i have been using the volume in j.r. wasapi with my dac direct into power amp...no preamp with tone ect....with DSP volume leveling and adaptive leveling...the volume level never really got over 85 or 90...loud.....so i got a passive volume control rca out of dac into new volume unit into power amp....now the volume in j.r. is on 100....and have internal volume in setting turned off....now using volume knob.....it does sound better.....the usual lingo of better audio....is this really the correct way???.....its usb into dac....7ys with pc audio....still growing.....happy spring fever to all...
It's highly dependent on your setup and if you really want to get into the weeds, surprisingly, analog volume isn't 'always' better.
Having said that, I personally like 'something' in between my D/A and my power that isn't tied to a computer. In my case, my DAC has a built in front panel volume control that ignores whatever the computer tells it so that's good enough. This isn't an audio fidelity thing, it's a sanity / 'extra safety' to protect my speakers.
For the most part, well implemented passive volume attenuation can be a good thing. You run your computer into your D/A at 100% (or a few db lower if you're resampling, or running certain kinds of dsp) and let the volume control happen in the analog domain.
Now, where it gets interesting is that 'technically', certain implementations of digital volume control that take place outside of the computer, on your actual D/A can be highly superior, even to a well built passive attenuator. This is one where you'll have to ask the designers / engineers behind your gear exactly how they've implemented things.
https://www.esstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/digital-vs-analog-volume-control.pdfTL;DR
Analog volume controls easily outperform digital, unless the
digital control has access to the data path of the DAC
(ie is internal to the DAC)
Exquisitely well designed analog volume controls can still beat
even the very best internal digital volume controls if they have a
lower noise floor than the DAC itself
Sounds like Analog is the clear winner right?
The -135dB of the ESS Sabre DAC would need an exceptionally
low noise analog volume control to beat its internal digital one
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Topic: useing volume control (Read 1834 times)