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"Too much gain"? (Cary SLP05 question)

A few days or so ago, someone had revived an old Cary SLP 05 thread, and common to that discussion seemed to be the subject of too much gain. 

My first question is:  does compensating for too much gain by simply adjusting the volume knob knob down degrade the sonic quality?

My second (2 part) question relates to this quote from one of the replies in that thread:

 A quick note to Pass Labs and they suggested a pair of Rothwell 10db balanced attenuators into the amp’s inputs.

What exactly do balanced attenuators do to resolve this issue, and if placed between the preamp and the amp, would they degrade the signal path & therefore the sonic result out of the speakers?

I am a relatively new owner/operator of a SLP05 and it is in front of one of the earlier Cary V12s.  I did find those balanced attenuators on ebay for (I think I remember them being) $89 a pair, which I find totally doable.  I am lsitening in a (very) near field room right now, and it seem as if I do have a lot of gain.  Generally the big knob is on 9 o'clock plus or minus a little bit depending upon the source material I am listening to.  I am using the balanced ins and outs to & from my SLP05 and I have been given to understand that using RCAs would reduce the gain somewhat.  I do have some RCAs (I am presently using Kimber Silver Streak balanced interconnects) but my collection of spare RCAs is Kimber PBJ and Monsters. 

For $89 should I try putting a pair of those  of Rothwell 10db balanced attenuators into the balanced amp’s inputs?

 

immatthewj
immatthewj OP
3,171 posts
 

Check remote function.  In my unit, it controls volume and nothing else.  The buttons are for the cinema unit I think.

Volume is all that  the remote does for my SLP-05.

By virtue of the high gain, I’m assuming the volume will be set relatively low when the 2 gain pots are full on. This to me seems like the volume adjustment will be difficult, as even small adjustments will result in big changes.

I use the balanced ins and outs and I feel the soundstage is more open with more bloom that way; however, there is not a lot of available real estae on the main volume knob in my small room.  But that part really didn't turn out to be a big issue . . . my main concern is whether it would sound better if I could get the same volume with the pot in a higher position.

Aric has been very helpful in our emails and I feel he would be a great guy to deal with if I were to own one of his units. The communications from Cary have been somewhat different.

Tech support from CAD used to be soooo good.  That was part of what made me a fan of Cary in the old days.  Their customer service has changed a lot.

jaybe
808 posts
 

Thanks all for the recent input and glad that many are happy with the Carey. But the gain uncertainty, age of the design, maybe the questionable customer service and odd feedback from the sales manager don't sit well with me. I've decided on a different 6NS7-based preamp for now.

testrun
252 posts
 

Has anyone found an aftermarket simple remote that works with the current Cary SLP 05?  Just looking for a remote to handle volume.  More function is ok but volume is mandatory.  Thanks

immatthewj OP
3,171 posts
 

@testrun , don't you have the factory remote anymore?

@jaybe , I had sworn off Cary myself, but then this preamp came up on their preowned page at a price I could do, and before I had sworn Cary off, this was a pre I had heard great things about and I had always wanted.  Combine that with my previous preamp (SLP 90) being ancient and sounding tired, I did some soul searching and then did the fickle thing and pulled the trigger.  And in my system it has been transformative.  

testrun
252 posts
 

@immatthewj I do but it would be really nice to have a smaller simpler remote.  

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