Parasound A 31 Gain Control Settings, When to Set the Gain Control Knobs Above or Below Normal

Gain Control Settings

The Gain control knobs should be left at the 12 o’clock Normal/THX setting for most applications. When a Gain control knob is set to Normal the gain for that channel is 29. This is the THX Ultra2 Reference Level where 1V input = 28.28V output. (28.28V driving an 8Ω speaker equals 100 watts.) If you are unsure where to set the Gain control knobs it is best to start with them in the Normal position and only change them if needed, as described below.

When to Set the Gain Control Knobs Above or Below Normal

You can increase loudness by turning the Gain control knobs clockwise if your system will not play loud enough with the Gain control knobs set at Normal. This could be the case if your

A 31 is driven from the pre-out jacks of an AV receiver (as opposed to an AV processor). We recommend advancing the gain as little as possible past Normal. As you increase gain settings you increase the chance of hearing a “hiss” sound from your speakers. You also run the risk of damaging your speakers (not to mention your hearing) if the volume level is too high.

The primary reason to reduce the gain below Normal would be if your speakers’ efficiency is extremely high and your listening position is close to your speakers. Reducing the gain would reduce audible “hiss” from your speakers.

Don’t worry about setting the A 31 Gain control to exactly the same levels for all channels because you can always balance the channel volume using the speaker level calibration in your home theater AV receiver or AV processor’s setup menu.

Note: We recommend re-calibrating your AV receiver or processor’s speaker levels after adjusting the A 31 gain controls.

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