Worth the extra $ for higher preamp voltage???

[rjay 10+ year member]

So I am looking at two units; JVC KD-HDR70 or JVC Arsenal KD-AHD79, both are identical except for the preamp voltage. Arsenal has 5volts and other unit has 2.5volts. Only a $10 difference for the Arsenal unit, which I will prob go with. Is there a noticable difference with going with the higher voltage or not really? Only will be running a mono amp (Boston Acoustics 400m).

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[VWBobby 10+ year member]

Higher voltage pre-outs are good for longer RCA runs and lower distortion. Since you don't have to crank your amp gains as high, you have less chance of noise. If the power is higher, it will drive a longer run of RCA's without needing more gain. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

^^^ yea that's pretty much it lol.

go with the 5v.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

for an extra $10, why the hell not?

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

I like my 8V HU. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

IMO it makes a difference.

 

[rjay 10+ year member]

Thanks for the info. I was going to go with the Arsenal unit anyways, since its only $10 higher, but I was just curious. Thanks again

 

[slim2fattycake 10+ year member]

Higher voltage pre-outs are good for longer RCA runs and lower distortion. Since you don't have to crank your amp gains as high, you have less chance of noise. If the power is higher, it will drive a longer run of RCA's without needing more gain. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

No, but for 10 dollars why not.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

id save the money and buy a cheap fifth....you can match the amp gains to 2.5 or 5v input....and it will sound the same

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

go for the 2.5v, send me the $10

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Get the 5v. I'm actually considering getting a line driver to bump my pre-amp voltage to 8-9v.

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

audibly you wont notice any change

but your mind will constantly think

"what would it sound like if I had paid $10 more for the 5V"

trust me, ive been there. Its all in your head and it will drive you crazy

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

audibly you wont notice any change
but your mind will constantly think

"what would it sound like if I had paid $10 more for the 5V"

trust me, ive been there. Its all in your head and it will drive you crazy

Eh, I'd disagree.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Eh, I'd disagree.

on high enough quality speakers you may notice more noise on a 2v than a 5v. and also, its nice to have 5v in the case that you need to use an RCA splitter because the voltage still stays reasonably high (>2v)

 

[slim2fattycake 10+ year member]

on high enough quality speakers you may notice more noise on a 2v than a 5v. and also, its nice to have 5v in the case that you need to use an RCA splitter because the voltage still stays reasonably high (>2v)

How are you going to hear noise from low preout voltage if you set your gain right?

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

Obviously a lot of people in this thread haven't played around with pre-amps and power amp gain settings....

Anytime you bump up your gain, you are amplifying more noise. Garbage in, garbage out.

Lets say you have a 15 foot run of RCA's from the front to the back and need to crank up your amp 3/4 of the way to match your front speakers. Usually you will hear a slight hiss. The noise floor is higher and sometimes the sound is compressed or squashed sounding.

Anyone who's played electric guitar or bass knows all about the noise associated with high gains, cheap cables (microphonics) and change in tone. Same subtle hints happen in car audio if you listen for it.

In short, there's a reason high quality HU's have 4-8V pre-outs verses the mainstream 1.5-2.5V outputs.