There is a bit of controversy surrounding the actual output of the Denon DL 160. On the Needledoctor site, Jerry Raskin actually says he has measured the output of the 160 at 2.2 mV as opposed to the stated 1.6 from Denon.
If indeed it is 2.2 mV (and your assertion that it is relatively close in terms of volume to the AT 440 mla would seem to suggest this), then 40 db is about 3 db light, but 55 db would be about 9 db too high. Based on this (but only you can decide based on sound quality) I would stick with the 40 db setting; I would think that the 55 db setting would put you into, or on the verge of overload and compromise your sound quality much more than running 3 db short.
Cranking to 11 AM for volume is nothing to worry about-I very often run between 11 and 1 PM (depending on the record and just how loudly I want to listen). I would think that at 8 PM, obtaining CD like volumes is putting you in an overload situation.
If indeed it is 2.2 mV (and your assertion that it is relatively close in terms of volume to the AT 440 mla would seem to suggest this), then 40 db is about 3 db light, but 55 db would be about 9 db too high. Based on this (but only you can decide based on sound quality) I would stick with the 40 db setting; I would think that the 55 db setting would put you into, or on the verge of overload and compromise your sound quality much more than running 3 db short.
Cranking to 11 AM for volume is nothing to worry about-I very often run between 11 and 1 PM (depending on the record and just how loudly I want to listen). I would think that at 8 PM, obtaining CD like volumes is putting you in an overload situation.