Vintage Fahrenheit
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- Joined
- Dec 6, 2021
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I'm thinking of buying the RME ADI-2 DAC.
Currently I'm using (and will be using) Foobar2000 as the source and use ReplayGain with a -6 dB setting on the RG preamp (the negative value required for several of my classical albums). From the DAC, I'm outputting to a Yamaha A-S1000 integrated amp via its CD in.
The questions:
1) Is the outcome identical, if I set the negative -6 dB gain on the ADI-2 DAC instead and leave Foobar2000's RG amp at +0 dB? I'm guessing it must be because it's "just" digital attenuation.
2) ....which leads me to the gain-staging question: if I set the gain from 0 dB to -6 dB in the ADI-2 DAC, can I likewise up the Reference Level from +7 dBu to +13 dBu? I've tried using online calculators but I'm still not sure if -6 dB with +13 dBu is the same output voltage as 0 dB with +7 dBu. The (potentially?) higher Reference Level is the reason I'm thinking it would be better to leave Foobar2000 at 0 db and attenuate on the RME instead.
EDIT: Umm, I think maybe it should be +1 dBu and NOT +13 dBu, because the volume is lowered and needs boosting??
Currently I'm using (and will be using) Foobar2000 as the source and use ReplayGain with a -6 dB setting on the RG preamp (the negative value required for several of my classical albums). From the DAC, I'm outputting to a Yamaha A-S1000 integrated amp via its CD in.
The questions:
1) Is the outcome identical, if I set the negative -6 dB gain on the ADI-2 DAC instead and leave Foobar2000's RG amp at +0 dB? I'm guessing it must be because it's "just" digital attenuation.
2) ....which leads me to the gain-staging question: if I set the gain from 0 dB to -6 dB in the ADI-2 DAC, can I likewise up the Reference Level from +7 dBu to +13 dBu? I've tried using online calculators but I'm still not sure if -6 dB with +13 dBu is the same output voltage as 0 dB with +7 dBu. The (potentially?) higher Reference Level is the reason I'm thinking it would be better to leave Foobar2000 at 0 db and attenuate on the RME instead.
EDIT: Umm, I think maybe it should be +1 dBu and NOT +13 dBu, because the volume is lowered and needs boosting??