Minimalist Pure System

[pablolie]

You've misunderstood. The digital volume control in the SB and Transporter operates at 24 bit resolution, while the source files (ripped from CD) are 16 bit. Any volume attenuation up to -30dB is arranged such that not one single bit is lost in the signal that is sent to the 24 bit DAC.

Good info, I'd read that one ought to disable every volume feature for maximum audio quality in some wiki.

A question about the built-in DA (in the SB) and the RCA outputs: is there a volume level at which the interface operates "optimally" - or can one just assume the best thing is to keep it maxed out and there'll be no distortion there, ever?

[egd]

You've misunderstood...

Thanks for clarifying this, I'd seen some posts in the past and seemed to recall anything below 100% resulted in discarding data, I obviously need to revisit this.

I've just read http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?ConnectToPowerAmp and would appreciate clarification of the following which seems to contradict what we're discussing here:

Why not just use the digital volume control?
One reason not to depend on the digital volume control is that Slim Devices audio players are driven by software. There is always a risk (however small) of a software defect that causes the analog output to go to full levels by accident. This would result in the potential speaker or hearing damage if the levels are not matched.

Reducing the volume on the Transporter or Squeezebox occurs in the digital domain before the DAC. If you have to keep the volume very low to "fix" the line level mismatch, you are losing dynamic range and SNR.

An owner has tested Squeezebox audio performance to show the impact of operation in the low end of the digital volume control.

The Squeezebox head designer recommends attenuation for matching line levels to input sensitivity, and reserving the digital volume control for regular day to day listening control.