k00zk0
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2007
- Posts
- 90
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- 13
It seems the pot would be the most noisy or least signal-preserving/highest-polluting component in an amp.
For this to make sense in the first place, I have to ask whether the volume control within Windows would change the signal loudness coming out of a S/PDIF port, allowing actual loudness adjustment. If it is a constant value, something needs to be worked out for the volume adjustment.
Basically, for best SQ, wouldn't a resistor equal to the value of the pot at the loudest setting on the most sensitive music you'd ever use from your source be the best replacement? I thought at first, to leave a socket, and in the rare case an album is recorded way too low, it could be changed. But the lack of solid solder connection would probably make it suck over time, let alone originally. A switch could be made that would change between a high or low gain, but again there are non-solid connections.
Has anyone just made their amp constant-volume, and change the source level (digital, assuming you then have an external dac)? It makes sense that with 24 bit out, it would make little difference in quality to even run it at 1/32 the max level. That would only be a loss of 5 bits, allowing the full 16 bits of most signals to be maintained, and at least 19 of 24 bit audio. (Does 24 bit ever have 24 meaningful bits? It's something like 20 most times, right?
For this to make sense in the first place, I have to ask whether the volume control within Windows would change the signal loudness coming out of a S/PDIF port, allowing actual loudness adjustment. If it is a constant value, something needs to be worked out for the volume adjustment.
Basically, for best SQ, wouldn't a resistor equal to the value of the pot at the loudest setting on the most sensitive music you'd ever use from your source be the best replacement? I thought at first, to leave a socket, and in the rare case an album is recorded way too low, it could be changed. But the lack of solid solder connection would probably make it suck over time, let alone originally. A switch could be made that would change between a high or low gain, but again there are non-solid connections.
Has anyone just made their amp constant-volume, and change the source level (digital, assuming you then have an external dac)? It makes sense that with 24 bit out, it would make little difference in quality to even run it at 1/32 the max level. That would only be a loss of 5 bits, allowing the full 16 bits of most signals to be maintained, and at least 19 of 24 bit audio. (Does 24 bit ever have 24 meaningful bits? It's something like 20 most times, right?
