FOOBAR VS IVOLUME SOFTWARE

Though another aspect is by using Windows volume or software volume is it can introduce unnecessary dithering that may or may not be audible (depending on the implementation of the dithering type, side note this subject is highly controversial on the JRiver forums) however that is piece of mind you don't have to worry about if the source is maxed. IMO this practice is just good form in a practical way not in a hyped up hyperbole subjective mumbo jumbo audiophile way like most crap in this hobby is peddled and I'm sure there's plenty of people who use Windows volume control perfectly fine without noise issues. That's an extreme example and less than ideal since shit shouldn't be picking up noise anyway.

FOOBAR VS IVOLUME PC

If the source like a PC picks up noise you NEED to have the volume maxed on the source to overcome the noise or otherwise it's annoying as shit.

FOOBAR VS IVOLUME PATCH

I eliminated the noise by using the optical out on my motherboard to a DAC that is then is converted to a balanced signal then out to my Nano Patch Plus to the LSR305's. The noise volume stayed the same regardless of the Windows volume control (this was extremely annoying to hear and impossible to get rid of in that circumstance without powering off the PC or the LSR305's and throwing money at the problem), the noise volume was dictated by the gain of the LSR305's amps. My LSR305's picked up noise from my motherboard that my previous speakers were not revealing enough to hear. I hooked them up with a 1/8' stereo TRS Y adapter to two mono 1/4' TRS from my onboard sound to the LSR305's and used Windows volume while I waited for the Nano Patch Plus. When I ordered my JBL LSR305's I got the American Musical package with the SM Nano Patch Plus however they were shipped from different warehouses. I recommend and do this for practical purposes not due to typical imagined audiophile exaggerated claims. There's going to be an audible difference between preamp and windows control, mind you-a preamp isn't just a simple volume control afaik. Of which this is the one that is of interest I guess:Д«ut that thread goes on to have some more people arguing. That being said, apparently like DeathFromBelow said, Vista uses a different stack which shouldn't reduce resolution. I just now remembered how they're calculated lol. Side note, binary fractions are kind of annoying. It seems a little iffy to me (ie they're looking at a very specific implementation, I'm not sure if this is universal), but I suppose it makes some sense. It's different from my Objective 2 DAC/AMP, but not necessarily worse, just different (warmer sound, which I suppose could be considered worse since it's likely less accurate to the source). The thing is tiny (about the size of a USB thumb drive) and thus has no volume knob.

Have you actually done some objective tests to figure out whether software volume adjustments actually decrease signal to noise ratio in an audible way? I use an Audioengine D3 with my work laptop.

Foobar vs ivolume