Volume question from noob

[MstrdTgr000]

I am completely new to this audiophile business and I am having fun learning. I am hoping you all can help me out. I can't seem to find a straight forward answer to this. I have an Onkyo CD player, an old Technics turntable, and a Schiit Fulla DAC which I use with my PC all running to an old Nikko receiver. The CD player running through aux is loud as hell. The DAC running through the aux is very quiet. The turn table is in between the cd player and DAC volume-wise. What is the spec/specs that dictate the differences in volume between these three devices? I was getting a feeling it was output impedance of the respective device but trying to learn out the relationship between output impedance and volume hasn't gotten me anywhere. Thanks in advance.

 

[twiiii]

Unfortunatly you are being introduced to some of the common short comings of home high fi systems. There are no standards making what you experience easily corrected. Manufacturers can set the input sensitivities and out put levels as they wish. Back in the old days thats why dealers carried complete lines of different companies. Dealers new not to mix different companies products with out comparing specs. As time passes what would be called an ideal interface changes, too. So the only solution is to have out put controls on sources and/or input sensitivity controls on the control center be it a pre-amp, or the pre-amp section of an integrated unit or receiver. More modern units have adjustable input sensitivities, which you should take advantage of.

Your going to need to learn about specifications of units and what they mean. Even professional equipment can vary though the parameters are more closely controlled. There are some rules you need to remember. If their is a difference in voltage numbers, if one is twice another that a change of 6 db in volume. If there is a difference in voltage of 10 to 1 then there is a difference of 20 db in level. We are speaking about voltage not power. A 3db change in level is a pretty small change with only experienced listeners being able to detect the change. A 10 db change is referred to be around twice as loud or twice as soft depending whether the change is positive an increase or a negative a decrease.

 

[sqlsavior]

The spec is output voltage (and a complete one would include the input level needed to achieve the specified output). CD players usually output 2 volts at the reference input level, and phono preamps about 1 volt (and with considerably more variance depending on the cartridge used), so it is totally normal for a CD player to sound louder at a given volume knob setting than a record player does at the same setting. The DAC's low output is curious. I would immediately suspect attenuation at the bit source - i.e. somewhere on the PC, volume is not set to full.

 

[E-Stat]

What is the spec/specs that dictate the differences in volume between these three devices?

Welcome to the world of variable gain!

Each participant in the dance presents a different perspective. In the end, a power amplifier needs a certain signal level in order to achieve rated output. Most preamplifiers are capable of greatly exceeding that value. And since sources vary widely in their output, the relative level required for a given listening level remains a variable. And in many cases, the preamplifier serves only to attenuate the signal.

Some preamps like the Audio Research SP20 I use provide input specific trimmers to attenuate the level of the higher output flavors so that all are constant. Even then, source material itself varies as widely in output level. Many modern 'hits" are compressed to the hilt such that they max out the potential level. Better recordings demonstrating wider dynamic range, by contrast, are typically much lower in level (on average) and require more gain to the power amp.

Look for output voltage on the source and input sensitivity on the preamp.

 

[45rpmspinner]

The DAC's low output is curious. I would immediately suspect attenuation at the bit source - i.e. somewhere on the PC, volume is not set to full.

+1
However, another thought does occur to me. Not sure about the original Fulla, but the Fulla 2 has two outputs on the back for connection to an amp.
One is straight-through input to output....the second is controlled by the gain/attenuator knob.
I'm not sure if the unit actually adds any gain or is fixed-gain and the control is simply an attenuator, but you might try switching outputs.

 

[BilboBaggins]

I once had a Sony TA-2000F preamp with variable inputs. I was a fool to let that one go. Such a well made unit!