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What is the best way to control volume?

Forum Audio : Audio Technology - What is the best way to control volume?

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knightmike   01-18-2009 at 08:19:43 AM

I have a 2.1 speaker system for my PC. Should I max the hardware volume and adjust the volume using software or max the software volume and adjust the volume using hardware? I think I read somewhere that is uses less power to max the software volume and adjust the hardware volume. So, having the software volume at 100% and the hardware volume at 50% will use less power than having the hardware volume at 100% and the software volume at 50%. Is that true?

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uncle_ben   01-19-2009 at 06:39:37 PM
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Not, it is not true.

Each unit of loudness so to say, a decibel, requires power for amplification. The power always comes from the electrical socket.

But there is a diferent reason to control volume in both software in hardware - which is audio quality. Both speakers and a sound card will not work best at extreme volumes. So e.g. if you set volume to max in software and just very low on speakers you might get distorted sounds, the same story when you use the other extremes: very low in software and very high in hardware.

Set volume in software at 50-70% and work from there, I'd say.

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