trouble may be coming, need help, volume related

[nusiclover]

heres the situation. today i noticed that the volume registered much higher than normal. with the knob turned a quarter dial it sounds almost as loud as half way used to be. i tried many cd's to troubleshoot this problem. but no luck. ive unplugged, powered on/off and nothing. it still sounds peculiarly loud. my gf arrived and said the same. so i am not crazy. but my amp may be?
it is too late to call my dealer. so i need some advice here. there isnt much to troubleshoot since all i have hooked up is an integrated, cdp and 2 speakers. i also want to say that ive also noticed a slight decrease in sound quality, but id rather stay optimistic.
i have a musical fidelity amp, dynaudio speakers, toshiba dvd is the current source (i know, but ive been using it since the start, it is my next upgrade so no remarks please -lol). everything is less than 4 months old. i do listen to 6 hours of music a day. any suggestions or comments as to the source of this incidental volume increase?

the only other things i can add is that i recently changed speaker cables(jps ultras) and speaker stands. but that was over a week ago and i only noticed a change in volume today. i also connected a sony cd-recorder to the surge protector. but did not run any interconnects to the amp or cd player that im using.
thanks all

[Woochifer]

Get yourself a SPL meter and a test disc, and then mark down the decibel level at each volume position. That way, you have a reference point from which to compare readings later on. Just noting that the volume has changed doesn't really say anything because there are so many variables involved.

Sounds like you're using the analog output from the DVD player, since I believe that Musical Fidelity amps are pure analog. You might want to double check the DVD player first and go through the setup menus and make sure that your audio defaults are the same, and that there's not some signal processor (like the SRS effect) that got accidentally activated. Also, are there any gain adjustments, aside from the volume control, with the amp? Cables and speaker stands won't explain anything, unless you got a stray wire crossing the terminals somewhere, but that would cause distortion as well as elevated levels.

[nusiclover]

Get yourself a SPL meter and a test disc, and then mark down the decibel level at each volume position. That way, you have a reference point from which to compare readings later on. Just noting that the volume has changed doesn't really say anything because there are so many variables involved.

Sounds like you're using the analog output from the DVD player, since I believe that Musical Fidelity amps are pure analog. You might want to double check the DVD player first and go through the setup menus and make sure that your audio defaults are the same, and that there's not some signal processor (like the SRS effect) that got accidentally activated. Also, are there any gain adjustments, aside from the volume control, with the amp? Cables and speaker stands won't explain anything, unless you got a stray wire crossing the terminals somewhere, but that would cause distortion as well as elevated levels.


the dvdp defaults whenever an audio CD is played. hence, no internal audio adjustments can be made. there are no gains on the amp. it has one volume knob. that is all.
i did think of the SPL meter idea, but i dont see how that would help now that the volume has alledgedly changed. i will monitor closely for any distortion. so far there has been nothing except for the increase in volume. like i also mentioned, the sound hasnt appeared as smooth as before- everything sounds very forward suddenly. but, that could just be my own intellect experiencing confusion.

[nusiclover]

the dvdp defaults whenever an audio CD is played. hence, no internal audio adjustments can be made. there are no gains on the amp. it has one volume knob. that is all.
i did think of the SPL meter idea, but i dont see how that would help now that the volume has alledgedly changed. i will monitor closely for any distortion. so far there has been nothing except for the increase in volume. like i also mentioned, the sound hasnt appeared as smooth as before- everything sounds very forward suddenly. but, that could just be my own intellect experiencing confusion.

the only thing i can think of, and this is a strectch, is that the new cables are resulting in a problem. the jps ultraconductors are 16ga i believe. i used to be using home depot's carol cable 12ga. I did look into this carefully since my dyns are 4ohm, i wrote to jps and received many emails saying it would not be a problem.the cables are 10 foot runs.

[Woochifer]

the only thing i can think of, and this is a strectch, is that the new cables are resulting in a problem. the jps ultraconductors are 16ga i believe. i used to be using home depot's carol cable 12ga. I did look into this carefully since my dyns are 4ohm, i wrote to jps and received many emails saying it would not be a problem.the cables are 10 foot runs.

The impedance difference between cables on a 10 foot run will absolutely not cause the kind of level change that you're describing. It's just physically impossible, unless your previous cables showed significant corrosion at the contact points. Like I said, check the setup menus, the connections, and any switches on your amp. Those are the only things that can cause the degree of change that you noted.

[nusiclover]

Ok, so i decided to not worry about the alleged sound volume increase. But, i just unplugged my system. Because during listening on moderate volume i starting to hear a lightly humming noise in the background during songs. More than one, actually every song that had blackout periods so that i could distinguish the sound. Its a humming that goes up and down like in a constant wave. It is very slight and almost hard to hear, but it was there, any ideas? i've never had this problem before. What do you recommened i do?

thanks

[nusiclover]

all cables and wires are connected well.speaker cables are not touching any other cables. the monster surge protector is on the floor underneath the rack. it is not touching the rack. i cannot narrow it down any better.

[E-Stat]

Ok, so i decided to not worry about the alleged sound volume increase. But, i just unplugged my system. Because during listening on moderate volume i starting to hear a lightly humming noise in the background during songs. More than one, actually every song that had blackout periods so that i could distinguish the sound. Its a humming that goes up and down like in a constant wave. It is very slight and almost hard to hear, but it was there, any ideas? i've never had this problem before. What do you recommened i do?

thanks
I'm with Wooch in that it sounds like some sort of gain or source related issue. Do you have another source you can try like a tuner or another CD? BTW, I think the Tosh 3960 is a killer unit sound-wise for the money. Just put one in the HT system and am very impressed with it. All for $69.

Good luck!

rw

[nusiclover]

I'm with Wooch in that it sounds like some sort of gain or source related issue. Do you have another source you can try like a tuner or another CD? BTW, I think the Tosh 3960 is a killer unit sound-wise for the money. Just put one in the HT system and am very impressed with it. All for $69.

Good luck!

rw

the toshiba is great for HT. especially given the price. but it does sound better with movies than with music. then again, i believe that metal tweeters suit HT better than soft dome. But that soft dome are better with music. Thinking about it, Movies are all digital so it makes sence to have a metal tweeter to compliment the very high frequencies that movies usually have (ie. sounds effects)

[Geoffcin]

the toshiba is great for HT. especially given the price. but it does sound better with movies than with music. then again, i believe that metal tweeters suit HT better than soft dome. But that soft dome are better with music. Thinking about it, Movies are all digital so it makes sence to have a metal tweeter to compliment the very high frequencies that movies usually have (ie. sounds effects)


Compare the output of your DVD player to that of another. Is there another in your house you can hook up? I would suspect the DVD player first, as all the Musical Fidelity componants that I've seen are built like brick outhouses, and I've never heard of a failure.

Good luck.

[Woochifer]

Ok, so i decided to not worry about the alleged sound volume increase. But, i just unplugged my system. Because during listening on moderate volume i starting to hear a lightly humming noise in the background during songs. More than one, actually every song that had blackout periods so that i could distinguish the sound. Its a humming that goes up and down like in a constant wave. It is very slight and almost hard to hear, but it was there, any ideas? i've never had this problem before. What do you recommened i do?

thanks

If the amp is still under warranty, bring it in and have the shop run a bench test on it. Any noise and distortion should register on those tests. If you can audibly hear humming in the background, then you likely have a problem inside the amp. Or it could be as simple as a loose connection and an interconnect picking up interference. Or you might have an issue with the outlet in your house, in which case, you should just try plugging the amp onto a different circuit and see if the hum goes away. If that doesn't work, then definitely have the amp checked, so you'll know whether or not to rule it as the cause.

[ranbunctious]

Could be the potentiometer. I have an old receiver that jumps in volume. When I switch from am to fm, or other switches, the volume returns to normal.