[superdragon]

I just hooked up this system to a pair of bookshelf speakers:

https://www.parts-express.com/Topping-MX3-Desktop-Amplifier-with-USB-DAC-and-Bluetooth-40WPC-310-347

I have my Surface Pro 4 tablet connected to the amp via the included USB cable. Right now, I have the Surface system volume maxed out at 100% and am streaming Spotify songs with the amp at 38 and it sounds sweet. For setups like mine, is it always best practice to max out the system volume first, or should I play around with different mixes?

Also, I hope I'm not violating any forum TOS with the plug, but God bless Parts Express! I love that company.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Usually it's best to have the amplifier to control volume and max out the volume setting (75%-100%) on anything before the amplifier.
This sends a strong signal to the amp.

 

[DrewVz]

I'm no expert, but I've experimented a bit with volume/gain relationships between various components and for both of my systems I've found that I get the cleanest, most detailed sound by setting the DAC to max (i.e., pass-thru), the preamp to 90% gain, and then using the laptop (or whatever source) as the means to control volume. If I set the laptop volume to max and then use the preamp to control the output, the sound is noticeably less detailed and more grainy.

Your sources may differ from mine, so you may have different results. But for the most part, I've found that the amp is designed to amplify the signal, while the upstream sources are not. Using the upstream sources to pre-amplify the signal instead of using the actual amplifier seems less optimal to me.

 

[jrlan]

That's a counter intuitive approach. I'm going to give it a try.

 

[superdragon]

I've been very happy with my setup since April. Laptop volume is always 100%. All default amp settings except I max out treble at +10. For Spotify, I have the amp between 45 and 61. Different songs require different settings. Same with YouTube and other streaming services, except depending on the stream, I have some of these set as low as 28.

For TV shows and Netflix and Amazon Prime through my smart TV, I have the main TV volume at 0. All the volume comes from the amp. Netflix and Amazon Prime titles sometimes have crappy audio tracks and I have to set the amp as high as 66 sometimes. TV shows seem to have more of a stable range and I generally don't have to go past 51.

Since my original post, I've setup this - Dayton Audio SUB-1000 10" 100 Watt Powered Subwoofer. I set gain 4 steps before maximum and the crossover at 70 Hz.