Originally Posted by
Steve71
jerry_rig said he was using an amp without gain controls, which I assumed to be a consumer amp. If it was a pro amp, then my comments don't apply. However assuming JR was using a consumer amp, we have a potential problem which could well account for the sub par sound quality.
So in the context of JR setup, I'm talking about global gain, not relative gain between individual band passes. The outputs on the dbx (+4dbu) will overdrive the inputs on a consumer amp (-10dbu). To overcome this your only option, sans gain controls on the AMPS, is to use the dbx's digital gain controls. Now you've just reduced your s/n ratio by 14db. Not to mention the reduction in resolution on the d/a conversion. Another option would be to turn down your pre amp 14db, but that isn't going to change the s/n ratio as it's fixed in the case of the dbx. And now you've just messed up the a/d and the d/a conversion.