31-Dec-2018, 02:06
You've mentioned a combination of digital and analog signal sources. Things are different with analog sources to what happens with digital sources.
Let's take analog first. Your CD player analog output varies in level based on the levels encoded in the digital data on the CD. When that signal reaches your Devialet your converts it back to digital and creates a new digital signal with volume level data created by comparing the moment to moment voltage level of the analog signal to the voltage level required to drive the amp's analog input to peak level. You can adjust the input sensitivity for the analog inputs in the Configurator to match the peak output level of your CD player (check it's specs). If you set the Devialet's input sensitivity too low, music will play louder and you'll drive the amp into clipping on the loudest passages, if you set the input sensitivity level too high, music will be softer, possibly too soft, because peak output from the player won't be able to drive the amp to peak output. Since the level of output you get with the analog input depends on the analog signal level from your CD player, it's unlikely to match the volume level from the CD player's digital output which is determined by the mastering level chosen by the engineer who mastered the CD. You should expect to hear differences in level between those 2 inputs.
When it comes to digital inputs, the volume level of the music is encoded in the digital data so a digital signal with a given level encoded should sound the same level from all digital inputs because the DAC in the Devialet tells the other stages in the amp how loud the input level is and that level is set in the digital data which isn't affected by the input you use on the amp. If you're getting different levels from different inputs with the same music content then the difference has to be due to different volume levels in the incoming data streams. That could be a result of something such as different masterings of the same music (a new, remastered version vs an older mastering done by a different engineer, for example) or because some digital signal processing is being applied in the source component which is changing the volume level data in its digital output.
Finally, music isn't mastered to a reference or standard level so different engineers master their releases differently. Some like to set the output high, some like to leave a bit of headroom and that material will sound softer than music mastered at a higher level. You can loudness of music at a given volume level setting on your amp to vary from record to record, often by quite a bit.
Let's take analog first. Your CD player analog output varies in level based on the levels encoded in the digital data on the CD. When that signal reaches your Devialet your converts it back to digital and creates a new digital signal with volume level data created by comparing the moment to moment voltage level of the analog signal to the voltage level required to drive the amp's analog input to peak level. You can adjust the input sensitivity for the analog inputs in the Configurator to match the peak output level of your CD player (check it's specs). If you set the Devialet's input sensitivity too low, music will play louder and you'll drive the amp into clipping on the loudest passages, if you set the input sensitivity level too high, music will be softer, possibly too soft, because peak output from the player won't be able to drive the amp to peak output. Since the level of output you get with the analog input depends on the analog signal level from your CD player, it's unlikely to match the volume level from the CD player's digital output which is determined by the mastering level chosen by the engineer who mastered the CD. You should expect to hear differences in level between those 2 inputs.
When it comes to digital inputs, the volume level of the music is encoded in the digital data so a digital signal with a given level encoded should sound the same level from all digital inputs because the DAC in the Devialet tells the other stages in the amp how loud the input level is and that level is set in the digital data which isn't affected by the input you use on the amp. If you're getting different levels from different inputs with the same music content then the difference has to be due to different volume levels in the incoming data streams. That could be a result of something such as different masterings of the same music (a new, remastered version vs an older mastering done by a different engineer, for example) or because some digital signal processing is being applied in the source component which is changing the volume level data in its digital output.
Finally, music isn't mastered to a reference or standard level so different engineers master their releases differently. Some like to set the output high, some like to leave a bit of headroom and that material will sound softer than music mastered at a higher level. You can loudness of music at a given volume level setting on your amp to vary from record to record, often by quite a bit.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
