Author Topic: Question about Gain Staging

February 12, 2023, 05:57:28 PM
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PACO

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Hi everyone,

I am testing my new preamp and I have some questions, maybe you can help me.

In order to test the preamp behavior, I send a sine signal of 1 khz at -18 dB to the preamp. If I want to preserve in the DAW the same level od -18dB I must set the preamp like this:



obtaining this signal:




So, at this point, trying to test it without clipping, I put the preamp in Line mode in order to obtain the cleanest signal, con this configuration:



and this signal (very clean).



But, If I want to obtain more colour, boosting the output transformer, I get this:





It's almost the same signal, without any harmonics.

Is this normal? Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Thank you so much for your advices!

Paco

February 15, 2023, 03:26:57 PM
Reply #1

JPK

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This looks normal for a good preamp.
As long as you are far enough from saturation the signal must remain the same.
JPK