Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Support questions for Neutron Player only (http://neutroncode.com/apps/player).
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Alou
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:12 am

Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Post by Alou » Fri Sep 13, 2024 12:32 pm

Hello ,for over 2 years i am using Neutron on my android phone with an Ibasso dc03 with excellent sound and has been my favorite set up for my long walks ad running sessions.So far i was enabling all the usb hardware controls and using the volume (gain slider) on the side of the Neutron GUI.
It was never over 30% - 40% and all gains off.Recently i bought the newer Ibasso dc03pro with hardware volume control on the dongle ,so its easier for me when running to control volume with out switching to the phone screen.What i found out though was that Neutron volume is not controlled by the hardware volume buttons.So regardless of how high i put the volume on the dongle ,the volume inside Neutron stays at the same point.
So 2 questions , how can we have hardware control ,i enabled it in settings ? An or second if that is not possible what is a good practise to make sure the playback is correct ,turn the volume up all the way to 100 in Neutron (Data- soft based volume) and use the dac _ + buttons or the opposite ?

blaubär
Posts: 3670
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:48 am

Re: Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Post by blaubär » Fri Sep 13, 2024 1:49 pm

From a theoretical point of view it is preferable to control the volume as close to the end of the data transfer chain as possible, that means to use the DAC and keep Neutron's software volume at 0 dB ( 100 % ), that way you get maximum dynamics. Whether that matters when you listen while running ( or at all for that matter ) is another question, probably not. So I suggest you do it as it is the most convenient.

Alou
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:12 am

Re: Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Post by Alou » Fri Sep 13, 2024 1:54 pm

Thanks for the reply,this is what i thought too, keep the soft volume to 100%. The gui in Neutron got me just wondering since it say GAIN instead of volume and wasn't actually sure where 0 db was.But this probably a regular soft volume control at 100% (0 db) and not an actual gain,since that in the setting menu.Running was just an example of its daily use,of course you want basic dynamics,it is also used in other occasions like travelling etc.

MotleyG
Posts: 221
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:19 pm

Re: Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Post by MotleyG » Fri Sep 13, 2024 5:29 pm

Alou wrote:
Fri Sep 13, 2024 1:54 pm
The gui in Neutron got me just wondering since it say GAIN instead of volume and wasn't actually sure where 0 db was.But this probably a regular soft volume control at 100% (0 db) and not an actual gain,since that in the setting menu.
Almost all devices use maximum volume as 0dB, and when reducing the volume actually cuts the output. Very few can actually apply a pre-amp amplification for volume. And if they do I expect these would end up causing some kind of clipping for higher recording levels and peaks.

Alou
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:12 am

Re: Hardware volume control with USB DAC dongle

Post by Alou » Tue Sep 17, 2024 12:44 pm

Thats the case with all soft volume a,unless you are in Windows so you can use ASIO to bypass system audio.I thought that was the case with Neutron in android that it controls the device via hardware ,which is working at least it takes exclusive control when a usb dac is pluged in.The volume on the Hardware is not working.So probably Neutron needs new coding to make it work or the volume is on the analog side of the dac (opamp) so nothing can be done.I read somewhere that Hibi player works works with the hardware control of the DC03pro but i haven't tried it.Sound is a bit better , to my liking, with Neutron anyway.

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