I paired and Arcam SA30 with a PA240 hearing from some other users that it has improved their sound. My speakers are a bit power hungry, but I was already happy with the sound fromy SA30 after some changes on the power cable and the use of a power conditioner (my speaker requirements are 50W-300W, impedance 8 ohms, Speakers sensitivty 91dB)
Anyway, my hope was that by adding an Arcam PA240, it would enable me to use the SA30 in pure class A. (I used to have different speakers that had 4 ohms impedance and that enabled me to keep the Arcam at Vol. 30 and I felt that the sound was a bit different then but could be just subjective from years ago). Now, with just the Arcam SA my listening volume is 38-42 (listening position - 75-90 Dbs in C weighted). However when I added the PA240, although the sound does seem to have improved a bit, the volume requirement on the Arcam SA is still 38-42. Is that a limitation from the Arcam SA30 circuitry that bottlenecks the PA240? Was I wrong to expect the PA240 to be louder at a lower volume gain from the Arcam SA30 as a preamp? Any advice would be kindly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Pat
The PA240 has, I believe, exactly the same sensitivity as the SA30. If the ‘preamp out’ output is say 100 mV, then the SA30 and the PA240 will each produce the same speaker output (if you connect the preamp out to the PA240. This is probably done deliberately to make bi-amping etc straightforward.
So, no, you should not expect the PA240 to play more loudly than the SA30 at the same volume control level.
BUT the SA30 produces 130W per channel into 8 ohms, 200W into 4 ohms. The PA240 produces 230W (8 ohm) and 380W (4 ohm). So, roughly twice as much power. So you will be able to turn up the volume further with the PA240 than with the SA30 - the result will be ‘noticeably louder’ - 3dB more power translates into ‘yes, that’s louder’ rathe than ‘wow!!!’ in term of perceived volume.
Summary - more power at same signal level lets you turn up the volume further than you can with the SA30 alone. It may be also the case that when you’re listening at SA30-possible power, the PA240 produces a cleaner - less distortion - signal since it’s ‘idling’ while the SA30 is ‘straining’.
Also, since you are using the SA 30 as a preamp, you will remain in Class A at a higher volume level with the PA 240. I have been considering adding a PA 240 myself, then got sidetracked with these new Purifi Class D amps that have incredible specs and I hear they sound incredible. But I have not heard one myself and I just love Class G done by Arcam. So I am on the fence until I hear the new Purifi amps . Enjoy your new amp!