AV Fixed Volume set to 69 (too low).

I was just messing about with this last night funnily enough, getting ready to integrate my Superuniti with my Meridian G61. I must admit that when I saw the figure 69 as I set one of the inputs to fixed, I thought that I'd need to be careful with the test tones because I normally listen about 35-40. I was then surprised to hear how quiet the test tones were.

I had to increase the volume by about 3 db I think to get to 75db on the test tones, compared to the power amp that had previously been doing the job. Maybe that does imply that Naim has been slightly conservative in setting the fixed volume. Having said that, I had to increase the volume on the rears compared to the previous power amp, so that must be a bit down on gain too.  I haven't run the system yet, as I won't have the centre speaker in place until the weekend.

Hi jobseeker, good to see that i'm neither crazy nor alone (at least with this issue). As DENONs Audyssey measuring tools and routines are working good enough (read very, very fine) for me when setting up 5.1 (with the front speaker connected via NAIM) I have no issues with volumes/levels/delays etc. One might argue that some further fine tuning or even a complete manual approach (as mentioned in NAIM's FAQs) might even improve listening 5.1 experience – well Batman, 007 & Co sound brilliant. Just a little punch beyond that 69er limit would be nice.

Actually – maybe your statement "Maybe that does imply that Naim has been slightly conservative in setting the fixed volume" could be the reason and at the same time the key to the solution – either a higher default or the choice of a default (pretty much every other level is user defined as well)...

Cheers, Lorenz

Do you often listen to CDs or other sources at greater than "69".

The volume control goes up to (I'm guessing) 100 in order to pass sufficient signal to the (fixed gain) Power Amplifier section when the signal from the source unit is unusually low.

This might be the case with some older units - pre-dating the introduction of the, then, atypical 2v output of CD players.

With earlier pre-amplifiers (without the Unity Gain facility) it was usual to set the volume on the pre-amplifier to, say, 10 o'clock - and determine the AV sound levels with the controls on the AV processor.

If the maximum signal output of your Denon is atypically low then you might need less attenuation (more volume) from the Nait but this is unlikely.

@Adam – CD? Those silverish things from the past century? Just kidding – all stereo is exclusively done by the NAIM (UPNP, iRadio, Mac via Coax) – can't remember any volume ever above 50. Usually in the 30s. Although the DENON is very new it seems as if the output level is either low. Raising the input gain on the NAC (+10) ist about half way what I would like to have. Listening (viewing) a calm/quiet Blu-ray is just fine – it's just those Hollywood blockbuster movies that would like the extra punch. If I could set the limit higher everything would be fine...

When you use Audyssey on the Denon doesn't it boost the volume levels of the channels you have connected to the NAC to overcome the 'quietness' of the fixed volume setting, when it measures.

On my Denon AVR there is a volume range from -12dB to +12dB available. Ii is also possible to boost the relative volume difference manually by setting the other channels to a -db level and then boosting the NAC channels manually as high as necessary using the volume differences set by Audyssey to maintain the relative levels.

Geoff

@Geoff – but wouldn't it be nice to just have another default or the option to set the volume? Maybe too simple :-). 

The 172 has around 16dB of gain - so the unity 1:1 setting is going to be quite a bit down from 100 (if that is the highest volume setting).

You should be able to drive the NAP 200 to its maximum output - just adjust the front channel output from the Denon.

The unity gain setting sets the preamp to ... unity gain - i.e. the equivalent of 0db on your Denon. The point of unity gain is not to overdrive the power amp input. When not in unity gain, the preamp volume control allows you to overdrive the input stage of the power amp by a certain amount - in this case the difference between 69 and the maximum. This allows for lower output sources (typically phono stages).

So when you set the preamp input to unity gain, in effect you're ensuring you don't overdrive the power amp with a line level source. This avoids the inevitable distortion effects of overdriving the power amp.

At the same time, the Denon's output stage should be able to provide enough level to equalize the relative levels of the speakers. Once that is done, it should be (more than) enough to provide a very satisfying level of noise when in use.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.