Yamaha rx-v2700 volume control

[mpdillon]

Hi,
I replaced my old Yamaha receiver with a RX-V2700. It is hard for me to believe but I don't understand the volume control. On the older Yamaha, a three-quarter turn of the volume control was all that was required to go from 0 to full. Now the dial spins and spins. I see the db changing from the -30's as volume increased to -10's. I get the idea. But I do not know the scale. What is the softest level in db and what it the loudest? I am watching movies in a room 21 x 13 through 3 Martin Logan Frescos up front and 2 older Polk speakers in the rear. A -15 is the minimum that gives a decent movie experience. I would like to go louder but do not want to damage the amp or speakers. It takes a lot of turns of the dial to get to -15 how much farther can I go on the db scale?

thanks,
pat

 

[MDS]

The manual should tell you the range of the volume control. It is usually something like -80 to +16. If you are listening at -15, you are nowhere near the max of the receiver and there should be no worry about damaging the receiver or the speakers.

Note that volume controls today are 'infinitely variable'. It is not like the older analog volume controls where you had a definite min and max and the dial wouldn't turn any further when you hit those stops.

To illustrate the difference, manually turn the volume dial to -15 (or whatever) and then use the remote to turn it way down to say -60. Say the position of the dial appeared to be at 3 o'clock. You can now turn it manually much higher and get back to your original -15 position.

 

[no. 5]

The manual should tell you the range of the volume control. It is usually something like -80 to +16.

I could very well be wrong, but I think that Yamaha uses 0dB for the top of the scale.

 

[MDS]

I could very well be wrong, but I think that Yamaha uses 0dB for the top of the scale.

No chance.

 

[Seth=L]

Mine goes to +9 the way it is setup. I think if I bring the the channel's individual volumes down the +so and so decibel will be able to go up.

 

[mpdillon]

Thanks all for your input. I will crank it up tonight.
I did check the manual before posting. I could not find the answer after skimming though it.

 

[James Mos]

There's a setting in it's menu where you can designate it's top level it goes to...I believe +16 is the max, but you can set it below that if you want to try to prevent speaker damage that way.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Shouldnt some one tell him to adjust his volume control to where 0 equals reference volume using a SPL meter?

 

[GlocksRock]

Shouldnt some one tell him to adjust his volume control to where 0 equals reference volume using a SPL meter?

Yes, that would be the ideal thing to do.

My RX-V1600 has a max level of either +14db or +16db.. I forget which. But if his individual speaker levels are set high, then it may indeed be very loud at -15, if he sets 0 as his reference level, then -15 may not be as loud as it was before.

Once I calibrated my system, all the levels were set below 0 for each individual speaker.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

I see a lot of posts on volume levels. I just turn mine up until it's loud enough

Depending on your source and your speakers, the number you see is going to vary.

As to how it's calibrated, I can't say for sure. I suspect that 0Db represents max output before clipping when the input is at some reference level.

As someone else suggested, you could simply calibrate 0Db to be something comfortable for you like 95-100Db. But each source will vary to some degree, so you should do that for your most used source. You can also trim each input independently.

 

[no. 5]

I see a lot of posts on volume levels.

upon reflection, I think my post only applies to older and or non-THX Yamaha receivers.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I have mine set where 75db equals zero mainly so I could tell my S.O. to never turn it up over zero.(she blew the speakers in on of the TVs in the past) I also told her to never touch any knobs on the back of the sub!

 

[MDS]

I have mine set where 75db equals zero

That will give you Dolby Reference Level when the soundtrack peaks - exactly what you want.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yep; that's the second reason I set it there.

That will give you Dolby Reference Level when the soundtrack peaks - exactly what you want.

 

[Blue Dude]

The 2700 (and probably others as well) has a setup option that limits the upper end of the volume range. So if you're worried about blowing something up, and you never listen to anything at louder than reference, you can set the upper limit at 0 dB. Even say, a power-mad four yr old with a remote can't hurt anything except his ears.

 

[Stealth X]

i find this very interesting as i ASSUMED my yamaha amp was lacking power as i have to crank the volume to sometimes -9 to really pound out my room. in fact for 5.1 Dolby Dig movies the pics are vibrating off my wall at -30. i find DTS and True HD i have to turn it up a little higher in the low -20's.

would it not be simpler if 0 meant no volume and 100 was max???

i have tested with no sound input and i do believe my max is +10.

 

[GlocksRock]

i find this very interesting as i ASSUMED my yamaha amp was lacking power as i have to crank the volume to sometimes -9 to really pound out my room. in fact for 5.1 Dolby Dig movies the pics are vibrating off my wall at -30. i find DTS and True HD i have to turn it up a little higher in the low -20's.

would it not be simpler if 0 meant no volume and 100 was max???

i have tested with no sound input and i do believe my max is +10.

It just depends on how you look at it. If you set 0 as reference level, -10 means you are listening at 10db below reference level -20 is 20db below reference and so on. So that too makes a lot of sense, it just depends on how you view the situation. I would suggest you calibrate your system so that 0 is your reference level.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

i find this very interesting as i ASSUMED my yamaha amp was lacking power as i have to crank the volume to sometimes -9 to really pound out my room. in fact for 5.1 Dolby Dig movies the pics are vibrating off my wall at -30. i find DTS and True HD i have to turn it up a little higher in the low -20's.

would it not be simpler if 0 meant no volume and 100 was max???

i have tested with no sound input and i do believe my max is +10.

I believe the purpose of a Db calibrated scale is that it means something, where 0-100 means nothing. I suspect Db calibrated scales came along with THX certification, and were on higher end products and have trickled down like many features.

I personally don't mind it. It's less arbitrary than other possible scales. I would actually prefer seeing the current draw from the wall outlet measured in amps or perhaps a measurement of the total power in watts being produced.

 

[MDS]

Multiquote really makes things easier.

would it not be simpler if 0 meant no volume and 100 was max???

That is called 'absolute' as opposed to 'relative' volume display. Many receivers use absolute volume display only.

I believe the purpose of a Db calibrated scale is that it means something, where 0-100 means nothing.

Both absolute and relative volume displays are the same. They are both a scale from min to max. 0 to 100 is the same as -100 to 0 is the same as -80 to +20.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Both absolute and relative volume displays are the same. They are both a scale from min to max. 0 to 100 is the same as -100 to 0 is the same as -80 to +20.

I don't know if you are correcting my statement, adding additional information, or what.

A volume control calibrated in Db has some meaning. A change of 10Db indicates a rough doubling of volume. I assume that's one behavior of the calibration on my Yamaha, I have not tested it against a SPL.

A scale of 0-100 means nothing. It could have linear response, logarithmic, response, heck it could have fibonacci response...no way of telling. A change between 0 and 10 could indicate half the receivers max power, once again, we have no way of knowing. We could guess that 0 means no output, and 100 means maximum (unlipped) output when the input signal is at some RMS voltage, but we still don't know how 0 and 10 relate. That's all I was trying to indicate when I said 0-100 means nothing.

Let me know what you were trying to correct me on, I am certainly always willing to learn.