Question, new pioneer elite vx-45 AVR

[cptslow]

This is my first receiver, never bought one before, so my knowledge on AVR's are limited. My setup is a stereo listening (2 bookshelfs and a sub) so never needed a receiver. BB had the pioneer VX-45 on sale for 250 bucks during thanks giving , so i thought its not a bad deal and picked up one. I set it up , very easy with their mobile app. Everything seem to be working ok, but one thought i had was when comparing this with my old amplifier. My old stereo amp is rated at 120W and the spec on the receiver (pioneer elite vx-45) says 80w@8ohm 2 channel driven. The difference between 120w and 80w in theroy is very little but i find that in the new receiver i have to turn up the volume way too high to achive the same levels of loudness as compared to my old amp. In my old amp i barely got past 25% on the volume pot for my normal listening, but on the new reciever i go upto 50 - 60% of its max. I am just wondering is there something wrong with the way i have setup the reciever. Any thoughts?

 

[fmw]

The amount you turn the volume control to achieve a given volume is immaterial. Not all volume controls have the same taper. Your stereo amp probably had a taper favoring the start of the rotation. The difference between 80 watts and 120 watts, assuming the same measurements, is trivial. It is between 1 and 2 db only. Hardly audible. Your receiver is fine. If you haven't run MCACC then you should do that. It will give you a calibrated volume control.

 

[cptslow]

The amount you turn the volume control to achieve a given volume is immaterial. Not all volume controls have the same taper. Your stereo amp probably had a taper favoring the start of the rotation. The difference between 80 watts and 120 watts, assuming the same measurements, is trivial. It is between 1 and 2 db only. Hardly audible. Your receiver is fine. If you haven't run MCACC then you should do that. It will give you a calibrated volume control.

I assumed these volume control knobs are linear, they sort of control the gain of the pre amp stages dont they?

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[TheWarrior]

I assumed these volume control knobs are linear, they sort of control the gain of the pre amp stages dont they?

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In the digital domain, no, therefore you are comparing apples to oranges.

 

[slipperybidness]

Short answer: Don't worry about the position of the volume knob! That is completely arbitrary, as long as you can achieve the sound levels that you desire.

Enjoy your new gear!

 

[TheWarrior]

Short answer: Don't worry about the position of the volume knob! That is completely arbitrary, as long as you can achieve the sound levels that you desire.

Enjoy your new gear!

Guess I'm not that succinct before 6a!

 

[PENG]

In the digital domain, yes, therefore you are comparing apples to oranges.

The digital control in his AVR is not linear but logarithmic, his old amp, presumably analog, is more likely to be linear. Is your coffee brewing yet?

 

[PENG]

This is my first receiver, never bought one before, so my knowledge on AVR's are limited. My setup is a stereo listening (2 bookshelfs and a sub) so never needed a receiver. BB had the pioneer VX-45 on sale for 250 bucks during thanks giving , so i thought its not a bad deal and picked up one. I set it up , very easy with their mobile app. Everything seem to be working ok, but one thought i had was when comparing this with my old amplifier. My old stereo amp is rated at 120W and the spec on the receiver (pioneer elite vx-45) says 80w@8ohm 2 channel driven. The difference between 120w and 80w in theroy is very little but i find that in the new receiver i have to turn up the volume way too high to achive the same levels of loudness as compared to my old amp. In my old amp i barely got past 25% on the volume pot for my normal listening, but on the new reciever i go upto 50 - 60% of its max. I am just wondering is there something wrong with the way i have setup the reciever. Any thoughts?

Every stereo preamp I have ever had, I never had to turn the knob pass the 10 O'clock position. AVR knobs don't work the same way.

 

[slipperybidness]

Every stereo preamp I have ever had, I never had to turn the knob pass the 10 O'clock position. AVR knobs don't work the same way.

It also depends on the gain of the amp, not simply the pre-amp knob position.

If you had the same pre-amp on an amp with less gain, then you would have had to turn the knob on the pre past the 10 oclock.

Typical home amps have gain in the range of 27dB to 32dB

When I build an amp, I typically shoot for 29dB gain. To me and my experience, that seems to be about the sweet spot!

More than 29dB and you run the risk of tweeter hiss or amplifying the noise floor into an audible range. Less than 29dB and you run the risk of not enough sensitivity to drive to full output.

Then, as an insurance policy and to add flexibility, I typically go ahead and install a gain pot on the amp too.

 

[PENG]

It also depends on the gain of the amp, not simply the pre-amp knob position.

If you had the same pre-amp on an amp with less gain, then you would have had to turn the knob on the pre past the 10 oclock.

Typical home amps have gain in the range of 27dB to 32dB

When I build an amp, I typically shoot for 29dB gain. To me and my experience, that seems to be about the sweet spot!

More than 29dB and you run the risk of tweeter hiss or amplifying the noise floor into an audible range. Less than 29dB and you run the risk of not enough sensitivity to drive to full output.

Then, as an insurance policy and to add flexibility, I typically go ahead and install a gain pot on the amp too.

Of course, it depends on the amp's gain and the preamp's input sensitivity, but as you already they typical have a range that is within a few dB. I think more often between 27-29, but even with the lower 27dB gain amp my volume stays below 10 O'Clock but that's just me. I am sure 12 O'clock will be now for most people though.

Back to the OP's point, it really has more to do with "mechanical" scale than "electrical" scale. The old analog amp knobs would be like a geared up modern AVR's knob.