Power Amplifier question

rockpassion · 1816

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Offline rockpassion

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on: January 09, 2015, 01:21:29 PM
Hello all,

I am currently running a pair of Quicksilver 8417 mono's into my BeePre. These amps were converted and I am now using KT77's.  I just had my Dynaco MKIII with the full Curcio mods repaired and will be installing them soon in place of the Quicksilvers. 

So here is my question, currently, using the Quicksilver's I do not have turn up the volume much in order to get to a comfortable listening level.  By not much I would say if 10 is straight up I am at about a 2-3.  Now the Quicksilver's put out about 45-50 watts.  The Dynaco's will be at 60 watts (I am running KT88's or 6550's not sure which yet).  Will my output level from the BeePre change.  If I have to go much past 4-5 on the BeePre the sound overwhelms the room (not to mention my ears).  If it will change how do I go about padding down the BeePre to control the volume sensitivity?

Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

Richard

Richard Vince

VPI MkIV, Woody Tonearm w/Shelter 501 MkII Cart. w/Soundsmith rebuild, Cinemag CMQEE-3440A SUT, Eros Phono Preamp, Beepre Preamp , QuickSilver V4 Amps, DIY 89259 Speaker Cables  & interconnects, VH Audio Power Cables, OPPO 205 Player, DIY 3 way speakers


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #1 on: January 09, 2015, 01:39:56 PM
You can't determine the gain and sensitivity of one amp by listening to another, and watts are actually not a very important part of the equation when it comes to level setting. You have to know the gain and the sensitivity of each amp to make a guess at how they will compare. 50watts vs. 60 watts is a pretty insignificant difference. But if there is a lot more gain in one amp than the other the volume knob setting of the two amps could be very different for the same listening level.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
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Bottlehead Corp.