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[ko853]

Hi all. I'm using ASIO for Asus xonar HDAV 1.3 deluxe sound card and have a concern about sound quality compare between Disable and enable volume control (internal volume)? In my opinion, disable volume control we get better sound because the signal is not effected.

Any advice? Thanks.

[Matt]

Internal volume is a 64-bit volume so you'll never find higher quality.  And when it's set to 100%, it makes no changes.

But if you feel better with it disabled, then go ahead.  The program works great in either mode.

[ko853]

Internal volume is a 64-bit volume so you'll never find higher quality.  And when it's set to 100%, it makes no changes.

But if you feel better with it disabled, then go ahead.  The program works great in either mode.

what if it's set below 100%? sound quality would be effected by reducing bit or anything...?

Thanks.

[ferday]

you have 64 bits of room with MC volume

you're music is (at highest) 24 bits

so you have 40 bits of room to play with the volume before it technically may reduce actual playback bits.  every 6dB is 1 bit

This is a simplification of course

[mwillems]

what if it's set below 100%? sound quality would be effected by reducing bit or anything...?

Thanks.

Depending on your output device and your source material, using MC's internal volume may result in no information loss, or it may result in some theoretical information loss, but those issues exist with any digital volume reduction.  An example of a case where there's no information loss is when you output a 16-bit audio file to a DAC that supports 24-bit output.  In that case any internal volume attenuation in MC less than 48 dB or so will not even theoretically discard any audio information.  In the case of 24-bit audio on a 24-bit DAC, using the volume control will result in some loss of information, but it will result in the loss of very, very quiet information that is almost certainly inaudible in home conditions.  For example, if you attenuate a 24-bit file by 24 dB using internal volume, your music output now has a maximum dynamic range of 120dB, but unless you are reproducing music at volumes that would give you hearing damage, sounds 120dB quieter than the peak will be completely inaudible (by a wide margin) in a normal home context.

But as noted, those would be issues with any digital volume control, so unless you plan to control volume using an analog switch/potentiometer with MC's volume disabled and all other digital volume maximized, you're not getting around the issue of theoretical information loss with digital volume controls.  Most modern receivers, for example, have a digital volume control, so they're subject to the same issues.  

MC's digital internal volume control is a high quality 64-bit volume control, which is likely to be better than other digital volume controls you encounter, so using MC's internal volume is probably the best solution for digital volume control.

And even if you had an analog volume control, there are other sound quality issues potentially involved with those, so it's not as though that option is clearly better.  It just presents different issues.

[Boldlygo]

Something related to this thread: I've setup my Settings to Bitstreaming: Yes (DSD) as per my DAC's (Wyred4Sound DSDse) recommendations. My Volume mode is: Internal Volume. Is this supposed to now disable my volume control in JRiver and JRemote? Because it has, and I now have to use the DAC's volume control.

[ken-tajalli]

Something related to this thread: I've setup my Settings to Bitstreaming: Yes (DSD) as per my DAC's (Wyred4Sound DSDse) recommendations. My Volume mode is: Internal Volume. Is this supposed to now disable my volume control in JRiver and JRemote? Because it has, and I now have to use the DAC's volume control.

others would probably correct me on this, but here is my take:
The internal volume control is digital, it lowers volume by taking digits "off" the digit pool. so -12dB on a 16bit signal is effectively 14bits -
DSD is a 1bit signal ! at very fast sampling rates.
Can not take anything off 1bit - so no digital volume ! simple.
If you want it, you have to go PCM.

[ken-tajalli]

Hi all. I'm using ASIO for Asus xonar HDAV 1.3 deluxe sound card and have a concern about sound quality compare between Disable and enable volume control (internal volume)? In my opinion, disable volume control we get better sound because the signal is not effected.

Any advice? Thanks.

In brief:
- If you have a top notch "Analogue Volume Control" in your system - disable internal volume control.
If you don't, you can not get better, it also has a secret benefit!
If you use the equalizer in DSP, say increase a frequency band by say 5dB, with internal volume at -10dB, you still have 5dB headroom.
Without it, that frequency band has the possibility of clipping the output (at musical peaks) and in digital sound, it is nasty!

[Vincent Kars]

Something related to this thread: I've setup my Settings to Bitstreaming: Yes (DSD) as per my DAC's (Wyred4Sound DSDse) recommendations. My Volume mode is: Internal Volume. Is this supposed to now disable my volume control in JRiver and JRemote? Because it has, and I now have to use the DAC's volume control.

You can't do DSP like volume control on DSD. That is inherent to this format