[Rhett_Butler]

Hi guys I just got my Earmax Silver Edition yesterday. Although it sounds great I'm surprised that I have to turn the amp all the way up just to get enough volume as well as my DAC, any insights?
 
The audio chain is as follows
 
PC> Wyred4Sound DAC-2> Earmax Silver > Grado PS-1000
 
My PC's volume is set at 50% as usual, my DAC has to be set at 50/65 which is pretty loud and my Earmax is set at 3-4pm, this allows me to reach a comfortable hearing safe level. 
 
Prior to using this audio chain, I used a Headamp Pico Amp/Dac and having it set at low gain and the volume set at 12-2pm was enough. Considering I'm using more powerful devices, it shouldn't take that much cranking up to reach the desired volume. What am I doing wrong?
 
Here are some links for those unfamiliar with my equipment
 
http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/site/74030/117839/shopping/shopping-view.html?pid=457975&b_id=&find_groupid=18157 
 
http://www.audiophileclub.co.uk/earmax.html 

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Hi guys I just got my Earmax Silver Edition yesterday. Although it sounds great I'm surprised that I have to turn the amp all the way up just to get enough volume as well as my DAC, any insights?
 
The audio chain is as follows
 
PC> Wyred4Sound DAC-2> Earmax Silver > Grado PS-1000
 
My PC's volume is set at 50% as usual, my DAC has to be set at 50/65 which is pretty loud and my Earmax is set at 3-4pm, this allows me to reach a comfortable hearing safe level. 
 
Prior to using this audio chain, I used a Headamp Pico Amp/Dac and having it set at low gain and the volume set at 12-2pm was enough. Considering I'm using more powerful devices, it shouldn't take that much cranking up to reach the desired volume. What am I doing wrong?
 
Here are some links for those unfamiliar with my equipment
 
http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/site/74030/117839/shopping/shopping-view.html?pid=457975&b_id=&find_groupid=18157 
 
http://www.audiophileclub.co.uk/earmax.html 

The Earmax Pro is an OTL amp. It can deliver voltage very well, but is less efficient in delivering current. The Grado's are low impedance headphones that demand lots of current to perform. You'll notice that you need much less volume to drive high impedance phones like HD650 with this amp.

 

[Rhett_Butler]

Note that 3-4pm on the Earmax is almost max volume, so this is normal?
 
Thanks for the help

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Note that 3-4pm on the Earmax is almost max volume, so this is normal?
 
Thanks for the help

I have my amp at 1-2 o'clock with my PS1, but I don't listen at loud volumes, so, yes, I guess that's pretty normal.

 

[freakmax]

My setup: iMac > Apogee Duet (Max Vol)>Earmax SE > PS1000
 
I usually listen at about 10-11 o'clock for PS1000 and about 12 o'clock for HD800.
 

 

[Anders]

I suspect that your input signal is too weak. The general rule is to set PC volume to 100 % and then set the listening volume on the amp. You also seem to have a volume setting on the DAC, which I don't know how it is intended to be used. But you could try to set the PC volume to 100 %. I don't know what software you use, but often audio resolution is lost by setting the PC volume to less than 100 %.
 

 

[Rhett_Butler]

Wow that's a revelation, I used to crank it to max on Winamp. Is loss of audio resolution by setting PC volume to less than max always the case? My initial impression was that maxing things out causes distortion which made me tone my PC volume settings to 50% at it appears in default.

 

[Anders]

Loss of resolution is usually the case but it depends on how the digital volume control is implemented. There is a loss of resolution in the standard Windows volume control and the audio software is generally regarded as far from optimal. You can get much better results with drivers and interfaces as ASIO and WASAPI with programs like Foobar and J.River Media Center. WASAPI is easy to use with J.River but I think it is only available in the purchase version but price is decent. It sounds clearly better than Windows software.
 
You can find a lot of information here:
http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/index.html
 
Edit:
I think there is now WASAPI also in Winamp, the Pro version.