1. Home
  2. digital
  3. 1171928632

CDP voltage output...what does it mean to volume?

Hi, I have a Cary 306sacd which outputs 6vrms. Most other cdps I have seen outputs 1-3 vrms, usually 2 vrms. So what does this 3 time difference mean in terms of real world volume? If I was to get another cdp that outputs 2 vrms I assume the volume in my system would be lower but by how much? Would it be considerable?
tboooe
newbee
4,093 posts
 
I believe the difference between 2v and 6v output is 12db. Thats a quasi educated guess. I do 'know' that the difference between 2v and 4v is 6db so I assumed an equal increase from 4v to 6v. :-)
peak
26 posts
 
The formula to determine the differences in dB is
dB = 10* log10(power_ratio)

For voltage it is:
dB =20 * log10(voltage_ratio)

For the 2V system compare to the 6V

dB =20 *log10(2/6) = -9.54 dB

Every 10 dB is 1/10 the power (or about (1/3)**2 ) and will sound about 1/2 as loud. Hope this helps.
tboooe's avatar
tboooe OP
1,009 posts
 
Thanks Peak. So something playing 10db less will sound half as loud? In other words 75db sounds half as loud as 85db?
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
02-19-07: Tboooe
Thanks Peak. So something playing 10db less will sound half as loud? In other words 75db sounds half as loud as 85db?

Correct!
gregm
3,021 posts
 
So something playing 10db less will sound half as loud
Note the phrase "will SOUND half as loud". 6dB SPL is half as loud.
More to discover