[crateish]

I just received my uDAC-2 and am enjoying it greatly, but this is a new world for me.

We can control the volume in three places as I stated in my subject line:
The application playing the music.
The computer OS itself.
And of course the DAC.

Is there a common wisdom on where to set each volume?  On my own, my instincts tell me to keep the app volume in the mid range, the system volume pretty low, and to use the volume on the DAC to control what level reaches my ears. This may just be to avoid a loud earful if I plug something in later without the uDAC-2.

What are your thoughts on this subject?   Thanks.

[6rs]

Hi
If the sofware does not do high-quality dithered volume control (ie PM, Amarra), I'd set it to maximum.
These players also override the OS control. In any case, I would not combine two software-based controls in series.
Bruno

[crateish]

I'm on a Mac and am using Play for my 24 bit FLAC media and iTunes for radio streaming.

Just looked at Amarra and yikes, a bit out of my price range.  What is PM?

[srb]

What is PM?

Pure Music.
http://www.channld.com/pure-music1.html
 
Steve

[Chromisdesigns]

On my Icon amp, the instructions suggest setting the Icon volume control about 120 degrees around from the off position, and then controlling system volume with the computer software sliders.  This seems to work well for me.

[rustydoglim]

In general, we suggest setting the computer volume HIGH (or max out) for better performance.
The uDAC-2 has a very good volume pot so it should be used for adjustment.

But this contradict another rule below:
A general rule of thumb for all analog volume pot:
The optimal performance is at mid point or higher.  Many users have the wrong concept that volume pot should be kept low.

Therefore a balance is to set the computer volume reasonably high so that you do your normal listening at 11 o'clock on the volume pot, for headphones or earphones.  For speaker listening, you can usually turn up the volume without damaging your ear.  Good quality earphones and amp allow you to listen at very loud volume and our brain gets stimulated.  Unknowingly we are slowly damaging our ears.