Yamaha Receiver (HTR5760)- volume question (differences in CD, DVD, TV)

[Eric Z]

I hooked up my Yamaha 5760 last night and I'm quite impressed with the improvement in sound over my older Sony receiver. However, I have a few questions surrounding these newer, higher tech receivers.

The volume control on my Sony was the type that had the mark on volume knob so you knew how high the volume was. Of course my new receiver displays dBs- I think the range is -80dB to 15dB. With my Mirage FRX5 fronts and my Def Tech PS80 sub and a basic DVD player, I can play some music/movies pretty loud where everything sounds great. I've read before that volumes generally cannot go past 1/2 on your receiver because that's how they are made (there's a previous post somewhere that goes into the specifics). Anyway, on some CDs, I'm able to go to -9 or -8dB and on some DVDs go to +2 or +3dB. I know it is loud to my ears, but is that normal to go that high in volume, or should -25 or 20dB be very loud. Logically, that's more than 1/2 on the volume, but I might not understand dBs fully. I think it depends what one considers loud. I'm just wondering if everything is working properly with my set up. I also think different formats (various DVDs or CDs) are recorded at different volumes. Is that a fair assumption?

I've experienced with my older Sony receiver if I don't connect something correctly, the sounds will be much quieter (meaning must turn the volume higher than usual to get the same level of sound).

Thank you thank you thank you!