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[Carey Davies]

RMarkley wrote on Tue, 24 January 2006 04:06

Nothing has changed an we are still running our A&H GL4000 at the -5 db position.  This bothers me because I believe that we could get our optimum sound at unity.

Do you have any audible problem running at -5dB? Are the meter readings healthy? Do the faders give you enough resolution while mixing? While we talk about correct gain structure and unity settings I suspect you may not really have a problem here. Let us know the symptoms if you do.
Regards,
Carey

[Dave Mallon]

Duane Massey wrote on Tue, 24 January 2006 05:45

In most applications I favor running the amps at full volume unless there is a specific reason to lower the gain on a specific amp channel.

If we did that at my church (we used to...) the master faders on our GL3300 would only be pushed up to the -25db mark(about 1" from the bottom).  The meters on the output would flicker occasionally, but the amp wasn't getting a great deal of level from the desk.

Whether this makes much difference, I don't know, I'm not that educated when it comes to these things.

Dave M

[Carey Davies]

Dave Mallon wrote on Wed, 25 January 2006 16:50

If we did that at my church (we used to...) the master faders on our GL3300 would only be pushed up to the -25db mark(about 1" from the bottom).  The meters on the output would flicker occasionally, but the amp wasn't getting a great deal of level from the desk. Whether this makes much difference, I don't know,

It can make a difference:

1. You get a lot less fader resolution as you can only work with the last 1" of fader movement,
2. You get a lot less meter information on the signal being sent from the desk,
3. The dynamic range of the output stage is degraded so there is a chance you may hear some residual hiss from the console post master fader electronics.

It's all about setting correct gain structure. In this case the amplifier input trimmers should be turned back, or attenuation inserted between the console and the amps to correct the level matching.
Regards,
Carey

[Dave Mallon]

Cheers, Carey.

I turn the amps down, so that the masters are generally at or slightly below 0db.  

I realised everything that you said, but just didn't wuite know how to put it into words.

Dave M

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