More > JRiver Media Center 24 for Windows
Volume Control and DSD
Fitzcaraldo215:
--- Quote from: Alex M on July 25, 2018, 11:14:15 am ---Looking from which side to consider :)
Gain -6 db in any audioeditor reduces the signal amplitude by a factor of 2
p.s. It's even strange that such elementary things have to be explained here.
--- End quote ---
Right. But, bit shifting from 24 bits to 23 bits truncating the LSB reduces its integer magnitude by 1/2 (decimals truncated). So, a 24-bit word can hold a maximum value of 16,777,215, and a 23-bit word 8,388,607. A 12-bit word has a maximum magnitude of 4,095, which is not even remotely close to 1/2 of the 24-bit word. That is a lot of dB! So, there is a blind spot in your supposition.
But, if concerned about loss of resolution in digital volume controls, use a 32-bit DAC. Many, if not most, are these days.
pschelbert:
--- Quote from: RD James on July 25, 2018, 12:34:49 pm ---That's not how digital audio works. 6.01 dB = 1-bit.
If what you said was true, reducing the volume by only 18 dB would result in 3-bit audio rather than 21-bit.
16-bit audio is considered to have a 96 dB dynamic range and 24-bit 144 dB - though that's not strictly accurate when you account for dithering (which improves it).
You 'lose' the lower bits first since you're reducing the volume - though noise-shaped dither can reproduce audio below that theoretical noise floor of -96/-144 dB.
This is an example of a 1 kHz tone encoded at -105 dB in a 16-bit file using noise shaping:
Considering the actual dynamic range of music, and how mastering typically pushes the audio into the upper bits, you're not losing any actual audio until you start making significant volume reductions.
--- End quote ---
great explanation.
Don't worry, digital technology is way better than most if not any recording.
TheShoe:
--- Quote from: Awesome Donkey on July 25, 2018, 03:39:26 am ---Enable DSD bitstreaming, that way when you play any DSD files it'll automatically bitstream those type of files, while leaving PCM files as-is. You can't control volume or use any DSP while bitstreaming. Typically, volume has to be set at 100%, otherwise you might get just noise when attempting to bitstream DSD.
But... as far as I know, there are a few DACs that do support volume control while bitstreaming. For those DACs there is an option to enable volume while bitstreaming (right click on the speaker icon next to the volume slider, and select "Enable Volume When Bitstreaming").
--- End quote ---
just hooked up my exasound e38. they have a nice plugin for jriver that controls the hardware volume on the DAC, which is plugged directly into the AMP. works beautifully.
when i have it connected to my processor (Marantz av7703), i have volume control from jriver disabled, DAC set to 100%, and the Marantz set to Pure Direct mode and use its volume, which probably still converts the analog back to digital but it sounds just as good
in any case, i have DSD bitstreaming enabled
Alex M:
--- Quote from: pschelbert on July 25, 2018, 01:50:24 pm ---great explanation.
--- End quote ---
A false explanation. Confuse.
Alex M:
--- Quote from: RD James on July 25, 2018, 12:34:49 pm ---
That's not how digital audio works. 6.01 dB = 1-bit.
--- End quote ---
It's right. But we need to understand that each bit has its own weight.
For example, for a signal with an amplitude of 2 V:
1 bit: 2 / 21 = 1 V
2 bits: 2 / 22 = 0.5 V
...
24 bit: 2/224 = 0.0000001192092896 V
When you decrease the volume by 6 dB, you reduce the weight of each bits by half. Try to think about it :)
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