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More => Old Versions => Media Center 17 => Topic started by: duskdrums on February 26, 2012, 11:09:47 pm

Title: HRT Headstreamer Volume
Post by: duskdrums on February 26, 2012, 11:09:47 pm

I am using the new HRT Headstreamer with JRiver on my laptop with WASPI-Exclusive. My question has to do with the optimal volume option. In one of my home systems (no hardware volume control), I have system volume set to 100% and use the internal volume option in J River. In another home system, I set the volume to disabled to use the hardware volume.

The Headstreamer has a somewhat unique setup. Without any proprietary drivers, it apparently hijacks the windows system volume such that it uses its "digitally controlled analog attenuator coupled to an OCL amplifier" in order to change the volume (http://www.highresolutiontechnologies.com/pdf/HRT-HeadStreamer.pdf (http://www.highresolutiontechnologies.com/pdf/HRT-HeadStreamer.pdf)). This seems akin to using the hardware volume knob of a home stereo, but I'm not exactly sure how the engineering works, and wanted to see what people thought would be the best volume control.

Thanks!

Title: Re: HRT Headstreamer Volume
Post by: Matt on February 27, 2012, 09:47:41 am

This might help:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume#Picking_Between_System_Volume_and_Internal_Volume

I can't see why an analog attenuator could be better than a 64bit digital attenuator (internal volume), so I'd be tempted to use internal volume.  The test at the link above where you listen to high-volume silence should answer the question for sure.