How to compensate for low-volume movies and high-volume music?

[ACA]

I recently purchased and hooked up:

AudioEngine A5 Speakers
Energy S10.3 Sub

This is quite an upgrade from my previous ($150) desktop speakers.

A problem I am noticing, however, as I begin to appreciate audio quality:

1) To get the highest quality music playback, I want to set my media player (Winamp) to 100% and Windows volume to 100%. Then, adjust the speakers manually to get the sound I want. If I am not outputting from my PC at 100%, am I losing quality? Is it minor?

2) Right now, I am taking the above approach. The problem is, I need to set my speaker volume to a much higher volume for movies. Whereas my music is satisfactory at 15% speaker volume, I need to kick it up to 50% for movies. This means getting up and changing the knob (and then trying to get it exactly where I wanted it before!)

Is there a better way to solve this? Do I need to set my music to 100% for full audio quality or can I keep my Winamp source at like 20% and movies at 100%?

Thanks!

 

[agarwalro]

Ideally, all software volume controls should be at 100% and an analog device (just before the amplifier) is preferred. Here are a couple of articles to help set things optimally.

Get more from your PC

Windows 7 Audio Playback - Setup Guide - Benchmark

Are you using a desktop or laptop?

 

[lsiberian]

Ideally, all software volume controls should be at 100% and an analog device (just before the amplifier) is preferred. Here are a couple of articles to help set things optimally.

Wouldn't that clip the signal in some instances?

 

[agarwalro]

Wouldn't that clip the signal in some instances?

That is possible. Depends on the recording level and sensitivity of each device in the end to end chain. A more accurate way to put it would be, all gain levels should be as close to 0dB as possible, without introducing clipping for the next input stage (which could be a different software or outbound hardware). I believe, that is also why it is recommended to insert analog master volume just before the amp. So that at least the amp/speakers can be saved from signal clipping and thermal overload respectively.

Someone with recording engineering background should be able to explain it much more eloquently than me.

 

[MDS]

It is not necessary to keep the master volume at 100% and if you do you will almost certainly run into cases where it is impossible to turn down the level of some sources to a low enough value for listening at low levels.

I recently bought the Dayton DTA-100A T-amp and a pair of Polk bookshelf speakers to get away from 'computer speakers'. The first amp I got had a +2 dB channel imbalance in the left channel but otherwise sounded great. The replacement has no such channel imbalance but with the master volume control on 100%, the listening level is slightly higher than the level I like for background music while working when the volume knob on the amp is at ZERO.

In order to get levels low enough I have to mess with combinations of master volume (in Windows) and the input levels of each different source. Additionally, the volume level of media players like WinAmp and WMP.

I have the Windows master volume at about 75%, input levels for IE very low at about 15-20%, WinAmp slighly higher at about 40% but with its own volume control also at 40-50%. With that arrangement I can turn the amp's volume all the way down for low listening levels and bump up WinAmp's volume and the amp's volume when I want it to be loud (and with this little amp it can get very loud!).

So it's the usual big mess of multiple different sources with different average levels and even worse source material with wildly varying average levels. You have to experiment and find a balance that works for you.

 

[agarwalro]

Copied from different forum [Digital-domain volume control operates by multiplying each sample by a number less than one. For example, for 6dB of attentuation (a reduction by half), each sample is multiplied by .5.

There are two theoretical problems with this approach. First, every 6dB of attenuation is equivalent to reducing resolution by one bit. A 16-bit system now has the performance of a 15-bit system. If you listen at very low levels, you're throwing away a considerable amount of resolution.

Second, errors can be introduced when performing this math, specifically rounding errors. If the accumulator (the section of the DSP that stores the intermediate values) isn't wide enough, it simply truncates the least significant bits and introduces noise and distortion.

Having said that, however, it is possible, in theory, to design a digital volume control that might outperform an analog volume control (which itself isn't perfect), but such a design would be expensive and requires a serious design effort.]

If your DAC/sound card is working at bit word greater than source content, say, 24 bit conversion/processing of 16 bit CD content, there will be no loss of data and the digital volume control will have no effect on sound quality.

If the DAC/sound card is working at same bit word as source content, say, 16 bit processing of 16 bit CD, data will be lost if the volume is lower than 100%. If this will be audible depends on factors greater than just loss of digital data.

If the DAC/sound card is working at bit word lower than source content, say, 16bit downconverting of 24 bit tracks, data is already being lost at the digital stage. If this will be audible depends on factors greater than just loss of digital data.

Here is a more detailed analysis of sample rates and bit word. And, for added reading pleasure, an article on the falacy of 24/192 content being superior to 16/44 content.

 

[j_garcia]

So you don't have the A5+ which come with a remote control?

 

[agarwalro]

So it's the usual big mess of multiple different sources with different average levels and even worse source material with wildly varying average levels. You have to experiment and find a balance that works for you.

This is the root of the problem. When mix matching different devices, their output voltages and input impedances play havoc with the signal levels.

The replacement has no such channel imbalance but with the master volume control on 100%, the listening level is slightly higher than the level I like for background music while working when the volume knob on the amp is at ZERO.

Going to the PE product page for that amp, on the 3rd page of the Q&A section, a PE Staff member states, FWIW, "The input sensitivity at full power is approximately 0.50v RMS. It measured at 0.523v to be more precise." Amps, impedance and volts aside, your PC's output is definitely overdriving the amp input. Which explains this,

In order to get levels low enough I have to mess with combinations of master volume (in Windows) and the input levels of each different source. Additionally, the volume level of media players like WinAmp and WMP.

and as you more specifically state,

I have the Windows master volume at about 75%, input levels for IE very low at about 15-20%, WinAmp slighly higher at about 40% but with its own volume control also at 40-50%. With that arrangement I can turn the amp's volume all the way down for low listening levels and bump up WinAmp's volume and the amp's volume when I want it to be loud (and with this little amp it can get very loud!).

Are you using headphone out instead of a Line Out on the PC side? If you are using headphone out, try switching to the Line Out. Then, you need to put all PC based volume controls at 100% (or 0dB level) and put a line level atennuator on the amp's RCA input. The volume knob on the amp should be the only volume control needed.

 

[MDS]

Are you using headphone out instead of a Line Out on the PC side? If you are using headphone out, try switching to the Line Out. Then, you need to put all PC based volume controls at 100% (or 0dB level) and put a line level atennuator on the amp's RCA input. The volume knob on the amp should be the only volume control needed.

No, I'm using the standard line/speaker output (light green) on a Creative X-FI Titanium card. I figured the issue is the input sensitivity of the amp but didn't know what to do about it. I guess the output level of the X-FI is much greater than .5 volts.

I can't independently adjust the input level from the sound card and Windows' master volume level. I'm using Creative drivers that I got from Windows Update; the only difference seems to be they don't install a bunch of stuff I don't want but do tie the sound card input to Windows' mixer. If you move the level on the sound card's 'levels' tab, it also affects the Windows mixer.

With the master volume at 0 dB and input levels for WinAmp at 5, I get a very low output level but then the amp cannot get as loud, presumably due to Windows attenuating the level for that input by a large amount.

Sometimes I *do* want it loud, but I'd like to be able to nearly mute the sound by turning the amp to zero if say the phone rings. It sounds like a line level attenuator may be the ticket.