Receiver preamp outputs - 2V vs 4V?

[Flyin11]

Hi all...Just wondering real quick...How much of a difference is there between 2V preamp outputs and 4V preamp outputs? Is there really a lot of difference? I'm looking at 2 Alpine receivers and it could help me make my decision between the 2..Thanks

[jpruden]

Well... the big difference is about... wait for it... 2 volts.

Honestly, I seriously doubt you can actually hear a difference in most installs. As long as your power amp can get as loud as you'd like it to without noise on the 2 volts, you're good.

smiles,
Jamie

[Flyin11]

Yeah...I was trying to decide between the Alpine CDA-9885 with 4V outs or the CDA-9883 with 2V and I went ahead with the CDA-9883. I really like the display on the 9883 compare to the 9885 cause it's bigger and easier to read and the remote wasn't even a issue...I can get a remote for around $20.00 later on down the road. I can tweak settings to make up for the loss of the voltage on the preouts as well, like the subwoofer output level, turn it up a notch for more bass response or move the gain a little bit on the amp. I'm happy with my purchase now and can't wait to install it. I got a Clarion DXZ675USB last week and didn't like it too much which I was surprised as I thought Clarion meant excellence but I was wrong on this unit. The USB has noise in it and when playing a CD you can hear noise from the CD moving in the speakers. Was really disappointed and now it's a pain in the butt to return to the seller's store on Ebay and that's why I would rather go to Crutchfield...Anything wrong and it's not a hassle to return. Learned my lesson this time....

[69CamaroSS396]

I am of the opinion that you can have "noisy" 4V pre-outs as easily as you can have "noisy" 2V pre-outs. The higher voltage means the amp will use less gain to produce its rated power. That, of course, is a good thing, but if the signal from the HU is not good to begin with, then using less gain may be a moot point.