[Danpyre]

  The driving force would be power, a headphone requires power to create sound, i.e. make the diaphragm move. 
 
One way to think about this is gain is the amount of voltage amplification provided by the amplifier.
The volume control actually controls how much signal goes into the amplifier.
 
Low gain is typically used for more sensitive headphones.
High gain is typically used for less sensitive headphones.
 
Q701's typically need an amp with a moderate amount of gain, when I owned a Matrix M Stage, I usually left the gain at 10 dB.
 
Confused yet?  

 

I was never confused about what the gain is, I just thought that the Vali's knob was a gain knob, rather than a volume knob.

 

[Chris J]

I was never confused about what the gain is, I just thought that the Vali's knob was a gain knob, rather than a volume knob.

Aaahhhh.......never mind, then!

 

[Chris J]

Some vendors call it 'pre-gain' and that probably makes it clearer. Think of it as a facility to calibrate your volume pot so that you can have a decent range:

• Too high pre-gain and the sound gets too loud before the pot reaches 10 o'clock.
• Too low and it's not loud enough even when the pot is at max.

That works of course within the capabilities of the amp: some will never power adequately the least sensitive headphones.

I think you are referring to attenuation.

 

[PleasantSounds]

I think you are referring to attenuation.

 
I'd say that attenuation is just one of the ways of controlling/adjusting gain. By definition gain is a ratio of output signal to input. How this is achieved is a matter of design: apart from signal attenuation it could be regulation of negative feedback, switching of output transformer windings, adding/removing amplification stages etc.

 

[Chris J]

I'd say that attenuation is just one of the ways of controlling/adjusting gain. By definition gain is a ratio of output signal to input. How this is achieved is a matter of design: apart from signal attenuation it could be regulation of negative feedback, switching of output transformer windings, adding/removing amplification stages etc.

We're putting everyone to sleep!

 

[toolio]

We're putting everyone to sleep!

Just when I was getting excited about the possibility of switching the output of my transformer windings

 

[Chris J]

Just when I was getting excited about the possibility of switching the output of my transformer windings

I've never met a man who isn't fascinated by transformer windings! :wink_face:

 

[Stillhart]

We're putting everyone to sleep!

Maybe if I could increase the gain or decrease the attenuation on my amp, it would help... maybe some kind of knob that lets me do it on the fly...

 

[Chris J]

Maybe if I could increase the gain or decrease the attenuation on my amp, it would help... maybe some kind of knob that lets me do it on the fly...

There is a company called Beresford.
They have just released a headphone amp with a volume control and a separate gain control on the front panel of the amp.

 

[PleasantSounds]

We're putting everyone to sleep!

OK, let's show something exciting:

 

 

[jodgey4]

OHHHHH DANG you gotta tell how that sounds! Which AGD DAC is that?
 
And who re-cabled your cans?

 

[Chris J]

OHHHHH DANG you gotta tell how that sounds! Which AGD DAC is that?

And who re-cabled your cans?

The unit on top is a Short Wave Receiver!

 

[donunus]

The only thing I don't like about these cans are their lack of ability to play loud without congestion and distortion. If these could only play at loud enough volumes where I can hear the full dynamics of an orchestra without strain or hip hop beats without clipping, these would easily go up in value to double the price in my book. I like them a lot and they are certainly far better than my old K701 that I despised for being too bright.

 

[kman1211]

The only thing I don't like about these cans are their lack of ability to play loud without congestion and distortion. If these could only play at loud enough volumes where I can hear the full dynamics of an orchestra without strain or hip hop beats without clipping, these would easily go up in value to double the price in my book. I like them a lot and they are certainly far better than my old K701 that I despised for being too bright.

They may simply need more power to achieve the volume you want. I was able to get them uncomfortably loud on my Lyr 2 without distortion, congestion, or clipping. Same with the K712.

 

[toolio]

They may simply need more power to achieve the volume you want. I was able to get them uncomfortably loud on my Lyr 2 without distortion, congestion, or clipping. Same with the K712.

On my original Lyr (as opposed to the Lyr2) I there is no way I can turn the volume past about 12 oclock without fearing serious hearing damage. On on my JDSlabs O2+ODAC the volume  must be cranked up more, but I can still get them uncomfortably loud without clipping, congestion or distortion. Using the gain button, which I prefer not to do, they get even louder. I have two pairs in two different locations and the results are the same with both. I love these headphones.