[PrincessLeliana]

So I will be looking into a new amp in several months time, but all the higher end ones i've been looking at lack a "loudness" button.

From my understanding ,this boosts some of the bass and trebble (or is it mids?) when listening at lower volumes, because when its quieter the human ear doesn't quite hear them properly, or something.

I love this feature, I listen at low volumes and turning it on instantly makes any and all music sound more powerful, more energetic, and far more enjoyable.

If I were to get a higher end amp (like a darkvoice) that lacks this feature, how would I get around it? I would still listen at the same low volumes, but, if the older amp with loudness sounds better than the newer one without, what would be the point upgrading?

 

[corgifall]

I think the last time I saw a loudness button was on a receiver. In theory any modern amp should push the same amount of power no matter the volume. Especially if a digital volume knob is being used. Tube amps are a little different since I believe some volume knobs will actually affect output power but I could be wrong on that. I tend to listen to my music in bed alot before going to sleep and I always have my volume rather low and I can still hear all the details in music.

Definitely buy an amp you can return in case you don't like it compared to your current one. Good luck!

 

[PrincessLeliana]

I think the last time I saw a loudness button was on a receiver. In theory any modern amp should push the same amount of power no matter the volume. Especially if a digital volume knob is being used. Tube amps are a little different since I believe some volume knobs will actually affect output power but I could be wrong on that. I tend to listen to my music in bed alot before going to sleep and I always have my volume rather low and I can still hear all the details in music.

Definitely buy an amp you can return in case you don't like it compared to your current one. Good luck!

It's not about the power the amp is delivering, it's about the limits of human hearing itself. It doesn't like, register the frequencies quite as well when quiet (or so I've read).

 

[corgifall]

It's hard for me to say since I'm not an audiologist but I've heard we do tend to hear more details at slightly lower volumes. I listen to my music off my dap at like 40 percent what I normally listen at and sometimes I'll notice something I didn't hear when I was sitting in my chair with volume much much louder. I'll definitely be looking into what the loudness button/EQ does since I never used it on my receiver since it always caused terrible clipping on my speakers.

 

[PrincessLeliana]

Maybe I'll be fine without it but whenever I turn it off my music just sounds flat and horrible. I hope I'll be OK

 

[corgifall]

If you don't mind me asking, what are you using now amp wise?

 

[PrincessLeliana]

If you don't mind me asking, what are you using now amp wise?

Marantz pm6005. Not the vest but I had limited space and budget and it does the job of a dac amp and phone stage all in one

 

[corgifall]

Ahhhh! So it was a receiver type unit. I actually just plugged into my old sony receiver I use for my speakers and tried to listen to music at lower volume and yeah it sounds pretty weak. I think a dedicated headphone amp won't have the same problems at lower volumes.

 

[PrincessLeliana]

Ahhhh! So it was a receiver type unit. I actually just plugged into my old sony receiver I use for my speakers and tried to listen to music at lower volume and yeah it sounds pretty weak. I think a dedicated headphone amp won't have the same problems at lower volumes.

Got it. I'm quite interested in the dark voice cos tubes make me go ooooo pretty, but then that only has one input and I need two and yada yada. Oh well. That's an issue for me to solve after I get headphones

 

[corgifall]

Nothing like lights dimmed with a tube amp running!

 

[PrincessLeliana]

Nothing like lights dimmed with a tube amp running!

It glow pretty hehehe

 

[FullBlownEargasam]

not sure if this fits you needs but the RME ADI-2 FS has a class leading loudness feature among many other options

 

[PrincessLeliana]

not sure if this fits you needs but the RME ADI-2 FS has a class leading loudness feature among many other options

I'll have to look into that

 

[CAJames]

I think when you're talking about "higher end" gear you choose it based on the sound profile you prefer e.g. faster brighter solid state vs. warmer more romantic tubes. And same idea for headphones, instead of direct eq adjustments on the amp.

 

[Nitreb]

So I will be looking into a new amp in several months time, but all the higher end ones i've been looking at lack a "loudness" button.

From my understanding ,this boosts some of the bass and trebble (or is it mids?) when listening at lower volumes, because when its quieter the human ear doesn't quite hear them properly, or something.

I love this feature, I listen at low volumes and turning it on instantly makes any and all music sound more powerful, more energetic, and far more enjoyable.

If I were to get a higher end amp (like a darkvoice) that lacks this feature, how would I get around it? I would still listen at the same low volumes, but, if the older amp with loudness sounds better than the newer one without, what would be the point upgrading?

If your amp has bass and trebel controls, simply add some bass and treble when listening at low level, e.g. I set the bass at 14:00 and the treble at 13:00 (12:00 being the neutral position) when listening to music early in the morning or late in the evening.