The gain of my ASL AQ2004 is a little high, my ears are starting to bleed at the 9:00 o'clock position of the volume control. The circuit uses two 12AU7's and one 12AX7. If I'm reading the schematic correctly (It has been a while, so I may not be!) the 12AU7's are used for phase inversion and input buffering, while the the 2 sides of the 12AX7 provide most of the gain for each channel. Could I replace the 12AX7 (gain 100) with a 12AT7 (gain 60) or 12AU7 (gain 20) without damaging the pre-amp? Even if it won't damage the preamp, are their any other drawbacks to this, such as excessive noise?
Comments, suggestions and smart-alecky remarks welcome!
