Hi everyone, I know this topic has been talked about a lot but I've never been able to understand too much about it. At the moment my setup consists of an Audient iD14 mkII (which I use as a DAC being mainly a musician) and a Topping NX7 headphone amp (connected to the line outputs and not to the audio interface headphone amp), which I use to drive my headphones, especially the Hifiman Sundara.
Using a headphone calibration software (Acustica Audio Sienna Reference) I pay close attention that the signal reaches the Audient digitally below the clipping threshold. However I would like to understand what is the best solution to obtain less harmonic distortion.
- Would it be more correct to keep the audio interface volume at 100% (or slightly below) and use the headphone amp knob?
- The Topping NX7 has a gain level switch on the back (low, medium and high corresponding to -13.8db, -0.1db and 13.9 dB). Is setting it to "medium" (maximum volume) or setting it to "high" (lower volume) and using the Audient knob to control the listening level that bad? Are there differences in THD between the two settings on the back of the Topping?
Thanks in advance.
Using a headphone calibration software (Acustica Audio Sienna Reference) I pay close attention that the signal reaches the Audient digitally below the clipping threshold. However I would like to understand what is the best solution to obtain less harmonic distortion.
- Would it be more correct to keep the audio interface volume at 100% (or slightly below) and use the headphone amp knob?
- The Topping NX7 has a gain level switch on the back (low, medium and high corresponding to -13.8db, -0.1db and 13.9 dB). Is setting it to "medium" (maximum volume) or setting it to "high" (lower volume) and using the Audient knob to control the listening level that bad? Are there differences in THD between the two settings on the back of the Topping?
Thanks in advance.