[GoodVibesOnly]

I have a pair of hd650 powered by a vali 2 and a modi 3 DAC that I’ve been enjoying immensely for over a year now.

When I’m really listening to music I have iTunes and windows at 100% volume and use the vali 2 to set the volume. Based on what I’ve read, this is the preferred way of setting up a signal chain.

However, if I want to listen at lower volumes while I’m working I run into the issue of a channel imbalance because the volume is too low on my Vali 2. Does anyone know if it matters how I go about adjusting the volume levels of Windows and iTunes? Also, is this a problem I’d run into with most amps? Or would I have better luck with something different?

 

[elira]

Does anyone know if it matters how I go about adjusting the volume levels of Windows and iTunes?

It will degrade quality a little but at low volumes it shouldn't be noticeable. It's better than having channel imbalance.

is this a problem I’d run into with most amps?

Yes.

Or would I have better luck with something different?

If you get something with a discrete volume control then you get over this issue. Most amps that rely solely in the potentiometer for volume control will have this issue, and most amps use this approach. Schiit has some devices with better potentiometers like Jotunheim, or with a relay based volume control like Ragnarok. Other companies sometimes use chips designed to control the volume but those degrade quality a little.

 

[saratoga1740]

The problem is the potentiometer used in Vali 2. You won't have channel imbalance issue with lets say Asgard 3 because it uses Alps RK 27 pot. Also amps with digital volume control won't suffer from this. Are you running Vali 2 on low gain? That may help a bit.

 

[Roseval]

The loudest a DAC could play is called 0 dBFS, say all bits are on.
If we lower the volume digital we ‘shift’ to the right.

If we play 16 bit program material on a 16 bit DAC and lower with 48 dB, we have only half of the number of bits left.
MSB LSB
1111111111111111
0000000011111111

Yes, we do loose resolution and with each bit chopped off, 6 dB of the dynamic range.
If we play 16 bits program material on a 24 bit DAC and lower with 8 bits (48 dB) we still have all 16 bits in the register of the DAC.

111111111111111100000000
000000001111111111111111

IMHO it takes a long time before the "degeneration" caused by digital VC becomes audible using a 24 or 32 bit DAC.

 

[tomb]

However, if I want to listen at lower volumes while I’m working I run into the issue of a channel imbalance because the volume is too low on my Vali 2. Does anyone know if it matters how I go about adjusting the volume levels of Windows and iTunes? Also, is this a problem I’d run into with most amps? Or would I have better luck with something different?

As saratoga1740 noted, this is about the quality of the stereo volume pot. Not all stereo volume pots are equal. The Alps RK27 is generally accepted as the acceptable quality volume pot for good channel balancing (at least in the DIY headphone world). There are even better pots or best still - attenuators, but they can get very expensive. Still, it's often the case that you get what you pay for.

This is a great source for the low-down on stereo volume pots and attenuators in the headphone amplifier world:
https://tangentsoft.com/audio/atten.html
Tangent is the only one whom I'm aware has conducted and documented tests on volume pots/attenuators. Unfortunately, his actual tests are imbedded in his text on that page and almost hidden. You have to really hunt to find it, but here is the essential link:
https://tangentsoft.com/audio/misc/pot-curves.zip
That link will download a zip file containing his spreadsheet measurement data for various pots/attenuators. It's eye-opening, to say the least. Without going to a full attenuator construction, the Alps RK27 at 50K ohms happens to be the happiest medium for any headphone amplifier. You'd have to spend $hundreds to get a substantially better volume pot for the sources and loads we use in the headphone culture.