Short explanation:
An analogue volume control delivers better sound quality than digital volume controls. In case of a small channel imbalance at very low volume settings, please adjust the hip-dac so the volume control is at 12 o’clock for normal listening levels. See below for more detail.
Detailed explanation:
The hip-dac uses an analogue volume control, specifically a dual-track potentiometer. Being analogue differentiates it from the digital volume control built into DAC chips as it ensures ‘bit perfect’ signal integrity.
Digital volume controls alter the original music information (digital data), and often loose effective resolution (bits) even at moderate attenuation; analogue volume controls are free from this defect.
One minor downside of using dual-track analogue volume controls is that there is sometimes a slight mechanical mis-tracking between the two channels. This can cause minor channel imbalance at 9 o’ clock or lower volume settings, making one channel louder.
