Software Volume vs Hardware Volume

[KevMaverick]

I was wondering about this - whether it is better to control the volume more with the software, or with the hardware, to get the best results.

I found the following article which seems to have answered my question, and I thought I'd share it here.

Here's the article:

http://www.howtogeek.com/130353/should- ... ign=051212

[Marxon]

I was wondering this too and searched many times for an answer.
Your article shows me i was also on the right way.
Thanks!

[KevMaverick]

I was always a little worried about turning to volume up to 100% in Windows, thinking that it might cause some distortion. Those people really seem to know what they are talking about so I'll give it a try at my gig this weekend.

If I'm correct, I'll just have to adjust the master volume on my mixer.

(I have once seen a DJ operating at 100% output - he cranked up the laptop volume, turned his amp up to maximum, and just set his master volume on the mixer to 0db - ti sounded just fine, but I wanted to research it before I actually tried it. NO WAY AM I TURNING MY AMPS TO MAXIMUM THOUGH! )

[loudsubz]

Proper gear calibration is key.

Once you have your line level sources setup with proper operating limits and no clipping on the output, you can next move to the amps.

You should never run your amps full tilt unless you have calibrated them and you know that the output voltage on the amps speaker terminals is within the operating range that your speakers can handle.

You can calculate the maximum voltage that your speakers can take, and then set your amps with a multimeter so that under normal conditions you should not be going over that maximum voltage on the outputs so your speakers will generally be safe. If you increase the gains even more you risk any spikes going through and over driving your speakers causing the mechanical limits of the speaker to be exceeded resulting in failure.

Eminence has come out with a product called d-fend that guards against this over voltage allowing you to play within the limits and not worry if you do have a spike which can sometimes be harmful to your equipment.

http://www.eminence.com/d-fend/

Proper setup of your equipment from laptop to mixer to processors to amp is key. Its not something that should need to be tweaked. Once its set the only thing you should be adjusting is the volume on the mixer.

[KevMaverick]

Good bit of tech that - however all my speakers have built-in amps! I never have them running at more than 60% - I'm very nervous with them!

I've always found that matching speakers & amps is a nightmare! I felt that using powered speakers might be a little less scary!

Thanks for the info & link.