Too much gain
This has been something that has been bugging me slightly for a while but became more apparent when my pre came back from repair. In its absence I have been using an Audiolab Q Dac as a pre with my XTC Pow1 power amp and it is absolutely quiet when on.
Putting back my VTL 2.5 pre there is audible hiss when no music is playing and it is not on mute.
I only use the volume control between 7 and 9 o'clock as that is at 9 it is extremely loud so am thinking the pre is too high gain.
I am looking for a cheap solution and have thought about trying some attentuators (Rothwell?) but am concerned it degrades the sound.
Would changing valves in the line section help? They are ecc82's feeding in to 6350's and I was thinking about trying a lower gain version of an ecc82 equivalent.
Steve
Thorens TD550, Ortofon 12", Ortofon Jubilee or Koetsu Black; Rothwell MCL SUT, VTL 2.5 pre, XTC POW 1 power; Naim CD5x; KEF Reference 3.2's; Van den Hul interconnects and speaker cables.