There are 3 issues here: 1) Bit-perfect resolution
This basically means that the signal is not altered before it goes into the DAC. As mentioned previously, if you keep the volume above 40%, you will keep bit-perfect resolution. 2) Signal-to-noise ratio Any DAC produces a certain amount of noise, or distortion. If you use the digital volume control, the signal going into the DAC will be quieter, but the same amount of noise is added by the DAC (ie the noise will be more noticeable). If you use the digital volume control, the SNR will decrease (ie the signal will get noisier) as you decrease the volume. But bear in mind that if you use a normal preamp instead, the preamp will probably inject its own noise! So you may find that SB2->poweramp is actually less noisy than using a preamp. 3) Protection if it all goes horribly wrong The digital volume is controlled by the SlimServer software and the Squeezebox firmware. If there's any sort of software glitch, there's a slight possibility that the Squeezebox could start transmitting random noise at maximum volume (do a forum search for "white noise of death"). If you are connected directly to a power amp then this could blow your speakers! In my case, I've connected my SB2 directly to my Mackie HR624 active speakers. (1) isn't a problem, because I keep the volume above 40%. (2) doesn't seem to be noticeable in my system (I'm convinced that a preamp would add just as much noise). And (3) isn't a problem because the speakers have overload protection built-in, so they will automatically shut down in an emergency. Chris -- cbemoore ------------------------------------------------------------------------ cbemoore's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=163 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28133 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
