I'm having a weird issue with a new Sony ES receiver I bought. The issue is with the volume level.
With my previous receiver, I would have the volume at -40 for normal TV watching and anything greater than -30 would rattle the windows. Now, with the new receiver, normal TV volume is at -20 to -15. If I lower the volume to anything under -30 or so, the sound is very very low.
Is this normal? Do the numbers really matter? I checked and the range on my old recevier was -95 to -1. The new receiver range is -86 to +13.
Seems fairly normal. My Marantz Sr-7300 is +18 to -70. DVD listening is around -16 and music around -18, -20 for reasonable volume. They all vary. Also when setting speaker levels, any db's you add lessens the high volume number eg: setting the main speakers at +5 db would make the volume range +13 to -70.
John... While I don't have Sony equipment anymore, I do understand that the volumes are relative to the receiver. Very generally speaking, many modern day receivers that use "relative" volumes (as a measure of dB -- deciBel rating), output 1/2 (half) power at 0dB. This is what is the "safest" operating range of the receiver. ("Safest" for your speakers before the receiver introduces distortion/clipping.)
At +3dB the receiver is at FULL POWER (every 3dB is a "doubling" of power). While running your receiver at 0dB is "okay"... you especially don't want to have it higher than +3dB for that reason as you'll start clipping!
In any event, on my Harmon Kardon AVR-525, I run at -30dB to -20 dB for television and -15dB for DVD movies. I listen to "stereo" music at around -35dB to -30dB, but for multi-channel music (7.1 channel, DTS Neo 6 or Dolby Prologic IIx) I'm listening at about -20dB.
As the venerable Mr. Rantz also writes, your "offsets" that you programmed when adjusting your speaker levels during setup, will also weigh in on this.
Your mileage may vary.
Poster's Note: These numbers are based on a system where 0dB is relative to "half power" on that receiver. Check with your receiver manufacturer or documentation to see if 0dB is relative "half power" on your receiver.