 65 watts????????? Cheers
Cheers Thaiman,
I'm running a pair of KEF iQ7s bi amped from the yamaha which i upgraded from a DSPAX 757 as I thought the poor sound was an inferior amp for the speakers. The amp is certianly louder but the sound is poor to be honest with treble very harsh at times almost as if there is a fault with the speakers. I appreciate the source could be improved easily with a dedicated cd player and will be purchasing something in the Cyrus CD6 price bracket as soon as i'm sure source is the only problem but with a Minidisc player, tuner etc the sound is still far from inspiring.
Is there anyway of clarifying a fault with the speakers??
Japanese kit is usually particularly bright. I would think your amp is to blame rather than the speakers.
does it go up to 11?
I'm not sure if its +11 it goes up to but i think it is beyond that. I had another look last night after posting inital question and next to the volume read out is db. why would it give a decibel reading in a negative figure e.g. -10 db. Bearing in mind that when it is at -10db it is VERY loud??
Right I have a very simular set up as I have the KEF IQ9's and the Yamaha RXV2500 which is 10w a channel behind yours. My amp goes up to +15db but to honest you cant reall take it much past +5db as it is too loud and get to +10db and it starts to distort as you are pushing the amp beyond its limits. Now the IQ9's have a max rating of 200w rms so I know they can go higher than the amp but we must rember that just because the amp volume control goes that high it was not designed to be used that high really and refernce level of 0bd is more than loud enough really.
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Don't forget an amplifier amplifies what is fed to it by a set amount, and then a volume control then hacks that down to a level the speakers might be willing to appreciate, and which you are able to control. It's a bit like a cold water tap. The pressure in the pipe is always the same, it's how much you let through that counts.
The - xx dB figure tells you how much output the volume control is killing off. A + xx dB figure means you are basically asking the amp to do more than it is probably comfortable doing. This is where distortion begins to set in. The lesser the amp, the worse it sounds at this point. And that's before you factor in speaker abilities....
I know it's a very simplisitic description, but it kinda gets the point across.
I always remember somebody telling me when I was younger that it was better to have an amp too powerful for the speakers, because you could turn the power down (at the volume control) and speakers would let you know when they reached their limit, but an amp that was too weak for your speakers was a problem waiting to happen. Try turning your cold water tap on when the pressure in the pipe has dropped - cough, splutter, etc...
Cheers everyone, db rating makes a lot more sense. Eventually i'll be opting for a 2 system set up (as funds allow) so will pursue the pre/power amp route then. Just waiting for the awards issue to come out then the credit card is not going to know what hit it!!
I am not an audio engineer, so don't take me as a reference, but what I know is:
When the amp shows 0 db, it is operating at its rated power and is
producing the amplification it was designed to produce. When you turn
the volume down it "cuts" the amplification and requires less power to
run and produces less heat. Conversly, when you turn the volume up it
"boosts" the amplification and requires more power and produces more
heat.
Somewhere I read that every 3 dB of gain or cut in amplification
incereases/decreases the power requirement by 2 times. So, if what I
read were true and if my interpretations are correct, when your amp is
operating at -3 dB, it is using half the power it was designed for. At
-6 dB one fourth. Conversely, at +3 dB, it is using double the power
and at -6 dB four times.
So, can that really happen? Can the amp really amplify beyond what
is was designed for? yes, it can, as Music is not one tone or one
loudness. It doesn't require a certain amount of power continuously. So
the amp does that "extra" duty when needed. But that doesn't come free.
When amp goes beyond its limits, distortion increases.
So the bottom line is: when your amp shows -xx dB, it will produce
best sound it can. When it shows +xx dB, its over working, its about
the time you get a higher power amp or a more sensitive speaker.
Pass!
You will know when speakers reach it limit, very edgy and sharp sound....carry on if you would like a new amp!
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