Re: Thoughts about amplifiers at 3/4 volume.
I never implied that amplifiers would be causing hiss or that was the whole idea.
There is one, and only one reason to turn down the input stage of a device (such as an amplifier) instead of doing it in a previous stage. That reason is if the noise floor of said device is higher than the system connected before it. This would be done to maximize SNR.
However, since amplifiers most always have more SNR than the system before it, there is no advantage in doing this versus turning down the output of the thing immediately previous to it (or some other piece of gear which is post noise source).
If on the the other hand, the noise floor for the amp *was higher* than the system before it, then the *only* way to improve the SNR would be to turn down the input stage of the amp.
