This is a great question and someone asked it on the Bluesound forum and the helpdesk's response was controlling the volume using the application should not negatively affect the sound quality. In other words, there's no "bit-stripping". I have also compared controlling the volume between the app's volume control and my preamp and couldn't hear a difference. With all that said, I still always set the volume at max on the app and control it from the preamp, just as a matter of principle.
Volume Settings/Control - DAC vs Preamp?
I have a Bluesound Node 2 as my DAC and the Bluesound App has volume control. This is connected to my tube preamp which obviously has a volume control as well. What is the school of thought on volume settings and where to control volume during playback? Should I set the DAC's volume to a certain fixed level (and what should that setting be - low, mid, all the way up?) and adjust volume from my preamp? Or vice-versa? Does it matter? It's way easier to control volume via the Bluesound app as my preamp has no remote but I can live with either solution if it makes a difference.
I have combed through a number of similar posts but not sure I got a clear answer.
I have combed through a number of similar posts but not sure I got a clear answer.