Volume level of ARC Ref 5 seems very high

all, thanks for your comments.
I did speak to ARC about it in the past and indeed they suggested the option of lowering the gain on the CD input but also said doing so could cause sonic loss of focus...
I don't have the time or patience to start de-soldering and soldering resistors in the unit with the risk of it downgrading the sound quality.
what ARC didn't say was if listening at the lower volume setups have an effect on the performance of the preamp.
this is what I'm trying to figure out...
thanks for your additional thoughts.

Has anyone checked out the in-line attenuators in the link posted by doggiehowser?

Doggiehowser, I'm looking forward to your impressions of the attenuators...

doggie, thanks a lot for the feedback on the Rothwells. I'll surely get myself a pair to see what they do to my system on this side of the globe.
are you using balanced or SE cables between your CDP and Ref5 SE?
can you tell me what is the sound pressure in db and at what distance from the speakers that you experience at the 35-40 level?
regards from a white Paris.

Thanks doggie, what do you mean by "tactile feedback"?

I have the Livelines on trial here now... visited the lovely and lively Mr. Tchang a couple of weeks ago. Good stuff.

Hello, Rothwells have arrived yesterday here too. One pair RCA and one XLR.
I'll report soon on my impressions.
Have a good weekend.

Hello,

First of all, I need both RCA and XLR as I have two setups which I alternate, one with the Jadis monos and either Ref5 or Karan KAL Ref MKII preamps, this setup is fully balanced, and one with the Sati 520b, which only takes RCA.
Both setups use the CD7 as source and therefore the "problem" as this player has a very high gain.

After a couple of days with the Rothwells, I can only speak highly of what they did in my living room. I first ran the RCA's which started a bit flat, lacking extension and dynamics but after what seemed to be a short burn-in period they opened up. The XLR were ready to go from the first minute installed.

In both cases, the effect was positive in many aspects, lower noise floor, darker back ground, wider and deeper sound stage, faster highs and mids, much more controlled bass (and with the Euforidtes you must control the bass...), etc while I couldn't detect any negative impact.
I'm not an expert but I guess that most up sides here are due to the ability to play at higher volume settings.

Bottom line, from my point of view, after a two day trial, highly recommended.

Best.