PLEASE can an expert tell me what preamp gain to use before feeding my powered speakers?

[white prius]

Hello,
I have powered monitor speakers (M Audio bx5a) and a Burson Conductor dac/preamp. The preamp has three gain settings, 7.7db, 13.7db or 18.2db. I got this from the manual (which I can't post here but if you google burson conductor manual you'll find it).

Which will sound best when feeding my powered monitor speakers? the 7.7, 13.7 or 18.2? From my ears, it sounds like the higher the gain, the (very very slightly) punchier the bass, possibly at the expense of a tiny bit of balance/clarity, but this could all completely be my imagination which is why I'm asking.

Edit: Burson is a professional company, so these 7.7, 13.7 and 18.2 numbers must have a technical meaning to another professional. If there is such a person on this forum, please translate for me and tell me which to use.

Thanks

 

[slipperybidness]

Hello,
I have powered monitor speakers (M Audio bx5a) and a Burson Conductor dac/preamp. The preamp has three gain settings, 7.7db, 13.7db or 18.2db. I got this from the manual (which I can't post here but if you google burson conductor manual you'll find it).

Which will sound best when feeding my powered monitor speakers? the 7.7, 13.7 or 18.2? From my ears, it sounds like the higher the gain, the (very very slightly) punchier the bass, possibly at the expense of a tiny bit of balance/clarity, but this could all completely be my imagination which is why I'm asking.

Thanks

Do the M Audio have volume or gain knobs of their own?

As long as you are able to reach the desired output sound level without distortion, tweeter hiss, or amplifying the noise floor, then the gain setting isn't really important at all.

For certain sources, like a phone or phono, then you might need more gain at the pre-amp stage.

Remember, amps have their own gain stages too. The real, technical answer to your question is that it depends on the signal level of the source, and the gain of the amps, to determine the best setting to achieve an optimal overall gain structure.

 

[white prius]

Yes the speaker has a volume meter, and set it to 50%.

The Burson Conductor is the ultimate source (it's a DAC connected by USB to my computer)

 

[slipperybidness]

Yes the speaker has a volume meter, and set it to 50%.

The Burson Conductor is the ultimate source (it's a DAC connected by USB to my computer)

To me, that means that your computer is the source.

 

[PENG]

Hello,
I have powered monitor speakers (M Audio bx5a) and a Burson Conductor dac/preamp. The preamp has three gain settings, 7.7db, 13.7db or 18.2db. I got this from the manual (which I can't post here but if you google burson conductor manual you'll find it).

Which will sound best when feeding my powered monitor speakers? the 7.7, 13.7 or 18.2? From my ears, it sounds like the higher the gain, the (very very slightly) punchier the bass, possibly at the expense of a tiny bit of balance/clarity, but this could all completely be my imagination which is why I'm asking.

Edit: Burson is a professional company, so these 7.7, 13.7 and 18.2 numbers must have a technical meaning to another professional. If there is such a person on this forum, please translate for me and tell me which to use.

Thanks

If even the lowest setting (7.7) can drive the M-Audio to loud enough undistorted level then either leave it at that. Or experiment all 3 and pick the one that gives you the lowest noise floor and still loud enough quality sound. There isn't really a right or wrong for this sort of thing. Different preamps are going to have different gains, the Burson happens to offer 3 choices and that is a good feature.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

As a fellow owner from PC fed Pro-Monitors - I already know what the issue is - the volume control is on the back and separate for each speaker - these are not made to be changing volume on daily basis.
my signal path is in the sig.
Most of of time I simply use Windows volume controls, which are now not supposed to digitally f-up and signal and reduce the sound bit rate, but for critical listening I still go into "paranoia mode" = set max windows/app volume and control the volume on D1 dac - which supposed to analog (i think). My monitors rear volume controls are set near 50% as well.

As for your fancy dac/pre-amp - just pick a settings and stick with it. I like PENG's idea.

 

[white prius]

Does anyone know why, even if you equalize the volume at like 1000hz, the high-gain setting produces slightly punchier bass than the low-gain setting?

 

[PENG]

Does anyone know why, even if you equalize the volume at like 1000hz, the high-gain setting produces slightly punchier bass than the low-gain setting?

Do you have the input impedance figure for the MA-Audio BX5A? I did a search on their website it couldn't find the BX5A model. If the input impedance is lower than normal, it may be possible that the difference of output impedance of the DAC/Headphone preamp at different gain setting may result in very slight audible difference that can be picked up by someone with very good hearing. Or it could be that your volume matching is not accurate enough for whatever reason, then the one that is slightly louder, even 1 dB difference could be perceived as "punchier" by someone with superb hearing. I am just guessing.

 

[white prius]

The Bx5a is no longer made, I think. I guess I'll keep experimenting with the gain settings and then decide.

 

[Latent]

Specs for BX5a Deluxe are as follows (Don't know if you have a non Deluxe model that is slightly different):

Type: 2-way near-field studio reference monitors
LF Driver: 5-inch Kevlar curved cone with high temperature voice coil and damped rubber surround. Magnetically shielded.
HF Driver: 1-inch magnetically shielded natural silk dome
Frequency Response: 56Hz - 22kHz
Crossover Frequency: 3kHz
LF Amplifier Power: 40W
HF Amplifier Power: 30W
S/N Ratio: > 100dB typical A-weighted
Input Connectors: 1 x XLR balanced input connector
1 x TRS balanced/unbalanced input connector
Polarity: positive signal at + input produce outward LF cone displacement
Input Impedance: 20k ohms balanced,10k ohms unbalanced
Input Sensitivity: 85mV pink noise input produces 90dBA output SPL at one meter with volume control at maximum
Protection: RF interference, output current limiting, over temperature, turn-on/off transient, subsonic filter, external mains fuse.
Indicator: power on/off indicator on rear panel
Power Requirements: factory programmed for either 115V ~50/60Hz, 230V~50/60Hz or 100V~50/60Hz
Cabinet: vinyl-laminated high acoustic efficiency MDF
Dimension: 250 mm (H) x 176 mm (W) x 200 mm (D)
Weight: 5.0 kg/unit (without packing)

Of note is the input impedance of 20k/10k ohms
And the input sensitivity of 85mv = 90dBA when volume knob at max.

You might want to find a multi-meter (even a cheap one is fine) and measure the output of the pre-amp at all three settings. Play a 1khz wave file or tone generator and set the volume to max so you will be outputting a near maximum range digital signal (but hopefully not clipping!). then measure the AC RMS voltage from the multi-meter at all three settings. You can then relate this to the input sensitivity to make sure you are driving the speakers amp at about the right range. If the gain and output is too high it may drive the pre-amp or the speakers amp into a non linear area (is this the difference you are hearing??) and worst case cause clipping. You should be able to hear the clipping as a non pure tone. In the ideal world you would have an oscilloscope sitting on your desk so you could see how pure the output is at each stage but they don't come cheap and is probably a step too far for most.

Once you have the best pre-amp gain selected you can adjust the speakers volume knob so that the computer volume range from 10%-100% volume covers all your desired listening range.

 

[PENG]

Given the specs of the two products I think the OP can just pick the gain that sounds best to him. If still unsure then set it to 13.7. In theory but I am still guessing that it is better to let the Burson do more so 18.2 should yield better overall results though the difference will not likely be perceived by normal people.