Digital vs.

Analog Volume Controls

October 2011

AMM ESS 10/11

 Summary of this Presentation

• In a Digital Audio System what is the trade-off

between using a digital or an analog volume
control?
– To answer this question we need to know:
• How a digital volume control works and
what are its limitations
• How an analog volume control works and
what are its limitations

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 Digital Volume Control -10dB
• Here is the number 30,003 shown as it appears to a 16 bit DAC:

0111010100110011 = 30,003

• How do we “turn its volume down” - ie reduce its amplitude?

We simply multiply it by say -10dB
-10db is 0.3162 and here is the result:

0010010100010000 = 9,488

• Any problem? Shouldn’t the answer actually have been

30,003 * 0.3162 = 9487.7817?

Its close, it is only wrong by 23 parts per million, but it is not right

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 Digital Volume Control -35dB
• Here is the number 30,003 shown as it appears to a 16 bit DAC:

0111010100110011 = 30,003

• How do we “turn its volume down even more”, say by -35dB

-35db is 0.0177828 and here is the result:

0000001000010110 = 534

• Any problem? Shouldn’t the answer actually have been

30,003 * 0.3162 = 533.5372?

Its close, but not so close, it is wrong by 866 parts per million

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 866ppm – surely no problem?

• Why worry about 23ppm at -10dB, and 866ppm at -35db?

Surely these are small errors?
• No they are not small:
– 866ppm has degraded the performance of that 16 bit DAC by a
factor of more than 50!
• ►As a digital volume control operates on a fixed-width field (ie on
that 16 bit number that the DAC receives) it creates noise because
the DAC cannot make the fractional part of the number.
– And this is a large noise!

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 Digital (Frequency Domain) -1dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 15.87
SN 97.63

The amplitude
here is -1dB

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 Digital (Frequency Domain) -10dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 14.35
SN 88.51

The amplitude
here is -10dB

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 Digital (Frequency Domain) -35dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 10.17
SN 63.18

The amplitude
here is -35dB

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 Digital Volume Control – fixed noise

Clearly, the noise is not moving! The signal is

decreasing as
we requested
But the noise is
not going
down!

Consequently, the
signal-to-noise ratio
is getting worse as
digital volume
control is reduced

This is why audiophiles generally avoid digital volume control

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 Analog (Frequency Domain) -1dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 16.01
SN 98.53

The amplitude
here is -1dB

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 Analog (Frequency Domain) -10dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 15.94
SN 97.95

The amplitude
here is -10dB

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 Analog (Frequency Domain) -35dB

We will learn more if we are prepared to look at signals in the

Frequency Domain. Here is a 16bit DAC in time and in frequency:

ENOB 14.94
SN 91.8

The amplitude
here is -35dB

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 Analog Volume - variable noise

Now the noise moves down as well The signal is

decreasing as
we requested
Now the noise
is going down
as well

The signal to noise

ratio is being
maintained

This is why audiophiles generally like analog volume control

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 Can Digital be Improved?
• Analog appears to be a clear winner.
But can we improve digital?
– The digital volume control is limited because the DAC (and the
data source in the last example) were both 16bits.
– What happens when a 16 bit number is fed to a 32 bit DAC?

Internally 32 bits,
externally 16/24

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 Volume Control internal to DAC

• Here is the number 30,003 shown as it appears to a 32 bit DAC:

0111010100110011.0000000000000000 = 30,003

• How do we “turn its volume down even more”, say by -35dB

-35db is 0.0177828 and here is the result:

0000001000010110.1000100110000100 = 533.5372

• Any problem? Shouldn’t the answer actually have been

30,003 * 0.3162 = 533.5372? When the volume control has

access to the additional bits in
As indeed it is... the DAC data path, there is no
numerical loss of accuracy

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 Optimum Digital Volume Control

• A Digital
volume The signal is
control decreasing as we
requested
with access
to the DAC
internal data
path will
behave just
And the noise
like the analog one until it will fall as well
reaches the noise floor until the DAC
of the analog components noise floor is
reached
of the DAC.
• -135dB in the ESS Sabre DAC

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 Analog still better?

• In fact, yes it is.

– As long as the analog volume control has a noise floor better
than the DAC noise floor, the analog one will win
• Conclusion:
– Analog volume controls easily outperform digital, unless the
digital control has access to the data path of the DAC
(ie is internal to the DAC)
– Exquisitely well designed analog volume controls can still beat
even the very best internal digital volume controls if they have a
lower noise floor than the DAC itself
• The -135dB of the ESS Sabre DAC would need an exceptionally
low noise analog volume control to beat its internal digital one

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End of Volume Control Presentation

Any questions?

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