Analogue volume control with remote

[vbutani]

I am looking for a device which purely act as volume control with remote to use in between my DAC and power amp. (My DAC doesn't have volume control)
As I am quite happy with my DAC output and power amp capabilities, I am not looking for any amplification in between.
Please suggest if any option available or any easy DIY reference.

 

[mbhangui]

I am looking for a device which purely act as volume control with remote to use in between my DAC and power amp. (My DAC doesn't have volume control)
As I am quite happy with my DAC output and power amp capabilities, I am not looking for any amplification in between.
Please suggest if any option available or any easy DIY reference.

What DAC you have and to which system you have connected your DAC?

If it is linux, you can install linux IR. Many dacs come with hardware volume control chip. I use it to control the DAC volume in mpd. If it is the mac mini or the older macbook pro, you can use the apple tv remote to control pause, play, next song, volume up/down, etc

If you want to find out your DAC has volume control, connect it to any linux desktop/laptop and run alsamixer. It will show if your DAC has a volume control

e.g. This is my sony vaio laptop. It shows that the inbuilt soundcard has a volume control named 'Master'



If you are looking for a hardware solution, take a look at this

Burr Brown PGA2311 Based Volume Control Module

theaudiocrafts.com

 

[arj]

what you are looking for is a preamp. if the volume is very high and you only want to reduce it, you can have any DIY enthusiast to make a simple passive one for you

I am looking for a device which purely act as volume control with remote to use in between my DAC and power amp. (My DAC doesn't have volume control)
As I am quite happy with my DAC output and power amp capabilities, I am not looking for any amplification in between.
Please suggest if any option available or any easy DIY reference.

 

[vbutani]

What DAC you have and to which system you have connected your DAC?

If it is linux, you can install linux IR. Many dacs come with hardware volume control chip. I use it to control the DAC volume in mpd. If it is the mac mini or the older macbook pro, you can use the apple tv remote to control pause, play, next song, volume up/down, etc

If you want to find out your DAC has volume control, connect it to any linux desktop/laptop and run alsamixer. It will show if your DAC has a volume control

e.g. This is my sony vaio laptop. It shows that the inbuilt soundcard has a volume control named 'Master'

View attachment 70247

If you are looking for a hardware solution, take a look at this

Burr Brown PGA2311 Based Volume Control Module

theaudiocrafts.com

I am exactly looking for the same product link attached by you, but unfortunately it's out of stock.

I have Musician Pegasus R2R dac and tried to install lirc library on OSX via Macports, but not able to run alsamixer as it says no command found!

what you are looking for is a preamp. if the volume is very high and you only want to reduce it, you can have any DIY enthusiast to make a simple passive one for you

Volume is high from my dac and want to reduce it mostly, but need remote control as well.

 

[mbhangui]

I am exactly looking for the same product link attached by you, but unfortunately it's out of stock.

I have Musician Pegasus R2R dac and tried to install lirc library on OSX via Macports, but not able to run alsamixer as it says no command found!

Mac doesn't use alsa. So you cannot use alsamixer. On Mac you don't have to install lirc. IR should work out of the box. Just pair any apple remote with your MacBook

 

[vbutani]

Mac doesn't use alsa. So you cannot use alsamixer. On Mac you don't have to install lirc. IR should work out of the box. Just pair any apple remote with your MacBook

How to check if my DAC supports volume control ?
The default volume keys on Macbook doesn't respond when connected to DAC as I think it gives digital output to DAC.

 

[mbhangui]

How to check if my DAC supports volume control ?
The default volume keys on Macbook doesn't respond when connected to DAC as I think it gives digital output to DAC.

Use the audio midi setup utility. If your dac has hardware volume control, you will be able to control it in the utility

Spatial Audio, the Sound pane and Audio MIDI Setup

Controls for everything from mono to Spatial Audio, in the menu bar, Sound pane, and Audio MIDI Setup app. And where to find every audio setting in the book.

www.google.com

 

[vbutani]

Use the audio midi setup utility. If your dac has hardware volume control, you will be able to control it in the utility

Spatial Audio, the Sound pane and Audio MIDI Setup

Controls for everything from mono to Spatial Audio, in the menu bar, Sound pane, and Audio MIDI Setup app. And where to find every audio setting in the book.

www.google.com

Thanks for the detailed information, but my DAC doesn't have volume control.

 

[mbhangui]

Thanks for the detailed information, but my DAC doesn't have volume control.

Even my dac doesn't have a physical volume control but it has a hardware volume control that can be controlled. These controls are reported by the driver and allow software players to control things like volume, DSP, low pass cutoff, etc. I will edit this post with a screenshot. Note that this dac has zero physical controls. Tomorrow I will connect a DAC with hardware volume control chip, connect it to my mac mini and run the audio midi setup and report back.

here is one DAC which has absolutely zero controls and alsamixer reports 13 hardware controls that any music player can control it.

 

[vbutani]

Even my dac doesn't have a physical volume control but it has a hardware volume control that can be controlled. These controls are reported by the driver and allow software players to control things like volume, DSP, low pass cutoff, etc. I will edit this post with a screenshot. Note that this dac has zero physical controls

Quick question for my knowledge, if software controls the volume than by chance do it remove some bits from source or anything which affects the original signals or audio quality? Sorry I don't have detailed knowledge about it.

 

[mbhangui]

Quick question for my knowledge, if software controls the volume than by chance do it remove some bits from source or anything which affects the original signals or audio quality? Sorry I don't have detailed knowledge about it.

If you don't have a hardware volume control, then yes, bits will be lost. But a hardware volume control

Hardware volume control is a volume control that the hardware (e.g. a DSP or a DAC) board provides. The application sends the unmodified data to the devices that handles the volume control internally. An example for this is the tool “alsamixer” used with our DACs or amplifiers.

TechTalk: What is software volume control and is it a bad thing? | HiFiBerry

I have many dacs. Some have hardware control and some don't. Here is an example of my mpd.conf where one dac PianoDAC has hardware volume control and my Xonar Essence Dac has no hardware volume control. The funny thing is that the Xonar has a phyical volume control but cannot be controlled by software. The volume can be changed only by physically rotating the volume control knob on the DAC. The mixer_type field defines if you are using software or hardware volume control.

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "Piano DAC Plus 2.1"
device "hwianoDACPlus"
########## format #########
format "*:32:2"
# format "384000:32:2"
# format "44100:24:2"
dsd_usb "yes"
# buffer_time "200000"
# period_time "1024000000"
auto_resample "no"
auto_channels "no"
auto_format "no"
############
mixer_type "hardware"
mixer_device "hwianoDACPlus"
mixer_control "Master"
dop "no"
}

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "xonar essenceone"
device "hw:One" # optional
format "*:32:2"
mixer_type "software" # optional
dop "yes"
}

 

[mbhangui]

another one from volumio

There are two ways to get volume control:

• Software mixer: the audio stream is manipulated to get the desired volume change. This makes the stream not bit-perfect and degrades sound quality.
• Hardware Mixer: some DACs (not all) have an array of internal resistors they can use to change the volume. In this mode, you can change the volume while keeping the audio stream bit-perfect and avoid any audio quality degradation.

How to get the best sound and Volume Control​

Volumio can detect if your DAC has a Hardware Mixer, and enable it automatically. If your DAC does not support it, Volumio will allow you to enable the software mixer. To change this behaviour:

• go to Playback Options -> Volume Settings
• Select the Mixer Type:
  • None = No volume control
  • Software = Volume control but loss of Audio Quality
  • Hardware = Best of both worlds, provides ability to change volume without loss of quality

 

[vbutani]

If you don't have a hardware volume control, then yes, bits will be lost. But a hardware volume control

TechTalk: What is software volume control and is it a bad thing? | HiFiBerry

I have many dacs. Some have hardware control and some don't. Here is an example of my mpd.conf where one dac PianoDAC has hardware volume control and my Xonar Essence Dac has no hardware volume control. The funny thing is that the Xonar has a phyical volume control but cannot be controlled by software. The volume can be changed only by physically rotating the volume control knob on the DAC. The mixer_type field defines if you are using software or hardware volume control.

When I connect my dac to macbook, would it be creating in config file mpd.conf like piano dac?

Or I have to check with dac manufacturer if they can provide such config/driver which I can use to change hardware volume?

 

[mbhangui]

When I connect my dac to macbook, would it be creating in config file mpd.conf like piano dac?

Or I have to check with dac manufacturer if they can provide such config/driver which I can use to change hardware volume?

You don't require mpd.conf on Mac unless you install mpd. mpd.conf has to be hand configured.

Tomorrow I will connect a DAC with hardware volume control to my mac mini and see if the volume can be controlled by using the volume button icon. If it can, then apple IR remote control too will be able to control the volume. A simple method to check if your dac has hardware control is to run the audio midi setup utility and play some song. Then move the slider labelled Primary in the screenshot below. The screenshot below is that of ifi HIP-Dac2 connected to my macbook pro. This dac doesn't have a hardware volume control that can be controlled by software. It has a physical volume control that can be changed by rotating the knob. So If I move the silder marked as Primary below, the volume doesn't change.

 

[vbutani]

You don't require mpd.conf on Mac unless you install mpd. mpd.conf has to be hand configured.

Tomorrow I will connect a DAC with hardware volume control to my mac mini and see if the volume can be controlled by using the volume button icon. If it can, then apple IR remote control too will be able to control the volume. A simple method to check if your dac has hardware control is to run the audio midi setup utility and play some song. Then move the slider labelled Primary in the screenshot below. The screenshot below is that of ifi HIP-Dac2 connected to my macbook pro. This dac doesn't have a hardware volume control that can be controlled by software. It has a physical volume control that can be changed by rotating the knob. So If I move the silder marked as Primary below, the volume doesn't change.
View attachment 70249

Yes, I tried the same, when I change primary slider than volume doesn't change. Even mute checkbox doesn't work if I toggle it. Btw I use Audirvana app while changing the slider.
Also, volume slider given in Audirvana app doesn't work.

 

[mbhangui]

Yes, I tried the same, when I change primary slider than volume doesn't change. Even mute checkbox doesn't work if I toggle it. Btw I use Audirvana app while changing the slider.
Also, volume slider given in Audirvana app doesn't work.

Oh. It means that the dac doesn't have a hardware volume control.

 

[vbutani]

Oh. It means that the dac doesn't have a hardware volume control.

Haha! Have to figure out something else!

 

[AKT]

what you are looking for is a preamp. if the volume is very high and you only want to reduce it, you can have any DIY enthusiast to make a simple passive one for you

@vbutani - A passive preamp would be a simple and elegant solution. It is also dead silent.

 

[Subbu68]

You don't require mpd.conf on Mac unless you install mpd. mpd.conf has to be hand configured.

Tomorrow I will connect a DAC with hardware volume control to my mac mini and see if the volume can be controlled by using the volume button icon. If it can, then apple IR remote control too will be able to control the volume. A simple method to check if your dac has hardware control is to run the audio midi setup utility and play some song. Then move the slider labelled Primary in the screenshot below. The screenshot below is that of ifi HIP-Dac2 connected to my macbook pro. This dac doesn't have a hardware volume control that can be controlled by software. It has a physical volume control that can be changed by rotating the knob. So If I move the silder marked as Primary below, the volume doesn't change.

So that's why I cannot control my iFi Dac from the Mac.

However, on my Win laptop it's volume control works as well as that of the media player I use - Win MP, iTunes or Foobar !! So also the phone can control it when I connect the DAC to it with the OTG. Not Mac.

 

[mbhangui]

So that's why I cannot control my iFi Dac from the Mac.

However, on my Win laptop it's volume control works as well as that of the media player I use - Win MP, iTunes or Foobar !! So also the phone can control it when I connect the DAC to it with the OTG. Not Mac.

Windows may be using the windows mixer in which case the volume is controllable, but it will be throwing away bits to control volume. Most media players have software volume control. But If your media player has option to use ASIO driver (foobar surely has), then you may find volume control no longer works. Same is the case with mac. I'm able to change the volume by using the apple music player's volume control. This will be software volume control and will always work. But the volume control in the top status bar doesn't work

Also it looks like the iFi firmware has a problem. I took a look at what the iFi dac reports to the OS regarding it's controls. To my horror I find that an extra trailing space has been added to the mixer control name. The volume control is named 'iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio ' : there is a trailing space character. mpd player always removes spaces at the beginning and the end of device name, control names. Hence it is not able to access the volume control.

$ /usr/bin/amixer -c1 scontents
Simple mixer control 'iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio ',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 127
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 127 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 127 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio ',1
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 127
Mono: Playback 127 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]