I propose a very simple but extremely effective method of audio evaluation of you and your playback

Take any devise that has a digital volume control. If might be a CD player, DAC, Sound Card, Preamp or a power amp. Connected it to your system and set the digital volume control in unity gain at 0dB. If you have a chance to bypass it then do it. Play the system as is; get a reference of the result. Change the attenuation of the digital volume control for any amount, .5db for instance. Observe that the sound of playback become immediately unworthy in term of musical values (use my 6-level evaluation scale)

If you come to the opposite conclusion and if you feel that there was no change with sound when a digital attenuator is engaged and disengaged then there are ONLY two possibilities:

1) Your playback is very dull and inflicts too much masking effect. Go to Circuit City, buy yourself a good table radio, get life and trash the garbage audio that you use currently.

2) You are completely deaf or have listening techniques of Ordovician lizard. Stop doing audio.

I am not kidding - there are no other options... well, perhaps you try to educate yourself

The last two weeks I have no preamp in house. I have great vintage EVS attenuators but I can’t use them with Melquiades as they talk with Milq’s input filters absolutely killing sound. The only way I can play music those days is only from my DAW, roiling off volume by digital volume control from the Lynx 16 mixer.

Holly shit!!! I did not use the digital volume control for years and forgot how horrible they might be - it is an absolute nightmare! I always was disgusted to hear the digital volume control in other playbacks but here is first time in 15 years I had it in mine – it was a good reminding how many deaf people out there…

Romy the Cat wrote:

The last two weeks I have no preamp in house. I have great vintage EVS attenuators but I can’t use them with Melquiades as they talk with Milq’s input filters absolutely killing sound. The only way I can play music those days is only from my DAW, roiling off volume by digital volume control from the Lynx 16 mixer. Holly shit!!! I did not use the digital volume control for years and forgot how horrible they might be - it is an absolute nightmare! I always was disgusted to hear the digital volume control in other playbacks but here is first time in 15 years I had it in mine – it was a good reminding how many deaf people out there… The Cat

Lbjefferies7 wrote:

http://www.weiss-highend.ch/computerplayback/Digital_Level_Control.pdf Here's Weiss's paper on the subject.  It features a cat, so it must be right   All of the explanations are beside the point, however, as there really is no reason to use digital volume control under operational circumstances.

This Weiss’ paper is very stupid one. I really do not like when the professionals of the Weiss’ caliber trade their reference opinion about the subjects just to promote mendicancy, selling the half-true or juts deceptions. Daniel Weiss know much better than this but in this case he chose to express only 5% of true, leaving the rest in comfortable silence. What Mr. Weiss said is true and there are shity digital controls and there are better controls. If people go for higher rates or use dither to mask out the problems when they loose bit-resolution then it does not support the notion that digital volume controls are “good” but juts indicate that the different masquerade methods are affective to impress the Morons who do not understand better results.

Saying all of it I have to note that it is possible to have a digital volume control that is problem-free and that will have even at -90dB the full bit-death resolution. To my knowledge it was implemented in one DAC and in there the entire conversion algorithm is recalculated based upon the setting of the volume control. Ironically in that DAC the volume control still sound very bad but because of VERY different reason.

Anyhow, the Daniel Weiss’ half-ass explanation do not do honor to the designer of his competence.

Romy the Cat wrote:

tuga,   I do not like this explanation, it is very confusing and self-contradictive. The Digital Volume controls (with a few very seldom exceptions) do bits-depth conversion and toss the bits with each new volume setting. This is as bad as it could be.  The Cat

Romy the Cat wrote:

Lbjefferies7 wrote: http://www.weiss-highend.ch/computerplayback/Digital_Level_Control.pdf Here's Weiss's paper on the subject.  It features a cat, so it must be right   All of the explanations are beside the point, however, as there really is no reason to use digital volume control under operational circumstances. This Weiss’ paper is very stupid one. I really do not like when the professionals of the Weiss’ caliber trade their reference opinion about the subjects just to promote mendicancy, selling the half-true or juts deceptions. Daniel Weiss know much better than this but in this case he chose to express only 5% of true, leaving the rest in comfortable silence. What Mr. Weiss said is true and there are shity digital controls and there are better controls. If people go for higher rates or use dither to mask out the problems when they loose bit-resolution then it does not support the notion that digital volume controls are “good” but juts indicate that the different masquerade methods are affective to impress the Morons who do not understand better results. Saying all of it I have to note that it is possible to have a digital volume control that is problem-free and that will have even at -90dB the full bit-death resolution. To my knowledge it was implemented in one DAC and in there the entire conversion algorithm is recalculated based upon the setting of the volume control. Ironically in that DAC the volume control still sound very bad but because of VERY different reason. Anyhow, the Daniel Weiss’ half-ass explanation do not do honor to the designer of his competence. The caT

tuga wrote:

I should have added that this explanation refers to volume control by software and it's probably the worst case scenario.

coops wrote:

Lets examine the facts on the one hand a very well respected engineer who has spent his life working in the digital domain, who has just been voted a member of the AES, on the other a puffed up ,over opinionated buffoon. Who are you going to believe!

However, Daniel Weiss is not too deep in hi-fi industry; he is mostly in pro-audio industry. He does not relay too much upon the public reviews – the pro-audio has own distribution method.  For the hi-fi consummates Daniel Weiss personally is quality outspoken and he perfectly capable to stratify/partition his knowledge and to delegate it in the format that he feel is necessary for him.  In your case - the lightweights with not too much own integrity or familiarity on the subject it is all the necessary to make you motivated.

Perhaps you would be kind to teach us all how attenuation should take place in the digital domain. The world holds it breath.