[Najam]

Hi

I have m-audio av42 speakers which have a built in amp that powers them. There is a knob on the front that controls the volume.

When I have audio going from the chord mojo to the av42 I hear a difference when using the built in amp at full volume and using the mojo at a lower volume or the other way around.

Should I have the speakers at full volume or the mojo at a higher volume?

thx

 

[tansand]

I've never owned the dac you have. I put the volume of the DAC 6db below full output to get as much signal out while stressing the output amps less. This winds up being about 85ish percent of full output, usually. Try 6 clicks below full output, as we often have 1db steps these days. Control volume with the knob. This makes sense to me, and I like the way it sounds.

 

[Najam]

I've never owned the dac you have. I put the volume of the DAC 6db below full output to get as much signal out while stressing the output amps less. This winds up being about 85ish percent of full output, usually. Try 6 clicks below full output, as we often have 1db steps these days. Control volume with the knob. This makes sense to me, and I like the way it sounds.

NO!!!!

The mojo is VERY LOUD at max volume. I believe it does have 1db volume steps. I just can't decide which one should be at max. The amp inside the drivers changes how the music sounds. at full it sounds empty whereas at mid it sounds filled. Don't know which is better

 

[tansand]

lol, dude says NO. Your speakers have too much gain, or your DAC has too much output then. It's not an uncommon problem. Your speakers are not big enough to sound all that great either. Set the volumes where your setup sounds best. Done.

 

[Najam]

That's what I'm trying to find out. Is empty sound better or filled in? as in, which is it supposed to be reproducing the frequencies properly. Empty sounds odd but Rob Watts says that more transparent sound means it's better...

 

[tansand]

1) Turn the knob on the speaker about 1/3 up. Adjust the Dac volume until everything is slightly too loud. Leave the dac vol there, and adjust the volume with the knob when playing music.

2) Buy some better speakers, with less gain.

 

[Najam]

Got it, thanks.

 

[buke9]

I don’t do powered speakers but do use the Mojo as a preamp for headphone amps and simply use the line out mode of the Mojo and never touch it after that.

 

[Najam]

I have tried that, it's too loud. The mojo line level is at 3v I think not 2.1v

I have compared the sound of the speakers to my headphones dt770 Pros and it sound very identical with the volume knob of amp at max. If I use it at 50% or lower it just sounds dead. At 100% it has more air