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8-channel volume control

goldistan

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Assume 8 channels coming out of a multichannel DAC or 4x stereo DACs, in balanced or unbalanced format (let's assume unbal for simplicity).
I want a ready to use product, no soldering/coding required.
After some research I found the following options:

1. Mechanical potentiometers, e.g.:
https://khozmo.com/index.html
https://www.partsconnexion.com/DACT-70595.html

2. "Dedicated" analog 8ch preamp, e.g:
https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/volume-8/

3. Old AV receiver or processor: if it has pre-in and pre-out it can function as a volume controller. it probably applies ADC, DSP and DAC which is redundant. but this is the cheapest option.

*context/narrative:
I have LX521 speakers with miniDSP 4x10 and 8ch hypex amp from ATI.
The miniDSP unit has to go because of its volume control: it's bad, the remote doesn't work (I replaced 2 receiver boards) and the chassis is not at all grounded, if I touch the volume knob with static charge from my hands it requires a reboot. I want to replace it with miniDSP 2x8 (DSP only) + DACs + an external volume control.
 

kipman725

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Replace the mini dsp with a DSP unit intended for install use. I use a Symetrix 8x8 DSP which has 8 outputs. There are two methods of volume control using this DSP:
1) analog output attenuators - these are intended for matching maximum level to the connected amplifier and so are set once
2) digital volume control via mixer block - performs floating point reduction in digital level, this can be controlled via an external linear pot, you could use a remote motor pot as a diy solution to remote control or there are probobly other methods of adding remotes as this is a common use case, I just haven't investigated.
 

mdsimon2

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Any reason why you do not want to do volume control in the nanodigi? I assume it is lack of volume indication and/or physical knob.

As suggested above a SHD Studio would work well as an upstream volume control but is way too expensive if you are using it only for volume control.

I am curious if anyone else knows of a device with digital inputs (at least one TOSLINK or SPDIF input), digital outputs and a display with volume control. Seems like there should be something cheap out there that does this.

Michael
 

DVDdoug

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1. Mechanical potentiometers, e.g.:
https://khozmo.com/index.html
https://www.partsconnexion.com/DACT-70595.html
Nooooo!!!! :p I've had stereo pots that didn't "track" or sometimes there is play between the two so one channel lags the other. With digital pots you have a better chance of matching the channels, but I assume modern AVRs use DSP rather than digital pots. My car stereo has a rotary encoder (it turns more than 360 degrees and has multiple functions) but I don't know if it's controlling digital pots or DSP software.)
 

andymok

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DWPress

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I feel your pain @goldistan. I had a MiniDSP 2x8 (with upgrades - so a 4x10) and absolutely hated the lack of decent volume control. I purchased an add on board called the Waveflex which a guy in France briefly marketed toward MiniDSP products but it was buggy as well and skipped volume increments if you went too fast. I ended up going with an Okto Dac8 Pro because it has everything I wanted + the balanced connections I now need with the current amps.

Long live the volume knob!

I responded to your PM about the MSB MVC-1 I have available. Siegfried used one in his speaker implementations which is why I acquired mine.
 

ai1

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The miniDSP unit has to go because of its volume control: it's bad, the remote doesn't work (I replaced 2 receiver boards) and the chassis is not at all grounded, if I touch the volume knob with static charge from my hands it requires a reboot. I want to replace it with miniDSP 2x8 (DSP only) + DACs + an external volume control.
I am rather surprised to hear this... Sounds like bad luck to me. The remote unit works flowlessly with my Logitech Harmony (minidsp is configured as Sony STR-DH520). And no grounding problems at all. Do you use balanced outputs of the 4x10?
 
OP
G

goldistan

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I am rather surprised to hear this... Sounds like bad luck to me. The remote unit works flowlessly with my Logitech Harmony (minidsp is configured as Sony STR-DH520). And no grounding problems at all. Do you use balanced outputs of the 4x10?
This is just a taste of the problems I had with miniDSP, I replaced every one of the 3 boards in the box, even the supplied USB cable was flawed. I use unbalanced.
 

DWPress

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I used the miniDSP 2x8 (4x10) for 8 years doing XO duty. In that time I had one board fail which I replaced but on both boards I had a glitch that whenever I changed configurations I would get loud distorted static going through all channels. I learned to live with it and work around it but was always disappointed it didn't perform. This was on Mac OS. Never had a problem with the unbalanced connections but the balanced phoenix terminals were buggy too on my second board at least.

I now do all my XO via software on my computer, more options and fewer external boxes.
 

sseppala

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I've been using Windows 10 (with Equalizer APO crossover) -> Asus Xonar U7 -> Cambridge Audio Azur 640R -> Three way active speakers and a subwoofer (sub through the AV-preamp).

I think many higher range AV-receiver amps have Direct 7.1 input option which bypasses all digital processing.

It's a shame that the SPL Volume 8 does not come with a remote. I think it is kind of essential in this kind of application, one would also expect it with the price they are asking.

This could be one option if you want a completely assembled preamp:

CS3310 based 8 channel preamp:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174781827661?hash=item28b1cf0a4d:g:nOoAAOSwdaxefWY0

Here is some info (and measurements) about the previously mentioned PGA4311 based analog 8 channel preamp:
http://gainphile.blogspot.com/2013/10/8-channel-ebay-remote-volume-control.html

Here are also some other DIY options, if someone else is interested:

CS3318 Volume Control 8 channel
https://www.djuke.nl/en/products?pa...page=flypage.tpl&product_id=399&category_id=1

DYKB HIFI 4 channel 8CH Remote volume control
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001455362050.html
 

Kuba

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Assume 8 channels coming out of a multichannel DAC or 4x stereo DACs, in balanced or unbalanced format (let's assume unbal for simplicity).
I want a ready to use product, no soldering/coding required.
After some research I found the following options:

1. Mechanical potentiometers, e.g.:
https://khozmo.com/index.html
https://www.partsconnexion.com/DACT-70595.html

2. "Dedicated" analog 8ch preamp, e.g:
https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/volume-8/

3. Old AV receiver or processor: if it has pre-in and pre-out it can function as a volume controller. it probably applies ADC, DSP and DAC which is redundant. but this is the cheapest option.

*context/narrative:
I have LX521 speakers with miniDSP 4x10 and 8ch hypex amp from ATI.
The miniDSP unit has to go because of its volume control: it's bad, the remote doesn't work (I replaced 2 receiver boards) and the chassis is not at all grounded, if I touch the volume knob with static charge from my hands it requires a reboot. I want to replace it with miniDSP 2x8 (DSP only) + DACs + an external volume control.
I have minidsp 4x10 (as crossover, volume at max) and old totl marantz avr as volume control + 6x amp. Works perfectly.
 

Kal Rubinson

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Both of my 8channel DACs have their own volume controls but I also use a digital volume control that handles any/all channels for JRiver. It looks like this:
DROK.jpg
 

wisechoice

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This is an old thread, so probably not relevant to OP anymore. But if you drive 3 or 4 stereo DACs with a Digiface USB, you can use the RME ARC USB as a volume control for TotalMix. It's not cheap for a digital volume knob, nor is it small or wireless, but it's very well built and has the added benefit of being able to control presets and channel groups, mute and solo channels, etc. This is what I'm doing for my own setup. TotalMix comes with a bit of a learning curve, but it's worth it to get the hang of if you're using the Digiface.
 

192kbps

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Looked at this a few times but it is much, much too complex and all analog, especially since the specs are minimal. Also, I don't like using phone plugs for almost everything.
How about this?
 

Kal Rubinson

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The Grace has always looked interesting. Have not looked at the RAM. IMHO, digital is the way to go with any such complex functionality.
 

DWPress

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Just looked at the Grace offering. Looks really cool if you need all that functionality and decoding + connectivity but way overkill for those of us where we can get by with 8 channels and not exactly "living room remote" friendly.

I'd love to play with one though.
 
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