I have just taken delivery of my Transporter and have been experimenting with setups as a replacement for my SB3. I realise that I have to make some decisions about how I will be controlling volume but admit to being a bit confused.
When the SB3 was in my system I took its fixed level digital output to my DAC and thence to a pre-amp and on to the power amps. Volume was controlled at the pre-amp and I even did the analog mute thing on the SB3 via the -63dB setting in SS. With the Transporter I have removed the DAC, since the internal DAC of the Transporter is considered to be one its key features which sets it apart from the SB3+DAC arrangement. I have also now taken out my pre-amp and am running analog out from the Transporter directly to the power amps. This works fine but for normal listening level the Transporter volume needs to be set at between -25dB and -35 dB depending on the source and the time of day (or night). My concern is whether this is in any way compromising my ultimate sound quality. I have seen various threads here in previous months relating to the impact - or otherwise - of volume controls in the digital and/or analog domains but do not claim to have a clear view of the consensus, assuming there is one! I have thought about moving the internal attenuation jumpers in the Transporter in order to allow the volume control to be set closer to its top end - and would have tried that already if I had been able to find a 1/16" hex key. I am not sure however if there is any potential for downside resulting from adding this attenuation or indeed if it is any different from using the volume control itself. I assume that the jumpers add attenuation in the analog domain whereas the volume control might be doing so digitally (?). I could also put the pre-amp back in circuit, crank the Transporter volume up to max and do everything from the pre again. So, a somewhat confused Transporter owner keen to get the very best out of his investment and looking for some insight from those with a better grasp on all this than I. davep -- davep ------------------------------------------------------------------------ davep's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=61 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28133 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
