Direct Volume Control Questions

[Fennec]

New to Poweramp.

Can someone please explain (in layman's terms), what the options in the screenshots mean? The reason I'm asking is because I noticed that the volume from my Bluetooth earbuds seems to be a bit on the low side (although, probably loud enough for most people). A user elsewhere told me to try toggling "Direct Volume Control" on and off.

The first screenshot is with my earbuds turned off and the second screenshot is with my earbuds turned on. I'm not sure why Poweramp is saying that DVC is available when my earbuds are turned off, but not available when they're turned on. And also, why the toggle for "Enable Direct Volume Control" is enabled if It's not available. 

Again, my primary reason for investigating this settings section is because I wanted to increase my earbud volume which seems to be accomplished if move the "No DVC Headroom Gain" slider all the way to the right. But this settings section says not to do so if DVC is off, but I don't even know if It's on or off. I dunno, this settings section seems very confusing to me and I'm more or less guessing here. 


 

[blaubär]

DVC stands for "direct volume control". It's an android-specific option. When activated Poweramp transfers its output directly to the DAC ( digital analog converter ), thereby bypassing android's equalizer, sound effects and volume control. The volume setting is in this case done by multiplying the desired volume to the music inside Poweramp.That's the reason for the name DVC.

If you have no need for an extended headroom due to equalizer enhancements you can disable this option completely in Settings > Audio > Direct Volume Control.

[andrewilley]

Reduce Headroom Gain is only needed if you have DVC turned off (in which case Android is handling more of the audio processing). If you leave no extra gain spare, and then you also increased the EQ controls, you could push the internal volume levels beyond the maximum possible as thus cause distortion. Hence the Headroom Gain, which reduced the volume a bit before applying EQ controls. If you don't boost any EQ or Tone settings at all, you can leave the Headroom setting off which will give you more overall volume.

However just because a system goes up to 11 doesn't mean you should regularly operate it that way; my car speedometer goes up to 140mph, but that isn't an invitation to drive that fast! 

Andre

[Fennec]

40 minutes ago, andrewilley said:

Reduce Headroom Gain is only needed if you have DVC turned off (in which case Android is handling more of the audio processing). If you leave no extra gain spare, and then you also increased the EQ controls, you could push the internal volume levels beyond the maximum possible as thus cause distortion. Hence the Headroom Gain, which reduced the volume a bit before applying EQ controls. If you don't boost any EQ or Tone settings at all, you can leave the Headroom setting off which will give you more overall volume.

DVC is enabled by default and I haven't tweaked the EQ settings. So.... I should be able to increase the Headroom Gain all the way to the right (to 100%) without distortion? I do notice that when DVC is enabled and I slide that bar all the way to the right, the volume increases. 

And when DVC is disabled I can also slide the Headroom Gain all the way to the right (to 100%) without distortion? It's only when I disable DVC and tweak the EQ that I need the -6.0dB gain? 

Then there's "No DVC for Bluetooth Absolute Volume" "Disable DVC for Bluetooth when Absolute Volume/Media Volume Sync is detected (or always, if status is unknown.) Really, I wish the developers would figure out a better way to explain these options, because It's hella confusing to someone who isn't an audio buff. My needs are basic. I just wanna hear my music as loud as It'll go without major distortion. Don't cuck my maximum volume by default if It's not needed and in this case it wasn't needed (based on what you're saying and via my testing). Normally I'd uninstall an application for much less than this. If PA is concerned that adjusting the EQ is going to cause distortion with DVC off and no extra gain spare, then just drop a disclaimer on the EQ that users can see when adjusting. And really, if someone is experienced/knowledgeable enough to know to go into the audio settings and manually disable DVC AND manually increase the headroom gain, they likely already know that this will/could cause distortion issues should they mess with the EQ. 

[andrewilley]

PA is generally more of a tweakable audiophile app, perhaps aimed more at audio buffs rather than people who just want loud music rather than high quality.

If you don't boost any EQ/tone settings, you should be fairly safe in disabling any extra headroom settings - and anyway, if you can't actually hear any distortion then realistically it doesn't matter to you anyway and you've got the volume that is more important to you.

Andre

[EvvyLodish]

Hi... I started using a DAC with volume controls going direct to a power amplifier and did not like the sound quality. I was running between -20 to -40db and noticed the bit reduction was impacting (greatly) the sound quality.However, every DAC and power amplifier combination may offer different results so I suggest you test these combinations yourself.
I switched DAC's and the noticed a slightly improved sound quality but not where it needs to be.  As a result, I am researching a preamp/DAC.  

printed circuit boards

[maxmp]

@Fennec Enabled absolute volume means Android sends 100% volume audio samples to BT device. BT device then changes volume on its side.

While it has added benefit of one point volume control (your end BT device), it makes signal processing on phone side less viable, as almost all tracks out there are already using all available dynamic range. So there is no headroom to increase basses and otherwise do signal processing which increases signal amplitudes.

If you don't use Equalizer/Tone or use them moderately you'll be good with no-dvc and the default settings (-6dB headroom by default) or even with no headroom (0dB - so no default decrease of volume). This is fine for e.g. car headunit with own tone controls and DSP.

For headsets, if you're going to use Bass tone or substantial equalization (>6dB) I recommend disabling Absolute volume control (Media sync on Samsungs @Android 8-9). In this case full dynamic range is available to Poweramp with DVC On, and no need for extra headroom, but you'll get 2 points of volume control (phone and end BT device).

In your case, Absolute volume is enabled. Either it's enabled or not becomes known when BT device is connected (or even only when it's actively playing).

Thanks!