Help with Gain selection for PPA, Gilmore Lite

[Solude]

And then there were two

Anyway I will be using Beyer DT880 and would like 10 o'clock to be moderate volume ~70dB and 2 o'clock to be loud ~90dB. Am I looking at a gain of 5? 10? somewhere in the middle? Let me know.

 

[PeterR]

I don't have any experience with the Beyers, but judging from the specs an educated guess would be a gain of about 4, with a standard CD source and quite dynamic material.

 

[sacd lover]

I used the dt 880's with the gilmore amps and a very high gain source. I think you will have a hard time getting exactly what your describing. The dt 880 with a lower gain like 4-5 goes so loud and just wont go any louder.Trying to go louder makes the amp sound strained. The dt 880 needs a gain of 7.5 or so IMO. However, then the 90 db figure will probably be reached around 1:00 or so. I am guessing here, because my player has a very high gain.The dt 880 is an absolute bear to drive. I had the five position gain switch on a v2-se and I found 7.5 or 10 to be best. I tried to use a gain of 5 and I really didnt get much more range on the volume pot. This headphone clearly sounds better with the higher gain.

 

[sacd lover]

Look in the full featured amp review section. Check out the article a different take on the gilmore v2. I specifically discussed your question.

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover (...)The dt 880 is an absolute bear to drive. I had the five position gain switch on a v2-se and I found 7.5 or 10 to be best. I tried to use a gain of 5 and I really didnt get much more range on the volume pot. This headphone clearly sounds better with the higher gain.

As I said, no personal experience with this phone on my side. Still one comment: note that a higher gain has nothing to do at all with more power (provided that you don't hit the end stop with the lower gain). The amp will run out of steam at the same level, just your volume knob will be in a different position.

 

[adhoc]

i think i should step in and mention that an amp's max 'power' is NOT determined by it's gain setting - that only allows you to choose how much you would rotate your pot before you attain a certain volume.

[size=xx-small]EDIT: damn, PeterR beat me to it. this is why you should press 'refresh' before replying to a thread you have open for some time.

[/size]

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude moderate volume ~70dB loud volume ~90dB

this may be a horribly stupid question, but I thought as you got louder the dB lowered? At least that is the way it works on my wifes panasonic stereo... 40dB is fairly loud, 30dB is very loud and 20dB is too damn loud

 

[alexm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox this may be a horribly stupid question, but I thought as you got louder the dB lowered? At least that is the way it works on my wifes panasonic stereo... 40dB is fairly loud, 30dB is very loud and 20dB is too damn loud

If you consider dB SPL, as an example, where the reference (0dB) is the (conventional) human hearing threshold, the higher the dB value the louder is perceived sound.
In your stereo probably the reference value is the amplifier maximum output or something close: in that case -20dB is louder than, say, -30dB.

 

[Solude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adhoc i think i should step in and mention that an amp's max 'power' is NOT determined by it's gain setting - that only allows you to choose how much you would rotate your pot before you attain a certain volume.

Fully aware of this. But at the same time it would be nice for a change to be able to use a good chunk of the pot for volume control instead of the first 90 degrees. With the E-Mu on it's -10dB setting on my speaker amp I can't get passed 9 o'clock without it being VERY loud. Use the E-Mu's +4dB setting instead and it's more like 8 o'clock. Given the bugger starts at 7 o'clock thats not a whole lot of room for minor changes. I'm hoping I can select a gain where I can actually dial in fine changes while not giving up coffee

I just talked with Justin at Headamp.com and it looks like the new Lite comes with a gain of 5 by default for this very reason.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexm If you consider dB SPL, as an example, where the reference (0dB) is the (conventional) human hearing threshold, the higher the dB value the louder is perceived sound. In your stereo probably the reference value is the amplifier maximum output or something close: in that case -20dB is louder than, say, -30dB.

that makes sense, thanks for the explination

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude Fully aware of this. But at the same time it would be nice for a change to be able to use a good chunk of the pot for volume control instead of the first 90 degrees. With the E-Mu on it's -10dB setting on my speaker amp I can't get passed 9 o'clock without it being VERY loud. Use the E-Mu's +4dB setting instead and it's more like 8 o'clock. Given the bugger starts at 7 o'clock thats not a whole lot of room for minor changes. I'm hoping I can select a gain where I can actually dial in fine changes while not giving up coffee I just talked with Justin at Headamp.com and it looks like the new Lite comes with a gain of 5 by default for this very reason.

ouch. i'm sorry to hear that.

fwiw, your experience reminds me of a situation i find myself in sometimes - my ms-2 does not go beyond 10 o'clock on my Classic while my k501 needs to be somewhere at 4-5 o'clock (ie nearly maxed out). gain was set at 6 for me. ah, the frustration of owning both a high and low sensitivity headphone.

 

[ampgalore]

On an amp with a gain set to 4, listening to my HD600, I am usually at 10 o'clock.

I don't understand why people would want a gain of 10 or 11 for.

 

[Kenny12]

would the gain of 10 on the ppa be the same as a gain of 10 on the pimeta? volume wize that is