DAC-1 pad question

[Astrain]

First , Im new to these forums, so Hi everyone.



I just bought a DAC-1 and Im using it directly conected to my mackie hr824, in the DAC manual says that it is recomended to use the 20db pad if the dac its going to be directly conected to powered monitors, my question is if someone has noticed any kind of sound degradation or maybe loss of signal to noise ratio by using the 20 db pad? or anything else?


Maybe its a dumb question but Im lost if a pad in a DA affects or not the sound and want to be completely sure that Im getting the most out of it.

Thanks!!

[Jules]

What you need as a priority is a useable volume knob for your studio!

I would set the jumpers to whatever position gives you max volume at about 2 or 3 O'Clock on the DAC-1 dial

[Bernard]

I've got the DAC1 and I've got a Goldpoint SA 1X passive attenuator that works great hooked up between the DAC and my active monitors. Check it out at www.goldpt.com. NHT pro also makes a less expensive attenuator as well.

[The Bench]

I would set the jumpers to whatever position gives you max volume at about 2 or 3 O'Clock on the DAC-1 dial

Jules, not to correct you, but just a detail ya'll might not know about. The DAC1 pot stereo tracking is calibrated here at the factory so that the 11-2:00 range has the closest match (within about 0.3dB). There are no cases found that prove that the human ear can perceive a difference in volume of less than 0.5dB, so getting a super calibrated volume control is unnecessary in our opinion. If we had evidence to prove otherwise we would use a solution with higher tolerance.

Astrain, your monitors have an input sensitivity on them. I would recommend putting the DAC1 in the -20 or -10dB pad and trying to keep the sensitivity as high as possible on your monitors. This allows you the greatest ease for their calibration for stereo level matching. Try to set the system up so that you will be spending most of your time listening with the DAC1 volume in the 12:00ish position.


Any other issues feel free to contact me!

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally posted by The Bench
...There are no cases found that prove that the human ear can perceive a difference in volume of less than 0.5dB...

This isn't true. Bell Labs established in the 1930s that it is .1 dB. There are many urban myths about this and unfortunately too many have landed in textbooks!

[Kyle Ashley]

I run my DAC-1 directly to my HR824s using the calibrated outputs instead of the variable outputs. I found that using the DACs volume control messed with the image width and depth more than I liked.

I use the 20 db internal pad inside the DAC-1 and control volume within my DAW (Samplitude) using the playback volume parameter instead of the master faders.

[h4nc0]

Old thread... but,

I am also using a passive attenuator (NHT PVC). The sound coming directly out of DAC1 to ADAM S3As using the DAC1's volume pot and sound going thru PVC to the S3As are very different. I feel going directly from DAC1 to S3As sounds alot more clearer. But I have been hearing others say using passive attenuator with DAC1 is recommended. Any opinion?

[tommyd]

I was just revisiting this situation today. I'm unfortunately stuck with the control room monitor section of my Control 24 for the time being in order to be able to switch between multiple sets of monitors. I'm using a DAC1 as my main playback outs, into the C24, out to my monitors. Any recommendation as to what pad settings I should be using on the DAC1 for this set up? -10, -20?
TommyD