I had the same trouble with maxing out volume on my red dot 950 (but not with the original 950 I owned previously) so I upped the trim on the red dot 950 by 5 db on all channels.

The Outlaws said the red dots are only 3 db lower in volume than the original 950, but to me, it sure seemed like the reduction in volume was more than 3.

Upping the volume+trim does increase the hiss very slightly on mine (which I only discovered recently, when Soundhound showed me that hiss does increase slightly when the volume+trim levels are increased towards max).

Bumping the volume+hiss allows me to play the red dot loud enough, at least for me. I suggest you try bumping the trim by 5 db. If that doesn't work, try a 10 db trim increase. Good luck!

[This message has been edited by Will (edited October 02, 2002).]