How to use Input Sensitivty on a Director, CM, or RS amplifier

How to use Input Sensitivty on a Director, CM, or RS amplifier

Input Sensitivity controls allow you to make the inputs on your amplifier more or less sensitive to incoming signal from audio sources.
To change the input sensitivity, navigate to the amp's web interface, open the Global Settings by clicking the gear icon, and open the Input Sources panel.

You can select from as low as 0.5 Vrms, or as high as 4 Vrms. The smaller the number is, the more sensitive the input will be to incoming signal. As the number increases, the input becomes less sensitive.
Most products designed for home audio are rated at around 2 Vrms, so that's the default in most of our amplifiers.

How do you know when to change the input sensitivity?  Here's a few options:

The output is quiet, even at full volume!

If you have to crank up the volume to 100% to get to a good listening volume, that could be a sign that the input signal is not very strong.

Change the input sensitivity in smalls steps. If you're starting with the setting at 2Vrms, start by changing it to 1.5 Vrms then test the audio in your zone. Still to quiet? Change the sensitivity to 1 Vrms.

Audio is always clipping, even at low volumes!

If the audio is distorted or clipping, that's a sign that there's more power going to the input than it's expecting. Change the input sensitivity to a larger number, like 2.5 or 3 Vrms, then test your output. If it's still clipping, you continue to change the sensitivity.
If the audio is clipping with the input sensitivity at 4 Vrms, you may need to adjust the settings on your audio source so it outputs less power.

The amp goes to sleep when listening to quiet music.

If you have Signal Sense turned On, the zones will turn off after about 2 minutes without sensing any signal. It's possible that when you have the input turned down that the amp will fall asleep.
To prevent this from happening, make the input more sensitive to incoming signal by adjusting the input sensitivity to 1 or 1.5 Vrms.
With a lower Vrms (therefore higher sensitivity), the overall output will increase, but it should still be fine at lower levels. If the output is suddenly too loud at low volumes because of this, you can use the Trim settings on the zone to bring the level down while keeping the input more sensitive to signal.

Additional Assistance

For more help with this topic, check out our other knowledge base articles, or call our fine folks in tech support at 425-775-8461, or email them at techsupport@audiocontrolpro.com.