Scratching my head... (1 Viewer)

[Stan_S]

Dumb question but I felt it needed to be asked... Why does my new receiver's volume level start in the negative numbers on the display? Why not start from zero??? What's the thinking behind that?

Thanks,
Stan

 

[ColinM]

0 db (-0) is the loudest the system can play, the maximum value, the reference recorded level. Everything below that is that many decibels below the max, reference, etc.

Kinda...

 

[Jonathan Smith]

Volume scales like you are talking about are known as relative scales. Zero corresponds to the reference level (not necessarily the maximum volume, but most people don't listen that loud) and all the other numbers are relative to that value.

Starting at zero and going up is known as an absolute scale, with 0 being no noise. Some receivers have just one or the other, and some have an option in the setup menu to switch between the two.