Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Control volume between PC and amp?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Control volume between PC and amp?

post #1 of 6
9/6/11 at 4:52am
Thread Starter 
Just gotten myself a new pair of headphones(Denon AH-D2000) and a amp(Argon HA1), the amp is connected to my Creative X-FI Titanium HD through RCA cables. And am wondering on how i shall control the volume, as i got a volume different places now.

On the PC(Windows 7) i use foobar2000 to play my music, and i've set the volume there to max(0.00dB), the windows master volume i've had at 70%, but am wondering i can just set it to 100% and control all the volume changes on the amp instead? I've tried to had the volume on the PC at 0% and 100% for a little while and i don't notice any big difference beside higher volume ofc. So shouldn't it be okay to have the Windows volume at 100% then? Or?

Thanks in advance =)


Little side note, am not sure if am gonna keep this headphone amp, i've tried the headphone both in the amp and in the soundcard, and the amp doesn't really do anything better than what the soundcard do.
Reply
post #2 of 6
9/6/11 at 6:51am

First and foremost, congrats on your purchases :)

 

Now, it's no surprise that you don't notice a significant difference between running your D2000 straight from the card and from the amp, as D2000 are relatively easy to drive.

 

Not only is it ok to have digital volumes set to 100%, but you actually should have it maxed out under clipping. Then, just like you said, you should control the volume through the amp, as that will yield better sonic performance.

Reply
post #3 of 6
9/6/11 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Yea, your probably right. When i was in the store buying the stuff, the dude that expedited me, got me convinced i needed an amp, that's why i bought it really :P But i might deliver it back if it's possible, as i said i don't really notice a difference, so feels its a bit waste with all the wires and the extra box on my table, even though the little box looks a bit cool, hehe.

Anyway gonna set the windows volume to 100% then and control the rest with the amp for now, thanks =)


Edit: Btw, one thing i didn't fully understand from your post "but you actually should have it maxed out under clipping" what do you mean by that? Isn't sound clipping bad?
Edited by Nitrius - 9/6/11 at 3:19pm
Reply
post #4 of 6
9/6/11 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitrius View Post

Edit: Btw, one thing i didn't fully understand from your post "but you actually should have it maxed out under clipping" what do you mean by that? Isn't sound clipping bad?


That's why you want to keep it under clipping.

 

If you have the amp's volume set really low when you have all your digital volume sliders maxed, check for channel imbalance. I don't know anything about your amp, but some have trouble keeping volume even between channels when the knob is turned down low. Play a mono track or something, see if one ear sounds a lot louder than the other. Some volume difference is natural, because one ear might be more sensitive, but it shouldn't be excessive.

 

Digital volume isn't good, it effectively reduces the bit depth of your music, but small changes to it (like with ReplayGain) will be inaudible. Experiment with both the Windows volume and Foobar's. I think they both handle it without any distortion or other issues.

Reply
post #5 of 6
9/6/11 at 4:16pm

Max it all sir...Control volume with amp.  What output renderer are you using with Foobar?  WASAPI, KS, ASIO, DS?

Reply
post #6 of 6
9/6/11 at 5:16pm

By default, with the hardware you're using, you should be perfectly able to always set all digital volumes to zero attenuation and controlling volume only through your amp.

 

Some devices start having sound issues when their digital volume is set too high (clipping), and users need to lower it to a level where that no longer happens. But if you have your digital volume maxed and only hear good old music, you're all set :)

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Computer Audio
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Computer Audio › Control volume between PC and amp?