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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.
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Showing 1 response by stray_cat

stray_cat
69 posts
 
I've been considering the node 2 myself so have been doing research. If I remember correctly, it uses a 32 bit dac chip with on-chip volume control and the math as per ess' explanation proves there is no degredation of sound, ideal if you're using the node 2 as your only source.

You could try that straight into the amp and ket us know. If you need the preamp due to having other sources, I agree with reubent's suggestion. It would sound best that way.
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