Onto the amp...
What a find! I was demoing the latest Pioneer AVRs at the local hi-fi shop. After a thorough look and listen through all the fancy new stuff, I strolled over to their used-gear rack and spotted this little gem. I scored this floor model for $125. Check out what this thing fetches new and you'll see why I almost did cartwheels across the parking after the purchase.
It's a fully featured 250W A-B chassis amp similar in design to the Dayton 230, but with an even more quality feel to it's construction. All the controls are located on the back providing a streamlined faceplate. The biggest surprise of all was the "volume control" feature on the back. It splits the input gain into two stages. The first stage is user adjustable on the front of the amp with a big, easy to use knob. The second stage, a small pot on the back, is only adjustable using a screwdriver. By cranking the the volume knob on the front to max, then driving the input signal from the AVR to max using a test signal, I could then effectively limit the maximum output voltage of the amp to any desired value. If the nephews come over and "tweak things to the hilt" while no one is looking, at least we'll know the TT is safe the next time folks drop in a movie with the AVR at war volume.
