Does the Windows volume slider affect the sound quality?

[191x7]

The digital volume control built into Windows (10 and 11), does it affect the sound quality?

If your device does not have an analog volume knob (potentiometer), does decreasing the Win volume from 100 lower the sound quality?

I mean, does it affect the sampling rate (frequency), bit depth, dynamic response, etc?

Is it better to use something like Equalizer APO with Peace to control the volume by changing the pre-amplification and holding the Win volume at 100?

 

Let's assume the hardware uses 24bit 48kHz or higher. Modern.

 

 

[saintlouisbagels]

6 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

The digital volume control built into Windows (10 and 11), does it affect the sound quality?

If your device does not have an analog volume knob (potentiometer), does decreasing the Win volume from 100 lower the sound quality?

I mean, does it affect the sampling rate (frequency), bit depth, dynamic response, etc?

Is it better to use something like Equalizer APO with Peace to control the volume by changing the pre-amplification and holding the Win volume at 100?

 

Let's assume the hardware uses 24bit 48kHz or higher. Modern.

A similar question was asked several days back

[manikyath]

the reason why people recommend leaving windows at <50 or 100>% and using the last step in the chain to control volume, is that the louder the signal is, the less the noise floor is noticeable.

 

but having that said.. the answer can become incredbly simple:

 

if you have to ask, it means you cant hear the difference, because if you could, you'd already have your answer.

[191x7]

11 minutes ago, manikyath said:

if you have to ask, it means you cant hear the difference, because if you could, you'd already have your answer.

It's not a matter of if I can hear it, it's a matter of "is it worth doing" or "worth keeping".

I switched to Peace cause someone knowledgeable explained it all, just to have someone knowledgeable explain how Peace is also bad and how the Win Volume slider isn't bad since it does not work the same way it did in the old Windows versions...

[saintlouisbagels]

6 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

It's not a matter of if I can hear it, it's a matter of "is it worth doing" or "worth keeping".

I switched to Peace cause someone knowledgeable explained it all, just to have someone knowledgeable explain how Peace is also bad and how the Win Volume slider isn't bad since it does not work the same way it did in the old Windows versions...

I would say there is zero "worth" if you cannot personally hear any differences.

Just do whatever is most convenient to your use case.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, 191x7 said:

It's not a matter of if I can hear it, it's a matter of "is it worth doing" or "worth keeping"?

if you cant hear it, it doesnt matter. use what is most convenient.. because convenience matters more than some vague theory that might potentially on a scope result in a different signal on a level too precise for the human ear to make out.

 

and if you want some factoids to back this up, i went to poke trough some of realtek's documentation on audio chipsets, and it appears that they can control volume trough controlling the amplifier - not by bit shifting the digital signal.

 

so... assuming windows implements this right, you are not losing anything by using the windows volume slider.

[191x7]

2 minutes ago, manikyath said:

if you cant hear it, it doesnt matter. use what is most convenient.. because convenience matters more than some vague theory that might potentially on a scope result in a different signal on a level too precise for the human ear to make out.

 

and if you want some factoids to back this up, i went to poke trough some of realtek's documentation on audio chipsets, and it appears that they can control volume trough controlling the amplifier - not by bit shifting the digital signal.

 

so... assuming windows implements this right, you are not losing anything by using the windows volume slider.

How about the Cirrus Logic CS4313? I'm suing the Realtek only for my speakers.

[Spuriae]

Windows has a built-in software level limiter (CAudioLimit) which causes extra distortion just before audio clips (so not usually a problem in practice), but this can be avoided by keeping the windows volume at 94 or below, or by adding a 0.5dB attenuation in Peace. Counterintuitively, turning the Windows volume all the way to 100 produces marginally worse audio quality.

 

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/ending-the-windows-audio-quality-debate.19438/

[Psittac]

I can't hear a difference but am told that in theory the only way windows can do it is by removing information to lower the volume because it's digital.

[LloydLynx]

Welcome to audiophilia. When you completely nerd out over things you can hardly hear if at all. 

 

An analogue pot will change the dynamics of an amp circuit and change the audio reproduction, but you won't notice a difference in quality. Same goes for changing digital audio levels. The signal will be different and will technically change the quality, but you won't notice. 

 

It's like scalling a 16k picture down to a 12k picture and viewing it on a 1080p display with average 20/20 vision. You need expensive lab equipment to be able to tell the difference in quality. Then you have to think the camera (or microphone) will have imperfections that are far worse than that slight drop in the still very high quality transmission.