Montaldo, you do have a lot of gain in the signal path you’ve described, for a 0.45 or 0.5 mv cartridge, assuming the gain of your version of the 834P corresponds to the 49.2 db which Stereophile measured for the MM section of the MM/MC version they reviewed. But **if** the volume control in your Thor line stage precedes any active circuitry in its internal signal path, as is the case in many designs, you won’t overload it. If there is active circuitry "ahead" of its volume control, though, it may or may not be overloaded; I couldn’t find enough information on it to be able to predict that either way.
Since the cartridge is already on its way, I would suggest that you simply listen for signs of distortion on high volume musical peaks. If distortion on high volume musical peaks is evident even when listening at low overall volume levels, it would signify that there is an overload problem. In which case the suggestion that was made earlier of changing tube types in the 834P may be a solution.
Also, as you alluded to the combination of a 0.45 or 0.5 mv cartridge, 24 db headamp gain, 49.2 db phono stage gain, and the 20 db gain which the Thor line stage apparently provides, could very well result in your having to use the volume control at undesirably low settings, depending on the gain of your power amp and the sensitivity of your speakers. If that turns out to be a problem, though, a
Rothwell passive attenuator inserted at the input of the power amp may be a good solution.
Regards,
-- Al
