Ever forgot to turn the volume down?

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Today I was playing a cd from some years ago that didn't have much volume so I positioned my 112 at about 2 o'clock

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2 o'clock ?!?! Holyf..., my Naim amp never gets any higher than 9 o'clock!
Imho 2 0'clock is pretty extreme.

Yep Alco,2 o'clock, naim amps can hammer quite easily at this level, and there is no sign of fatigue.The nap150 is amazing! Mind you cd's can vary so much in music type and output level, - this has been the real cause of the event.

Mario.

Managed to play a Frank Zappa cd once at about 1 o'clock, then put a Pete Tong dance mix cd on......oops. 4 years later and all seems okay still.
Tony

112
When I listen with the wife the volume is usually between 9 - 12. When I'm alone its often at 2 - 2.13 ish. As long as the signal is clean (no distortion) I doubt this will damage anything.

Phil

Good on you Tony, that's what I wanted to hear.

p.s. Frank was meant to be played at 1 o'clock, Mario.

Only when switching between vinyl and CD's.

Tend to play vinyl at 10 or 11 o'clock (later if Mrs S is out)
Cds at 8 to 8:30. 9 o'clock is LOUD

Wow John,sounds like you were very lucky. Those PMC's are really nice speakers. I'm sure they can take a bit too as they, like Bryston, are well known for their service in the professional market. Your amps are even more indestructable, but it would have been nice if the BP20 had a unity gain. Maybe Bryston plan to do this soon?

Mario.

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Originally posted by J. A. Toon:
Mario, you think you had it bad.

Let me tell you a little nightmare story...

...after switching to the "TV" input on the remote, my girlfriend had accidentally put the controller such that it was lying on the volume up button.

Needless to say, I spent the next couple of hours carefully listening to the FB1s, paranoid I'd damaged or slightly impaired their performance. Much to my relief, they sounded as pristine as they've always sounded. No damage.

John.

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Does she read this forum?

It sounds like Mario has a new naim amp, which has a digital type volume control thingy, so 2 oclock to him is not 2 oclock to the olive clan!

That is one of the benefits of the 112 . Each input can have its relative volume adjusted independant of the other . I have young children and when i had a 112 i had the CD input set so that the maximum level i would ever listen to was like 5 oclock. Normal listening was above 12 oclock. No worries about fidling hands .
Regards David

Yeah, the 112's resistor ladder volume control has some nice features. Looks like my 12 o'clock is equal to an olive 9 o'clock.

I must say that comparing volume control positions with others is not that useful since there are so many system variables.

I'm more interested in what people do to determine a speakers condition, especially when buying second hand. I guess they just listen to them??? Any comments from Naim?

Years ago,(1980's) I blew some Wharfedale delta 11 midrange drivers and the importer tested them by hooking them up to a frequency generator. He dialed in some low bass frequency and one of those drivers made a horrible scratchy sound. This one I had damaged. The other made a flapping noise sounding like an air leak, he said that the rubber surround had not been glued properly during manufacture and replaced it for free. He was a pretty cool guy and also a Linn Naim owner.

Where's Mr Frank Abela, I remember him giving some real good advice on how to check if the bearings in an Ekos are knackered. Looks like he may have some knowledge.

Had a listen again this morning, all sounds fine, I guess I should just get on with listening to music.

Mario.

[This message was edited by Mario on SATURDAY 08 February 2003 at 04:13.]

Mario, i know how you feel, i ve done the same after disconecting or connecting a item only to get a thump from the speakers. You spend the next few days listening to the speaker rather than listening to the music.

All i can say is that dealers in my experience often have these little accidents when swapping equipment or trying to rush things or leads not fully home, and it does not put them up nor down. Its not their baby though!
Regards
David

I should think that tweeters in particular would only pop after sustained clipping by the amp had caused the coils to overheat.

A few seconds before panic set in wouldn't count - you'd need to thrash them for a couple of minutes or more.

Having said that, I have never heard an amp clip in my own sistem - I always check the volume level when I change a disc. Mine is a single-source sistem, so switching around between different sources, all with different outputs isn't an issue.

Some of those direct-transfer CDs from bands like The Eagles or Toto can be played at 2 o'clock on my Densen amps (with the power amp set at low gain) whilst remastered stuff or more recently recorded material would clip at just a few minutes past midnight.

I also find that as my amps approach their upper limits, unpleasant hardness sets in well before potential driver-unit-blowing clipping can take place, which urges me me to lower the volume rather quickly.

Having 100 wpc/8 ohms, 200wpc/4 ohms amplification with 92 dB sensitivity speakers (4-6 ohm load) in a 4m x3m room means that my ears would get a hammering before the speakers...



Regards,

Steve.

Thanks for your reply David, I'm sure that the only damage that occurs is psychological, but it's so true that we suddenly forget about the joy that music brings us and start listening to our systems for any possible damage. This is such a shame since naim gear, more than any other brand for me, really gets me into my music, not my hifi.

Mr Toy, your post was so far the most helpful. You are right, a couple of seconds wouldn't do any harm, and clipping is the real danger. This fact alone makes me feel much better.

There are many ways to do harm though, I once demoed a pair of dynaudio contors (1.3se) that were driven too hard. The result was the mid bass cone contiuously hitting its end stop, surely this would damage the voice coil. When I pointed this out to the dealer he said that it would do no harm and that the amp being used (a Krell) was not powerful enough???? What an idiot. Needless to say he didn't sell me the speakers.

Mario.

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The result was the mid bass cone contiuously hitting its end stop, surely this would damage the voice coil. When I pointed this out to the dealer he said that it would do no harm and that the amp being used (a Krell) was not powerful enough????

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If the amp is driving the midbass to its end stops, then it is obviously more than powerful enough...



Regards,

Steve.