Mike,

I'm not familiar with that particular model, however, most of the amps and pre-amps I've owned came with a performance graph in the instruction manual. Nearly all revealed the best signal to noise ratio was at levels ranging 65 to 75 percent of maximum. Above that level, there was usually a problem with white noise and distortion. I guess there are some differences in amp specifications and the recommended methods of usage.

Cheers,

Gary