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Post by eternal on Sept 9, 2016 18:07:27 GMT -5
Perhaps a silly question - but whats the meaning of volume range numbers? They go from -100 to +20… is it somehow related to dB? But if so, how?
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Post by garbulky on Sept 9, 2016 18:43:41 GMT -5
0.00 is line level. You don't want to go above it.
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Post by eternal on Sept 9, 2016 18:56:04 GMT -5
0.00 is line level. You don't want to go above it. Ok, I am sorry for being ignorant about this stiff, but this is precisely why I came here. What do these numbers mean? If I should not go above 0.00, why is 20 an option? I am listening at -40 now - what does THAT mean? |
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Post by garbulky on Sept 9, 2016 19:19:15 GMT -5
0.00 is line level. You don't want to go above it. Ok, I am sorry for being ignorant about this stiff, but this is precisely why I came here. What do these numbers mean? If I should not go above 0.00, why is 20 an option? I am listening at -40 now - what does THAT mean? In real life I don't think it means much. I think it might mean that strictly relative to the DAC it is -40.0 db down from the full level (line level signal). But I might be wrong on it. Even if that is so, it doesn't mean that it is 40 db down FOR YOU. Because things like your speakers, your amps gain etc etc all affect it. The 20 is an option - so if you want to go above line level then you can. But it's not reccomended. You may distort the DAC's output above line level. It's designed for line level output and below. It can go above that. I've done it. But at some point it runs the risk of distortion. You'll find that 0.00 db is pretty loud  So for instance, if you are using an external preamplifier like the XSP-1, you would set the DC-1 at 0.00 db. That way the maximum analog signal that it can do at optimum quality is pushed out. And then you would control the volume via XSP-1. |
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Post by eternal on Sept 9, 2016 19:28:55 GMT -5
I am beginning to get it (slowly) :-)
I have my DC-1 connected straight to an amp XPA-3 via XLRs. So, I control volume from DC-1 and you are 100% correct - even at -40% it sounds pretty powerful. I would NOT want to make it to 0.00, let alone anything above it. I just like to know everything possible about the products I own, hence my insatiable curiosity.
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Post by garbulky on Sept 10, 2016 15:01:36 GMT -5
I am beginning to get it (slowly) :-) I have my DC-1 connected straight to an amp XPA-3 via XLRs. So, I control volume from DC-1 and you are 100% correct - even at -40% it sounds pretty powerful. I would NOT want to make it to 0.00, let alone anything above it. I just like to know everything possible about the products I own, hence my insatiable curiosity. Okay everything I know about the DC-1 that you may not know.... It has two independent headphone amps. It has two independent digitally controlled analog volume controls -one for the speakers and one for the two headphone amps. The volume controls are resistor ladders on a chip. The analog input on the DC-1 is surprisingly good. It is pushed through without any DAC involvement. Its sound signature is similar to a straight wire with gain on its preamp section. Every input is asycnrhonous with jitter reduction including the UBS which is actually asynchronous via USB 2 and also asynchronous because of its inherent jitter reduction chip. There are two DAC chips. They are dual mono and are fully balanced. Fully balanced to my XPA-1 gen 2 (your XPA-3's are not actually fully balanced) sounds great! Really nice sound imo. The headphone amps are quite good! (Imo) the USB sounds the worst input - at least in my system. Both the RCA and XLR outputs are active at the same time. It allows for subwoofer integration on the RCA outputs. The preamp quality of the DC-1 is quite clean. For instance, it's a bit cleaner than the XSP-1. The best combo I've had is with the XPA-1 gen 2 in class A fully balanced mode. IMO it sounds better when it's kept turned on- the same for the amps. I call it "warm up" - different from break in. The biggest thing - speaker splacement AND TOE IN experimentation (LOTS OF TOE IN EXPERIMENTATION!!) makes a huge difference. So does room treatments. Even one behind your couch at head level : www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24-x-48-x-2--1001.htmlThat's about all I got! |
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Post by gentlejax on Dec 19, 2018 19:07:28 GMT -5
hmm at -40 i am just begining to really hear it. I have been to 0.00 breifly. was loud but not the end of the world loud. Im still figuring out this new dac and new amp.
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Post by garbulky on Dec 19, 2018 19:23:17 GMT -5
hmm at -40 i am just begining to really hear it. I have been to 0.00 breifly. was loud but not the end of the world loud. Im still figuring out this new dac and new amp. Have you checked your phase settting? That's commonly the reason for a lack of bass. Go here and go down to speaker phase www.richardfarrar.com/are-your-speakers-wired-correctly/ |
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Post by gentlejax on Dec 19, 2018 19:33:26 GMT -5
its not that. I even bought new wire and its black or red so I dont have any issue with polarity
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 19, 2018 21:12:07 GMT -5
hmm at -40 i am just begining to really hear it. I have been to 0.00 breifly. was loud but not the end of the world loud. Im still figuring out this new dac and new amp. What's the amp and speakers? Mark |
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Post by gentlejax on Dec 20, 2018 8:54:27 GMT -5
amp is a wyred4sound ST-500 class D ice powered 250rms x 2 . speakers are polk RTiA9's. @ -50 I just start hearing the sound to where I can actually tell its good . -40 is minimum if I plan on actually listening to it. and its not loud at all. like my son can watch his tv 30ft away
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stiehl11
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Post by stiehl11 on Dec 20, 2018 10:38:27 GMT -5
Setting my volume at -40 going through a BasX a-100 to a set of Phase Tech PC-1.5 bookshelf speakers there's not a whole lot of anything coming out of them. The bass is there, but at that low of volume it's not pronounced. I would recommend either some sort of equalizer to boost your bass at this low of level or add a small sub to help with low-level listening.
Edit: -40 is so low the auto detect on the a-100 shut off as it wasn't detecting enough signal to stay on.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 20, 2018 10:45:35 GMT -5
amp is a wyred4sound ST-500 class D ice powered 250rms x 2 . speakers are polk RTiA9's. @ -50 I just start hearing the sound to where I can actually tell its good . -40 is minimum if I plan on actually listening to it. and its not loud at all. like my son can watch his tv 30ft away Thanks - wanted to make sure your speakers were capable in combo with your amp, and they should be. That said, at -40 to -50, it will be fairly quiet. If the system isn't having enough bass for you at higher volumes, then as Dave notes - you may need to boost it. But, with your speakers, that should not be an issue if I am reading the specs right. Your bass drivers are working, correct? Worth confirming... Mark |
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stiehl11
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Post by stiehl11 on Dec 20, 2018 10:47:39 GMT -5
hmm at -40 i am just begining to really hear it. I have been to 0.00 breifly. was loud but not the end of the world loud. Im still figuring out this new dac and new amp. At single digits on the DC-1 I'm getting good chest thumps with the bass in my (small) room. At or near 0 it's too loud to enjoy (110 db give or take in room; well into hearing damage levels). |
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