Which should be the master volume control?

[pozz]

Goes without saying that any induced quantization noise would be below the threshold of hearing.

 

[pozz]

Checking the properties of the Playback devices on my Win10 machine, the maximum for each is 0dB (unity with source).

Didn't see this before. Where did you find this info in the properties? I run Windows 7 btw.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I think you get me. My question wasn't about digital volume controls in general, but about how Windows and Mac have implemented those controls.

My DAW at home for example, Reaper, uses 64bit FP internally for DSP calculations and references the outputs to dBFS meters. Despite looking into it several times and R'ing TFM I've never found an answer when it comes to my OS. Which is frankly irritating.

So it's a question about gain staging through the Windows master bus and... Youtube. Trivial, but there you have it.

I think you'll be okay on the Mac. On windows I'd keep it maxed out at 0 db and do volume further down the line with the JDS.

Reaper will do the volume correctly as you mentioned. Benchmark will as well. If you had an ASIO connected device in windows it would be okay. Using foobar if setup with ASIO or WASAPI you'd be okay. But coming out of the onboard sound chip who knows. I'd keep that to max in Windows.

 

[RayDunzl]

Where did you find this info in the properties?

Control panel -> Sound

Right click the slider to pick % or dB

 

[RayDunzl]

So it's a question about gain staging through the Windows master bus and... Youtube. Trivial, but there you have it.

@amirm held an executive position in that area of engineering at Microsoft.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/a-bit-about-your-host.1906/

 

[pozz]

Thanks guys.

 

[k3nb5t]

I did some research on Windows Volume control not too long ago. Documentation isn't readily available, however Microsoft does document their driver APIs. When volume is handled by the device, via the driver, Windows provides this as a 32-bit value.

The decibel range is represented by integer values from -2147483648 to +2147483647, where this scale has a resolution of 1/65536 decibel.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/ksproperty-audio-volumelevel

This would imply to me that the internal implementation for Windows is also 32-bit. I believe that this is sufficient resolution for any conceivable listening needs. I have faith that Windows can perform the required math without degrading the audio signal

I have read a number of individuals recommending not to use Windows volume control, but I've yet to find any technical reason to back this. There are many present on this forum far more knowledgeable than I, perhaps they can offer some reasoning for the recommendation?

IMO, the only negative with Windows volume control is the tapering. The default taper is too aggressive on the low end for my taste, but this can be addressed by easily accessible free software.

P.S. Huge thanks to @RayDunzl for the right-click switch to DB trick. That one has bugged my for some time.

 

[pozz]

I did some research on Windows Volume control.

Thanks very much k3nb5t. My itch was scratched.

 

[pozz]

@amirm held an executive position in that area of engineering at Microsoft.

Found this in the measurements thread on the original microRendu: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ents-of-sonore-microrendu-streamer.577/page-4

Windows media stack is designed to serve multiple applications concurrently outputting to one sound device. As such, it allows mixing of sample rates, and individual app volume controls. The way this is done is by changing all app sound sources into a fixed format (set in Sound Control Panel). In between, all samples are converted to floating point and the back out to fixed point with dither.

The above is the reason people resort to using WSAPI and ASIO to get a direct, bit-accurate path to the sound card. Standard media players in Windows do not do that so you have to be mindful of the extra processing.

 

[jasonhanjk]

Scroll down to post #6. Reason why you should not use max volume.

https://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=94347

 

[gvl]

Control panel -> Sound

View attachment 26540

Right click the slider to pick % or dB

Right click the slider, huh? A very strong candidate for the most obscure feature contest.

 

[JohnnyN]

Right click the slider, huh? A very strong candidate for the most obscure feature contest.

Sorry if this was answered already here, but I'm curious to get someone's take on controlling the volume on an iPad. 2020 iPad mini is the source and I am considering buying a Hypex NCore NC122MP amplifier (with no volume control) and a Soncoz LA-QXD1 DAC (which does not have a remote control).

 

[Koeitje]

Sorry if this was answered already here, but I'm curious to get someone's take on controlling the volume on an iPad. 2020 iPad mini is the source and I am considering buying a Hypex NCore NC122MP amplifier (with no volume control) and a Soncoz LA-QXD1 DAC (which does not have a remote control).

Why not buy something with remote volume control?