Yammy 757 - how loud?

jatkinson

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Hi all,

I bought the Yammy 757 a few weeks and whilst I've been really impressed with it's performance I can't help feeling something isn't quite right..namely in how I have to turn it up so much to have (what I would term fairly loud sound).. To listen to something at what I would call comfortable loud I'm having to turn the amp up to around -22dB, is that right? I would have thought it would have to be less than that?

Any thoughts?

Also, something that could maybe be answered as an aside, just out of curiosity really.. why is volume shown as a minus (-) ?

Cheers,
 
Heh he

-22dB is still quite soft for me:D

While it is by no means an absolute, the minus indicates how many dB you are below reference level. This of course is highly inaccurate because the same amp and speakers will reach different SPL's in different rooms and at different distances etc etc. Bear in mind that the dB scale is not linear so the rate of change of increase in SPL is not the same along the volume scale on your receiver.
 
Have a look at the similar thread in the "processor and power amps" section.

Volume is shown as negative, because it's amplification compared to the nominal maximum for the amplifier. The actual volume is also dependant on the input level and the loudspeaker impedance and efficiency.

Ian.
 
Thank fook I thought it was just me. I have to listen to music on 7 speaker stereo at -15db, TV at -25db to -30db and movies at around -22db.


My old cheepo Yamaha amp I used to listen to TV at -40db and movies at -30db.
 
Thanks for the insight guys... so I'm not going deaf then !! ;-)
 
WHAT DID YOU SAY :oops:
 
I know thread is ended but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth here...

I have owned (still do as I never sell them) many Yamaha amps and I must admit that even though I am hugely impressed by Yamaha, this dB volume control in the volume is a little confusing and a little annoying, from a purists point of view. If you don't know what dB's (decibels) are, I guess it could be even more confusing. dB's are NOT a measure of loudness, they are simply a relationship to an original source - which is called 0 (zero) dB or uniformity. From here, any increase in that relationship, is referred to as +dB (gain) and any decrease is referred to as -dB (loss). You really get to know about decibels in the amateur radio field, especially when making or using antennas,, but the principle is exactly the same.. Most often, loudness is linked to decibels, and quite rightly so but I have yet to see the point of reference by which it is supposed to be measured. Most often, decibels are directly related to electricity and the measuring of...

Obvioulsy, on Yamaha amps, since the lowest volume or point of muting, is around -70 to -90 dB, depending on which amp you refer to,, you can draw a conclusion that 0dB would be pretty darned loud. I have never known if the volume goes into plus (+) dB's because I have never turned up the volume that loud, anywhere near 0dB. All I know is that all my Yamaha amps seem to have a huge difference from each other in perceived loudness at given decibel levels. For example... I recently replaced an RX-V540 with the new RX-V757. The V540 gives about 85 watts p/c and the V757 gives 100 watts p/c. The V540 mutes at -90 dB and the V757 at -70dB. From this you can deduce that -50 dB is going to be different on each amp and it is but since the V757 has a higher output, you would think that it should always be louder and any given point. At most decibel levels, the V540, even though it outputs less wattage, sounds louder, although, I have never taken either amp anywhere near the loudest. I seldom ever took the V540 past -50 dB whereas, I quite often take the V757 to about -40 dB to get about the same level of earth shaking loudness. I know that if push came to shove, the V757 will slightly outdo the V540 in shaking down the house, but I have no intentions of ever comparing the two of them side by side...

The level of loudness is determined by the amount of power being fed into the main amp and it is usually this measurment which is shown as you see it on your amp and it can differ in many ways as to how it is fed. The difference between 85 and 100 watts is not a lot in decibels and your ears may not even be able to tell the difference. They are both "loud" and that's all we need to know. There are so many other considerations to take into account before we can say we need more wattage to get more sound, one being the correct choice of speakers, the size of the room and the furniture placing etc etc etc...

Even though 0 dB represents no measure, 1 dB is the unit by which we measure - simply because 0 and 1 have no relationship - 0 is nothing, 1 is something. They are both points of reference... 1dB represents No Gain or Unity (even though it has "some" strength). 3dB represents a doubling of the original reference point - eg... 85 watts @ 3dB actually = 170 watts (double). Now we can see why 100 watts is not that much more than 85 watts.. 10dB represents a multiplying factor of 10 e.g 85 watts @ 10 dB = 850 watts. However, 13dB is double 10dB because it is 3dB above 10 and 3dB equals double e.g 85 watts @ 13dB = 1700 watts (85x10x2=1700).. Minus (-) decibels are the exact inverse of positive (+) decibels e.g -3dB equals half of e.g 85 watts @ -3dB = 42.5 watts,, -10dB equals one-tenth.. 85 watts @ -10dB = 8.5 watts.. 85 watts @ -13dB = 4.25 watts (85/10/2 = 4.25)... We can also see that -70dB on the dial is quite a lot of loss or decrease from the original source, remembering that for each -3dB we have to halve the strength... Food for thought isn't it...!!!

People get horribly confused when decibels enter the equation and I don't blame them... Why anyone would want to use them as a visible unit of volume on an amplifier for the average user, is beyond me, except to maybe to make it look impressive...

When it comes to the loudness of movies etc, you also have to take into account the strength of the sound going into the amp. I notice a huge variation in movies. In some of them you can hardly hear the speech at all but the guns or car crashes will blow the walls apart. This is what really annoys me with modern movies. The relationship of the sounds within the movie, not the overall strength of the sound needs to be more balanced. Sometimes the speech is way too quiet but you dearn't turn up the volume for fear of popping the speakers when things get noisy...
 

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