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With a DAC, how do you control volume using the main volume control (Vista)?

post #1 of 3
8/28/08 at 11:34pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry if this seems like a noob question, but after searching and reading I was wondering if someone could clarify things a bit for me. I am pretty new to the whole DAC thing.

I just bought a Hippo Hifi Bloat USB DAC, and it sounds great. Unfortunately, it is somewhat of a disappointment due to the issues I have been having trying to control the volume. I am running Vista and when the DAC is plugged in, the main volume slider (the one that shows when you click on the speaker icon in the bottom right) does absolutely nothing. The only way to change the volume is by using the volume slider within Windows Media Player. Is there any way to control the volume output via the main volume slider, as I have always been doing when using a soundcard?

Am I doing something wrong, or is this how all DACs behave? I thought that a DAC would behave exactly like a soundcard.

I connect my laptop to a set of computer speakers, my home theatre, and my iems. With the speakers and home theatre, I can externally control the volume, so that doesnt bug me. But with my iems, the only way to control the volume is under windows, which is why I would like to get this working.

Advice would be great.
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post #2 of 3
8/28/08 at 11:48pm
What is the default playback device in Control Panel?

You might find that the volume slider isnt doing anything because its controlling the volume of your soundcard, not your USB DAC. To change this, you'd go into your Control Panel, Sound, and set the USB DAC to default.

See if this helps.
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post #3 of 3
8/29/08 at 12:01am
Thread Starter 
I went into the Control Panel, right click the device, and there is no option to set it as default. All my other sound devices have the option to set as default, but not the DAC. Even with all the other devices disabled and only the DAC enabled, the volume control does not work.

Thanks for the suggestion though.
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