Correct Phono Preamp Gain Setting

If you are not using a passive preamp, 58 dB should be just about ideal with a .45 mV cartridge.

I'm a bit confused. At 58 dB you say that it sounds "great" but it's also anemic and not loud enough for your listening. So I'm not sure which it is.

Newcomers to vinyl (and I'm not sure if you are so don't take it the wrong way) are often thrown off when they have to turn the volume pot higher to achieve the same SPL's that they do with digital, which is quite normal.

So the question I would ask you is this: when you say the sound is anemic and lacks punch, where are you on the volume control? Are you maxed out or close to being maxed out? Or are you at the same level as your digital source and feeling there is a problem because your SPL's are much lower than with digital.

My thoughts are this: if indeed you are at the same spot on the volume control for digital and analog and experiencing lower volumes don't worry about it and turn it up. If you have to turn it up to 2-3-4 o'clock (or about 65-80% of maximum volume) to achieve high SPL's and good sound with analog and there are no problems with hum or hiss with you advanced on the volume pot, then do it and simply turn it down when you're done.

If, on the other hand, you max the volume out with the turntable and it still sounds dull and anemic, then you may need to increase the gain. But too much gain is very often a bad thing which will result in inferior sound (sound hardening up, collapse of soundstage etc.-it will sound a lot like poor quality digital though ;)).

If you have a passive preamp, all bets are off and you very probably do need to increase your gain.

Sorry for the confusion, I should not have differentiated volume from anemic and lacking punch. Volume is the variable I am referring to. Even though I have been doing vinyl for about 3 years, I am a novice when it comes to these sensitivity, tonearm weight,loading, etc., technical issues. My phono preamp is connected to a Cayin tube integrated amp. At the 71db setting the volume is equivalent to the CD volume and sits at 9 o'clock. At the 58db setting I have to crank the volume from the 9 o'clock setting to the 2 o'clock setting to get an equivalent volume. That's almost max. I don't have a problem with turning down the volume after I listen to vinyl, what I'm not sure of whether the 71db setting is optimal.

With what you describe I would doubt that the 71 dB setting is optimal and I would in fact venture an educated guess that the 58 dB setting, as long is it is not presenting you with hiss/hum levels that are obtrusive at the maximum SPL's you want to achieve, would in fact provide you with better sound quality.

Bear in mind also that most volume pots are much more linear and provide their best sound quality when they are close to maxed out; I'd expect that to be the case with your Cayin as well.

What you've described in terms of the volume discrepancy is not unusual and is, in fact, pretty normal.

I played a little bit of the Acoustech 45rpm recording of Horace Silver's Tokyo Blues at both settings. First with the phono gain set at 71db. Then again at 58db. At 58db I noticed a lot less hissing, more front to back depth in the soundstage, and everyhting the sound seemed more open, or less compressed. Thanks for the expertise and great advice. Now I just need to be okay with the volume knob cranked to 3.
Cheers!