bantamdl wrote:
ok. i'm slow, for sure, but eventually i'll understand this. What
you're saying (and what i've just seen in my own experiment) seems to
imply that there are 2 stages of gain in the sytek :

1) an input gain that is *changeable* (via the knob on the front), and
whose resulting signal hits :

2) the final amplification stage that is constant and unchangeable.

is that right ?

There are probably a couple dozen different gain stages in a typical
IC-based preamp, actually.

There is stuff in front of the gain control, and stuff after it. You
can clip the front end, in which case the gain control will be down near
the bottom of its range and you will still have a hot output.

You can also clip the output stage, in which case the gain control will
be up near the top and the input stage will still be okay.

When in doubt, try and select input and output levels so the gain control
is about in the middle.

Better designed equipment will have more headroom in the electronics and
therefore a wider range of usable gains, because it will be harder to
clip an individual stage.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."