Preamp - 18 dB Gain too low?

More on the Oppo's stereo only output, are you getting the siganl from the FL and FR outputs on the back to the Lightspeed?

Also taken from the manual are you setup it the programing for this way.
"4. Output Volume: Allows you to enable or disable the analog volume controls (also known as Variable
Audio). The available options are:
�� Variable – Enables the analog volume control. Use the VOL+/- buttons on the remote to
increase/decrease the analog audio output level (the maximum is 100).
�� Fixed – Disables the analog volume control. The VOL+/- buttons on the remote will no
longer affect the analog audio output, and the volume level is fixed to 100."

And then this also
"For the stereo outputs, if the audio system you are connecting to does not have surround speakers,
set the Down Mix option in the Setup Menu to Stereo. If the audio system has surround speakers
and Dolby Pro Logic or other surround audio decoding capabilities, set the down mix mode to “LT/RT”.
(For more information, refer to “Down Mix Mode” on page 68)."

Cheers George

Nguyen787. A very good quote from god! Cheers George

"Nelson Pass,
We’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.
Think of it this way: If you are running your volume control down around 9 o’clock, you are actually throwing away signal level so that a subsequent gain stage can make it back up.
Routinely DIYers opt to make themselves a “passive preamp” - just an input selector and a volume control.
What could be better? Hardly any noise or distortion added by these simple passive parts. No feedback, no worrying about what type of capacitors – just musical perfection.
And yet there are guys out there who don’t care for the result. “It sucks the life out of the music”, is a commonly heard refrain (really - I’m being serious here!). Maybe they are reacting psychologically to the need to turn the volume control up compared to an active preamp."

Nguyen hi, just looking at the factory specs for your 845 amps they are very sensitive at There is something not right with your system as Red Book standard for cdp is 2v out and most are higher than this so your Lightspeed should be below half way. What is your cd or source (has it been modded?) please give model no's

Cheers George

Jeez, what a s**t fight this has turned out to be, most any active preamp is going to have trouble with this as you have found out with your Conrad Johnson PV-10AL and all passive preamps as well.
To make the input of a power amp 4v sensitivity is totaly wrong there has to be something else amiss somewhere either with the amount of output comming from the cdp or the amp it's self which needs to be changed to 1-2v sensitivity.
To boot I just saw you have 98db efficient speaker, if you had normal speaker 88-92db you would get nothing but a whisper comming out at full volume

Cheers George

Another thought, your Oppo cdp has a remote volume control, is it at full output level? As it may default to 1v or less when powered up and you need to bring it up on the remote to full 2v output.

Cheers George

Nguyen787
Here is a way out there thought on your problem. You say your running the amp on 115v mains? It is possible that this amp/s are set up for 220-240v mains operation, this could? drop your gain/input sensitivity.

Cheers George

An input sensitivity for an amp of 1v is quite normal as nearly every amp I've seen on the market has been .5v to 2v for max rated rated output (to clip/distort).
An input sensitivity of 4v is wrong/bad and I would call the amp broken or seriously badly designed.
You have a problem ask the manufacture to give you a fix to make the amp/s 1 to 2 volt input sensitivity, as the standard is.

Cheers George

Still no good here it is again.

Nguyen hi, just looking at the factory specs for your 845 amps they are very sensitive at less than 1v for full output.
There is something not right with your system as Red Book standard for cdp is 2v out and most are higher than this so your Lightspeed should be below half way. What is your cd or source (has it been modded?) please give model no's

Cheers George

Sorry a line was left out above
Nguyen hi, just looking at the factory specs for your 845 amps they are very sensitive at
Cheers George