@dsper Wrote:
I was thinking that, for example, a pair of Quicksilver mid monos at 1.5 V input sensitivity might do the trick.
I would go with Quicksilver Horn Mono's
Mike
Impedance and Sensitivity
Hi All,
I have made a move from inefficient speakers and large amps with high current supply to smaller amps and more efficient speakers. Think like 300 to 500 WPC at 8 ohms changing to 25 or 50 WPC at 8 ohms and speaker efficiency increasing to 98 or 100 Dbl from 87 Dbl.
I have always kept an eye on the output impedance of the preamp compared to the input impedance of the amp. I understood that if the input impedance of the amp was not at least 10X of the output impedance of the preamp, I could experience a negative impact on the bass response of my system.
As I try different preamps and amps with more efficient speakers, I have run into a new problem. This problem is that the gain of one of my preamps is 26dbl and, pairing it with a tube amp with an input sensitivity of 0.5 volts, results in not being able to adjust the preamp volume control so that my system plays more quietly. I run out of clicks for it to play more quietly.
I realize that either a preamp or a amp change can fix this. Not sure if in line attenuators is an answer as I suspect it adds a distortion or tonal coloration.
In the meantime...does this "gain" imbalance impact sound quality or is it just a loudness problem?
Thanks for listening,
Dsper
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- 14 posts total
In preamps, 6dB one way or another is a doubling or halving of the voltage. From 1 to 2 volts is a 6dB increase and so on. You have so much gain (especially with speakers like that) that you might consider a passive volume control. I'm not a big fan of them; an attenuator would work but means that you would be amplifying and then knocking the signal back down. If you keep the passive volume control as close to the amp as possible that seems to work better. |
Benjamin at Mojo Audio, who made my DAC (1.5 V), also suggested that a passive might be the way to go. I do have a Luminous Axiom passive that I can try.
Can you share your thoughts on why the horn mono's would be a better choice than the mid monos? Everyone, I appreciate the feedback. Thank you! |
@dsper Wrote:
The horn mono’s have lower gain I find work better with high efficient speakers. i.e. lower noise. My speakers have an efficiency >2.6% and a sensitivity of 96 dB SPL @ 1 watt 2 meters @ 8Ohm. For my system controlling gain is important for good sound quality. From Quicksilvers site: The Horn Mono Amplifier is designed specifically for use with very efficient loudspeakers. It has extremely low noise and distortion as well as having 18db less gain than Quicksilver’s standard amplifiers. This avoids the noise and gain problems that normally appear when using horn speakers. The amplifier is designed to sound good at the extremely low levels (milliwatts) that horn loudspeakers require. Many amplifiers actually have higher distortions at these low levels.
Mike |
- 14 posts total