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[whatsup]

I wish I was a younger man with the brain power to use all the features I don't understand. Just having it plugged in with the mini plug into my ht is INCREDIBLE.

I can't imagine what all the other fancy dacs must be like.

[zxsix]

Nobody knows all of it or uses all of it.
Read through the wiki.
Then poke around in the software and when something piques your interest, ask a question here on the forum.
No reason you can't learn new things like the rest of us had to.

[Henglander]

I wish I was a younger man with the brain power to use all the features I don't understand.

... and they are developing even more new features that everyone needs. Fantastic! Sometimes, though, I find it most gratifying just to use the old technology and simply letting the stylus run through the groove.

[whatsup]

Another ? is the volume mode, what is best, application, internal or system. playing out of a 5.1 amp

thanks

[zxsix]

Application setting only adjusts MC volume relative to the main system volume.   System allows you to control the main volume in windows.

[6233638]

Disabled Volume: Media Center is locked to playing at 100% volume; it is assumed that you will be controlling volume externally via your amplifier.
Internal Volume: Media Center adjusts playback volume using its 64-bit audio engine. If you want to adjust volume via the computer, this is the highest quality option.
System Volume: Any volume changes you make will adjust Windows' main volume control. If you are using Windows Vista or newer, this is a 32-bit floating point control. (so it is not as good as Media Center's)
Application Volume: This adjusts the Windows mixer volume for the Media Center application only. So other applications may still be at 100%, but Media Center's volume would be reduced.

For the highest quality, you should disable the volume control, and adjust with your amplifier.


I proposed some changes to make the controls easier to understand a while ago, but the developers decided that it was better to keep the controls familiar to existing users, rather than simplify them for new users.
I would argue that a better description would allow anyone to understand what each setting does, rather than only people who are already familiar with it.

[whatsup]

Thanks this explains it clearly....

[Matt]

For the highest quality, you should disable the volume control, and adjust with your amplifier.

Most amplifiers use a digital volume, and there's no reason to think they would do a better job than MC.  So in many cases, 'Internal Volume' will provide the best sound quality since MC can leverage the added headroom.

More here:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume#Picking_Between_System_Volume_and_Internal_Volume
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume#Internal_Volume_Headroom

[mwillems]

Most amplifiers use a digital volume, and there's no reason to think they would do a better job than MC.  So in many cases, 'Internal Volume' will provide the best sound quality since MC can leverage the added headroom.

More here:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume#Picking_Between_System_Volume_and_Internal_Volume
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume#Internal_Volume_Headroom

To reinforce Matt's point, even if your amp has an analog volume control (which is less and less likely in modern wide-production amps), analog volume controls also introduce noise (Johnson noise, etc.) from the electronic components involved.  This can get worse as amps age and connectors oxidize, etc.  It's one of reasons that amp manufacturers have generally gone to digital controls, and why block amplifiers often have lower noise specs than similar amps with volume controls built in.  

I don't mean to suggest that the noise introduced by analog controls would necessarily be enormous (or even noticeable) in many cases, but it's typically measurable, and sometimes (in my experience) audible.  I've had a few amps where you could hear the noise floor rise and fall as you turned the knob, the half-way point typically had the highest noise, which was irritating, because that was often where wanted to set it for regular listening.  

JRiver's volume control does not introduce noise or distortion into the signal (except through obvious attenuation losses), so it gets top marks of the available options from my perspective.  You may not be taking full advantage of your DAC's Signal to Noise ratio, but DACs typically have a much, much lower noise floor than amps do (typically 20 or 30 dB better), so even giving up rather significant volume on the DAC side is unlikely to significantly raise the noise floor/distortion level of your system as a whole.