I've always preferred to use line level output to my passive speakers. I think what you're doing is technically double amping? I'm not sure though, it might be different for powered speakers as I have no experience using powered speakers.
He has 'active' speakers.
When two volume adjustments are involved in the signal path, the DAC should be set at line level in order to avoid truncating bits of resolution and the speakers volume control should be used for continual/final adjustment.
He has 'active' speakers.
When two volume adjustments are involved in the signal path, the DAC should be set at line level in order to avoid truncating bits of resolution and the speakers volume control should be used for continual/final adjustment.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's only a concern of truncating bits when adjusting volume in the digital domain. Isn't the Mojo volume adjustment changing the analog output? Or is it working in the digital domain?
Of course, the speakers may be looking for a specific input voltage from the DAC (2V seems to be the most typical) and the line level out mode of the Mojo is 3V, so it might be a bit hotter than the speakers are expecting.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's only a concern of truncating bits when adjusting volume in the digital domain. Isn't the Mojo volume adjustment changing the analog output? Or is it working in the digital domain?
Of course, the speakers may be looking for a specific input voltage from the DAC (2V seems to be the most typical) and the line level out mode of the Mojo is 3V, so it might be a bit hotter than the speakers are expecting.
I'm not a 100% sure if the Mojo volume domain is analog or digital, however as a 'general rule' DACs should be set to line level output and the volume control of the preamp/amp downstream should be used for adjustment.
With the Mojo,, 4 clicks down from the line level setting lands you around 2V which is probably cleaner than the default 3V.
I've always preferred to use line level output to my passive speakers. I think what you're doing is technically double amping? I'm not sure though, it might be different for powered speakers as I have no experience using powered speakers.
I'm not a 100% sure if the Mojo volume domain is analog or digital, however as a 'general rule' DACs should be set to line level output and the volume control of the preamp/amp downstream should be used for adjustment.
With the Mojo,, 4 clicks down from the line level setting lands you around 2V which is probably cleaner than the default 3V.
I don’t think that is what the designer is implying. In fact, as a portable dac/“amp” (but not technically a separate amp) it is designed to have a functional and non-degrading volume control.
I think the confusion is that there is no "amp" in the mojo according to Robb Watts. He is using the output of the FGPA directly. I don't know how decreasing the output voltage of the chip from 3v down to 2v truncates any bits. Nor do I see how varying the output voltage of the chip to run headphones affects bits. The only difference between the line out (3v per Chord) and the more industry standard 2V for line out is gain. I known my integrated amp can't handle the 3v without distortion.
I don’t think that is what the designer is implying. In fact, as a portable dac/“amp” (but not technically a separate amp) it is designed to have a functional and non-degrading volume control.
I get that but we are discussing a desktop situation (not a portable one) where the Mojo is feeding another amp that has its own volume control thus you would want to set the Mojo to a fixed 2V output and use the other amp's volume control for adjustment.
He has 'active' speakers.
When two volume adjustments are involved in the signal path, the DAC should be set at line level in order to avoid truncating bits of resolution and the speakers volume control should be used for continual/final adjustment.
I get that but we are discussing a desktop situation (not a portable one) where the Mojo is feeding another amp that has its own volume control thus you would want to set the Mojo to a fixed 2V output and use the other amp's volume control for adjustment.
I think you’d actually want to experiment and set the Mojo volume (input volume to your preamp or integrated) to where you would get the cleanest output based on where the volume control in the amp is going to be set most of the time. Usually those are analog and at lower settings can have channel imbalances. So I don’t think there is a strong rule of thumb. Not to belabor this, but just encouraging experimentation rather than absolutes.
Mojo’s line level mode is just a fixed digital volume setting to output 3V. Nothing is changed or bypassed on a hardware level between ‘modes’, as has been confirmed many times earlier in this long thread. Don’t worry about double amping if the 3V line level setting needs to be turned down using the volume. Also, 4 clicks down from line level is 1.9V which should be good for most amp inputs.
Mojo’s line level mode is just a fixed digital volume setting to output 3V. Nothing is changed or bypassed on a hardware level between ‘modes’, as has been confirmed many times earlier in this long thread. Don’t worry about double amping if the 3V line level setting needs to be turned down using the volume. Also, 4 clicks down from line level is 1.9V which should be good for most amp inputs.
Just bought a Mojo again after selling all my headphone stuff a few years ago moving to speakers... I just can't believe good this is. I've been using the W60 hooked up to my Asus Essence STX II sound card, which doesn't sound bad. This is on a freakin whole new level. I forgot how good this is! Just had to rave about it again here. My old Mojo had some line noise with USB, but this seems have none. I'm guessing they fixed that or increased the shielding in the newer versions?
Just bought a Mojo again after selling all my headphone stuff a few years ago moving to speakers... I just can't believe good this is. I've been using the W60 hooked up to my Asus Essence STX II sound card, which doesn't sound bad. This is on a freakin whole new level. I forgot how good this is! Just had to rave about it again here. My old Mojo had some line noise with USB, but this seems have none. I'm guessing they fixed that or increased the shielding in the newer versions?
No idea but glad to hear you're enjoying it again! BTW, can you characterize the differences in sound signature/quality between the Mojo & your previous setup (Asus sound card)?
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