I recently listened to a video where someone suggested dialing in the volume; something like, “go slightly too loud then back it down a notch”. This has done more to bring songs musically to life, make them sound alive, than any DAC or cable I've tried.
The problem was I never had enough granularity to dial it in - but didn’t know it. My preamp's volume control is digital or stepped - somehow I needed to adjust the volume in between those steps. Before, I just thought some recordings sounded magically engaging whereas others didn’t - wrong! If the studio used a decent sound engineering, nearly every song can be dialed in to sound alive and engaging. That’s right - each song has to be dialed in individually to hear the magic. It’s about finding just the right impedence for the speakers to a match the song at the listening levels required by my room. And, as I’m sure you know - it’s not linear which can be frustrating (do you twist the knob a lot or a little - it’s different every time).
I dug out my old Placette remote volume control and placed it between the DAC and preamp. This unit was specially made with xlr terminals - it uses Vishay S102 foil resistors - xlr configuration requires 3 times as many resistors. I paid a pretty penny for it twenty years ago - over $1,200.00 then. Importantly, it has an RF remote and be controlled from the listening position - that’s a big deal here.
What I do now is use my preamp for course volume control (finding the slightly too loud spot). I then begin with the Placette set to the lowest resistance value and gradually reduce the volume until I hear the magic.
This is the single biggest change I’ve made to increase the musical enjoyment of my system. I’ll give you an example. I was streaming Julien Herve playing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major (NoMadMusic, 24/48kHz on Qobuz). When the solo clarinet starts playing, I readjusted the “fine” volume control on the Placette. Suddenly I could hear the resonance of African hardwood of the clarinet. I play the clarinet - I suppose my ears are dialed into this sound. Just one click away I couldn’t hear it; at least not the way it sounds in a concert hall. It brought even more enhancement to an electric guitar. Joe Bonamassa's High Water Everywhere - Live from the Royal Albert Hall - never sounded more alive (J&R Adventures 16/44.1kHz over Qobuz).
What!? I always thought I would need to buy a more expensive DAC to hear this level of detail - nope. Course and fine volume control appears to have been at least part of the answer.
Curious - has anyone else had a similar experience?
The problem was I never had enough granularity to dial it in - but didn’t know it. My preamp's volume control is digital or stepped - somehow I needed to adjust the volume in between those steps. Before, I just thought some recordings sounded magically engaging whereas others didn’t - wrong! If the studio used a decent sound engineering, nearly every song can be dialed in to sound alive and engaging. That’s right - each song has to be dialed in individually to hear the magic. It’s about finding just the right impedence for the speakers to a match the song at the listening levels required by my room. And, as I’m sure you know - it’s not linear which can be frustrating (do you twist the knob a lot or a little - it’s different every time).
I dug out my old Placette remote volume control and placed it between the DAC and preamp. This unit was specially made with xlr terminals - it uses Vishay S102 foil resistors - xlr configuration requires 3 times as many resistors. I paid a pretty penny for it twenty years ago - over $1,200.00 then. Importantly, it has an RF remote and be controlled from the listening position - that’s a big deal here.
What I do now is use my preamp for course volume control (finding the slightly too loud spot). I then begin with the Placette set to the lowest resistance value and gradually reduce the volume until I hear the magic.
This is the single biggest change I’ve made to increase the musical enjoyment of my system. I’ll give you an example. I was streaming Julien Herve playing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major (NoMadMusic, 24/48kHz on Qobuz). When the solo clarinet starts playing, I readjusted the “fine” volume control on the Placette. Suddenly I could hear the resonance of African hardwood of the clarinet. I play the clarinet - I suppose my ears are dialed into this sound. Just one click away I couldn’t hear it; at least not the way it sounds in a concert hall. It brought even more enhancement to an electric guitar. Joe Bonamassa's High Water Everywhere - Live from the Royal Albert Hall - never sounded more alive (J&R Adventures 16/44.1kHz over Qobuz).
What!? I always thought I would need to buy a more expensive DAC to hear this level of detail - nope. Course and fine volume control appears to have been at least part of the answer.
Curious - has anyone else had a similar experience?
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A friend of mine designed a preamp back in the 80s intending to go into production. He marked volume 'focus' on his prototype.
Similar idea have some JVC amplifiers, usual volume control and 3 step amp gain control (JVC AX500v, and some others).
For about a week now I've been fine tuning listening volume to find that "magical" sweet spot where music sounds more alive and engaging. I was surprised how narrow the band is where the magic happens - far more narrow than I anticipated. The Placette Remote Control uses discrete resistors, I realize impedance will vary with different settings - perhaps that's playing into it.
This volume control from Broskie accomplishs your goal and essentially adds a balance control.
Attn-1: 100-Decrements Stepped Attenuator
dave
Attn-1: 100-Decrements Stepped Attenuator
dave
Nice - very cool! To be practical, I think it needs "remote control" - like RF. The only thing I found cheaper with a remote was: Finished HiFi RCA XLR Balanced Remote Relay Volume Controller Passive Preamplifier|Amplifier| - AliExpress
This one looks even better: Hi end Balanced Remote Volume Controller RCA XLR Relay Volume Preamplifier|Amplifier| - AliExpress
i remember a thread where a member wanted a volume display in dB, so they could set the control for a particular track. i think thats want you need.
i agree, get the SPL to the right level, and a track can burst into life.
i agree, get the SPL to the right level, and a track can burst into life.