DAC Output Level

[exo]

Hey guys,

im new to this forum but i already read tons of reviews here and bought my new setup according to amirm's recommendations consisting of a Topping D10 and JDS Atom Amp (for my DT-1990 Pro Headphones).

However i still have some question which i found no answer to (there are probably tons of threads about it but i couldnt find them, sry!)

1. Everyone says an Amp such as the Atom needs a DAC with an output level of 2Vrms such as the D10 have. But these 2Vrms are only generated if i play 0dBFS Material.
So my question is: If i use "standard" sources like Spotify (or any other streaming service), Netflix, Youtube and Games i will never reach those 2Vrms since they dont play 0dBFS material. Will this be an issue or is this totally fine and people are only reffering to the maximum output part as a reference? Is there any way to artificialy increase those sources or is it even desirable?

2. Well i found some answers to this question but i still gonna ask: Is there any "appropriate" way to regulate the volume digitaly with my setup?
Most people say its best to set the DAC @100% volume and use the Amp to control the volume.
Im just a bit concerned if the volume knob will last very long if i constantly adjust the volume to my sources...
Would it also be ok to set the DAC at say 60-80% volume and andjust it up and down according to my source? Or would this significantly increase distortion etc? Also regarding Question No.1 since the output voltage will be even lower.

The reason i didnt go for the DX3 Pro is because many people claim that they have huge quality issues and since i dont want to spend that much money (at least for me, i know there are much much more expensive ones out there) every couple of years i went for the (hopefully) longer lasting (and more powerfull) D10+Atom combo.

sry for the rather long post...

thank you for your time!

 

[twsecrest]

If you prefer to set the source (Windows volume control) to 60%-80%, that's not really a big issue, each to their own way.

 

[amirm]

So my question is: If i use "standard" sources like Spotify (or any other streaming service), Netflix, Youtube and Games i will never reach those 2Vrms since they dont play 0dBFS material. Will this be an issue or is this totally fine and people are only reffering to the maximum output part as a reference? Is there any way to artificialy increase those sources or is it even desirable?

That is fine. 0 dBFS would produces the loudest sound. You don't need to operate at that point. The amplifier will provide some gain on top of the DAC. Unless the material is recorded at very soft levels, you should be fine with a combination of DAC+amp.

 

[exo]

Alright thanks for the answers.
I have another question: I read many times that its best to pick ASIO driver as your default one. But there doesnt seem to be any way to change it globaly? I can only select it for special programms like foobar right?

And if i set the Atom Amp to maximum @low gain and the D10 to like 10 for perfect channel matching, does noise and distortion rise significantly? I read that the DX3 Pro for example does it also like this, so i could achieve both things the DX3 has, perfect channel matching and better digital volume control like this?

 

[daftcombo]

Alright thanks for the answers.
I have another question: I read many times that its best to pick ASIO driver as your default one. But there doesnt seem to be any way to change it globaly? I can only select it for special programms like foobar right?

And if i set the Atom Amp to maximum @low gain and the D10 to like 10 for perfect channel matching, does noise and distortion rise significantly? I read that the DX3 Pro for example does it also like this, so i could achieve both things the DX3 has, perfect channel matching and better digital volume control like this?

You ask good questions but it seems to me that you didn't experiment much.
If you had, you would have noticed that in any of the situations you described your music sound the same.

 

[exo]

i experimented already much but i just want to make sure to have the best quality possible. I didnt hear any difference but that doesnt mean there isnt any. If i buy 200€ gear i dont want to "downgrade" it to 50€ by using it the wrong way, but maybe im just thinking too much

 

[JohnYang1997]

i experimented already much but i just want to make sure to have the best quality possible. I didnt hear any difference but that doesnt mean there isnt any. If i buy 200€ gear i dont want to "downgrade" it to 50€ by using it the wrong way, but maybe im just thinking too much

It's pretty normal of thinking. Surely you can use wasapi or asio wherever you can. Then you can get best quality out of your equipment. Source file is somewhat important too. Tho we may not hear big difference between 320k mp3 and lossless or even hires. We tend to agree 24bit does measure better. These are just objective speaking.
More realistic speaking, you bought the product because you like it. Then how you use it doesn't really matter that much since it wouldn't make much of difference in the end. I recommend choose whatever is more convenient to you.