Hi!

Could it be that the volume level of a CD is much higher than on DVD?
If I play a DVD in my Pioneer 717 I have to increase the volume not just a little bit.
And before playing a CD (also in my DVD-Player) I have to decrease the volume again before my neighbours call the police. :-)

Thanx

Gogo

I have had the same problem, except the other way around. In my toshiba sd-2109 when i pop in a dvd i usually have to turn the volume down.

sorry

I've noticed the same thing -- for TV, video tapes, audio cassettes and CDs, I need the volume around 1-2. For DVDs, around 3-5 depending on the disc. It's the way Dolby Digital is encoded with lots of "headroom". DTS claims to be "louder". :-)

Sounds like the next great feature we'll wish we found in A/V receivers.... Sound level matching. Works like this: Whatever level you have set on your amplifier, if the device changes, it's level is checked and if lower than your current level it is ramped up. If higher it is ramped down. In other words, your volume dial will automatically adjust for you before it outputs any sound when you change devices. I'd pay an extra $10 for this feature.

Sima makes a Volume Stabilizer. Smarthome.com sells it for $69.95 but if your devices are each going independantly thru your A/V receiver then there's no easy way to integrate it. Sima also makes a nice 4in/2out A/V switcher with audio stabilization built in. I have one, but haven't been able to use the Audio features since my audio goes thru my receiver. I kinda wish I'd found this switcher first, since at $150ish it would have done most of what my receiver does for 1/4 the price. Oh well.

It all have to do with the "low-level" output of the RCA connector. For a number of manufacturer, the output voltage is approx. 1V, for others, 0.7V, for some, as low as 0.5V. I have seen 1.5V RCA output, although rare...

It would be great if all of these components (CD, DVD, ...) have variable outputs, so the level can be adjusted to match the expectation of the receiver, but I guess we can dream...

Daniel N: My 1992 VCR has something similar to that. The headphone jack volume control also adjusts the output of one set of RCA jacks on the back (it has two pairs). Flew me for a loop while I was trying to figure out why one worked fine and the other was so quiet. It has so much adjustment that at levels over 2/3rds you can overload the inputs on the receiver. :-)

Daniel T: Being in the industry myself, I really could not understand why all the manufacturers would not get together and standardize on the RCA low-level output.

Having variable output does not cost a lot, however, it does affect performance, that's why not a lot of company are doing it. The correct way of doing this is to have a specification (i.e. 1V output), then design toward this in the first place...

BTW, on a somewhat separate note, you might have notice that the input impedance (sensitivity) for the PHONO on the receiver is a lot lower than the other inputs (VCR, VIDEO, LD, DVD...). That's another story.