[steinwayjoe]

Hello, I'm not technically savvy, but will try to explain all this.

Here is my system:
I have a Scott 222 integrated (not an A, the very first 222. 2006 it was refurbished by Hotglass Audio - works/sounds great)
Schitt Bifrost DAC
Omega Super 3Rs - recently upgraded to his new RS5 drivers - about 50 hours on them
MacBook pro with my CD library as lossless, also using Audirvana

Okay we moved to a new house (all new electric) a few months ago and what seems to be happening is the volume level is... off. At less than a half quarter turn it is now as loud as what it used to be at half or maybe even more. In fact it is quite loud at what might be "2" or "3" on the volume level knob. Everything sounds fine.

I am not quite stupid enough to have had the iTunes or Audirvana volume levels be the culprit here (meaning I had these set low before). Can anything explain this? Anything I can check? Could the new drivers be this much more... efficient" I bought them right before we moved, so I can't remember if this volume thing changed then, but I don't think so. Then again...

Sorry if this is a dumb post. I am just kind of stumped here. Any ideas appreciated.

[SteveFord]

Are you listening to Spinal Tap?

Seriously, probably the drivers.

[markie]

I'm guessing the drivers in part, and I'm also guessing that the audio room in your new house is smaller..

[Elizabeth]

I would say yes, the difference in the drivers could easily be the factor.
Unlikely to be the electronics or AC power.
The room size plus the drivers easily can give make it that much more apparent louder.
So aside from the sad lack of volume knob use.. No problem!

When listening, even a small change in loudness can seem big when you are used to the system and music.

[FullRangeMan]

I'm guessing the drivers in part, and I'm also guessing that the audio room in your new house is smaller..

Smaller and more live(hard surfaces).

OBS.: want add a lower noise floor in the new room will give a higher SPL ear impression. A 30dB room is very quiet.

[roscoe65]

In your setup we can calculate what you should be hearing:

The Scott puts out about 13wpc, which translates to about 12dB of gain.  Your Super 3's are rated 94.5dB, so the maximum you should be getting is 106.5 dB/m from each speaker.  Add 3dB and you now have peak output of about 110dB at one meter from both speakers.  That is really loud.  If we move away from the speakers, we now experience 104 dB (-6dB) at 2 meters (still really loud) or 99 dB at 4 meters.  In other words, your amp/speaker combination has the potential to produce sustainable sound levels that are far too loud for you to remain in the same room.  Your new drivers may loosen up a bit with break-in, but I doubt you're going to get more than 1 or 2 dB of gain as they do.

This brings up the question of gain:

Your Schiit DAC outputs a maximum of 2V, which you stated corresponded to about 1/2 of the volume range before your moved the system.  It is as unlikely the DAC or amp magically developed more gain as it is the speakers became much more efficient.

However...

Check your input connections; the 222 has three inputs:  Phono, Tape, and Tuner.  The Tuner input is the only line-level input and should be the one you choose for your DAC input.  Both the Phono input and the Tape input are routed through the phono stage.  The tape input is intended to be straight off the tape head with no preamplification.  The equalization mode switch chooses between Phono (RIAA) and Tape (no RIAA).  If I had to guess, you may have your DAC plugged into the Tape input or maybe even the phono input with equalization set to "Tape".

If that is not the case, other things to check include the Loudness control and tone controls.  Either may give the impression of being louder depending on position.

When you upgraded from Fostex to Omega drivers, the best you could hope to gain was 3 dB.  But since you already swapped them at your old place, I would doubt that they would give you the increase in gain you are experiencing.

[sumoking]

My system is a bit different and maybe you have tried this, but in my system I had similar issue.  My preamp volume control was turned way higher than normal and I was not getting the volume i used to.

I have a tube preamp and exogal Comet connected to a mac book pro using audivanna.  While my audivanna volume was all the up and my Exogal was also all the up, I rebooted my exogal doc and made sure my volume was all the up.  When I did that the volume came back loud and clear.  Seems the DAC needed the reboot. Or just turned it off and back on.

Try this and see if it helps.
Cheers.

[steinwayjoe]

Thanks everyone. I am not quite so stupid as to mix up my inputs or have used phono , but it remains a mystery with too many variables. The new room is larger, but not by much. I'll chalk it up to the new drivers.

[merdy]

I have two homes no a few offices around,and in each place I have a system,many times I rotate equipment so I get to learn and enjoy the differences and I also do a lot of diy.
I have had a lot of vintage amps and I noticed similar findings as you mentioned but one day around 15 plus years ago I built a 45 amp and put it into rotation,they were ac heated and had hum pots,I noticed that in one place it was dead quite and smooth and in another a bit hummy but dynamic,so I decided to measure the voltage and found out my city home in summer has 122v  vs 120 in winter,my country home had 117v vs 120 v
This voltage drop or gain has at least a 10 Percent affect on the b + thus affecting gain,I also tested this with some dynaco,fisher,etc some of these vintage amps are rated at 115 v so they run higher.
Have you measured what voltage you get from your wall?
Of course this is not the only one reason the other could be the actual room,build,furnishings,etc
Hope this helps