Spreading gain across multiple converters and level controls allows maximum loudness with minimal distortion

Rather than pushing a single stage hard into clipping, Greg Calbi’s technique is to drive three or four pieces of gear—including an A/D converter and digital level controls—each just a little past its point of overload. By distributing the load across multiple stages, each unit contributes a small, relatively pleasant saturation, and the sum reaches a level no single stage could while staying musical.

Examples

Greg Calbi: ‘I overdrive two, sometimes three, and even four pieces of gear, one of them being an A-to-D converter, and the other ones being digital level controls. I find that if I spread the load out amongst a couple of different units and add them together, then I’m able to get it as loud as I can.‘

Assessment

What is the rationale for routing signal through multiple slightly-overdriven gain stages rather than one heavily overdriven stage?