[crimsondonkey]

Hi,

Having recently purchased a lovely valve preamp from those delightful chaps over at Eastern Electric, I am very much enjoying the sonic benefits.  The preamp feeds my two 'Cyrus Mono X' monoblock power amps which definitely seem to make the most of the improved preamp signal

Question I have is that the volume control is a lot more sensitive and I barely need to turn the dial from zero to get to loud listening levels - I'm talking only 2 degrees here!

Is this 'normal' and just a result of the large gain from the preamp and the input sensitivity of the SS poweramps?

[*Scotty*]

crimsondonkey, Assuming that you have the MiniMax Preamp you have added 20dB of gain to your system.If your SS poweramp is typical in the amount of gain it has, which usually about 26dB,then you have a total of 46 dB of gain available in your system. As an example my system has a zero gain buffer preamp and the power amp has 26dB gain. This combination works in my system because it is being used with speakers that are 96dB efficient. I can crack plaster and break leases with this setup and I can use 3/4 of the total rotation possible on the VOL knob on my preamp. If my speakers were 89dB efficient I would need another 7dB of gain in the system to be back to where I am now. It sounds like you have more total gain in your system than you need. Music that was recorded with a lot of compression adds to the problem as its average level is closer to the maximum level possible on the CD. Compressed music on vinyl causes the same problem, I can loose up to a 1/4 of my VOL knob rotation due to compression,some some music will be more than loud enough at 9 or 10 o'clock.
You might talk to the folks at Eastern Electric to see if they have any suggestions. Some people report success using in-line attenuators with their sources ahead of their preamp, in effect turning down the loudness of their source before the preamp.
Scotty

[crimsondonkey]

Thanks for your reply Scotty.  I use ATC speakers which have are relatively inefficient at 85dB.

Your post however has reassured me that its just the gain build from CD to pre to power that could be giving the power amps way over the 1v input they are used to.  Great its driving the speakers but conversely not giving any latitude on the preamp volume control.

Some-one has suggested I fit in line attenuators but to be honest I'd rather not introduce anything else into the signal path and live with having to have a light touch on the dial!

[dangerbird]

You may want to get in touch with the EE folks,,IIRC,,Bill @ Morningstar audio,,I have a minimax that has been modded,,the gain has been reduced, the mod also opens the doors for almost infinite tube rolling,in addition to the current practice(read-middle tube),I am extremely happy with this piece,,and especially the mod. Good luck with yours,,I can't remember when I've had this much fun with a pre.  aa

[crimsondonkey]

As an English based poster I have read with interest about the mod that Bill does over in the States - I've not come across anyone who does it this side of the pond though. 

Could you explain a little bit more by what you meant by 'opening the door to infinite tube rolling' and middle tube practice?

I currently have from left to right, a GEC 6063 - Philips E80CC SQ Gold Pin - Mullard ECC 82.