I have a Nucleus B connected USB to RME DAC-2 FS. I am unable to control volume on my Roon App. Some music is too loud and some too soft. I don’t want to accidentally blow out my B&W 802D speakers, but I do want to move the volume easily within safe parameters. Unsure how to do this. Any help for this newbie appreciated.
Have you tried setting Device volume under Settings > Device setup? You usually use Fixed volume when the DAC has no built-in volume control. Since the RMA has a volume control, it will, most likely, understand any volume adjustment passed by Roon.
Thank you for your suggestion. I just finished adjusting the REM DAC so that Lock Volume is now OFF. Problem solved. It was an optional setting that I must have inadvertently turned on. My bad.
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You can’t control volume on the RME from Roon it doesn’t expose it’s volume control to it. It won’t in my setup with Roon Core on rock connected to it. You have to use DSP volume in Roon which is no where near as good as using the RMEs own volume.
Thanks for your comment. Are you saying that when I unlocked Volume on the RME unit which allows me to change volume using my RME remote, that I am allowing Roon to control my Volume? Or are you suggesting that my fix in RME is the solution that you would use also?
Roon can’t control the preamp section on the DAC at all from the app if you unlock the volume or leave it locked, changing Roons settings to device volume make no difference to being fixed in this case. It has no access to the preamp controls with its connection via USB. On Linux based machines anyway. Might be different on Windows or Mac but I don’t think it is. Only the volume control on the DAC or remote can alter it in my useage of it. I have it locked for line out as it feeds into some powered speakers and I use their volume control. I only use the DACs volume for headphone listening and that isn’t locked. Handiness of this DAC is its separate settings for each output.
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I am a newbie and am still a bit confused. You have RME locked for line out just as I did when requesting the communities advice. You control volume by manually adjusting the volume on your powered speakers. I have passive speakers so I could not adjust their volume from the preset on RME. I have since then turned off RME’s Volume Lock and now have control of my passive speakers on the RME remote. The main concern for me seems to be what if the power level to my speakers somehow got left very high and if so when I wanted to listen again I may very well destroy my speakers. If so, isn’t there a control on RME different than Volume Lock where I could limit power to them above a certain level?
I am not sure what your trying to achieve here at all. That can happen in any scenario with an amplifier Are you feeding the RME line out into, an integrated amplifier? If so then you really don’t need two levels of attenuation in your chain as this is affects sound quality and the RME should be left in fixed output at line level you use you amplifier to control the volume.
If your using the RME as a preamp in to a separate poweramp or active speakers then you would use the RME volume control to control the volume.
In either of these scenarios this has nothing to do with Roon. Roon just sends a signal to the DAC, the DAC sends out line level or a variable pre level dependant on how you set it up and it handles everything. Some Roon Ready devices and Roon Tested DACs allow Roon to control and access the devices inbuilt volume in the case of the RME this is not possible.
You can use Roons DSP volume setting which is a lossy preprocessing system that can attenuate the digital signal before it reaches the DAC. Volume control is done in Roon app. This is only of course useful if you only use Roon with this system . Using Roons DSP volume will allow you to apply volume limits in Roon to stop it going too loud. But these are only going to work for Roon and in Roon if you use your system for other inputs then leaving your volume on the amp high will still result in the same issue.
If you choose to use Roons DSP volume then you leave the RME at fixed line level, set your amp volume low, then put DSP volume to max slowly raise the volume on the amp to the max volume you feel comfortable with then use Roons DSP to adjust down to a more normal listening volume. If you use your system withe other inputs this won’t work well as you ware likely to be changing volume on the amp for these anyway.
In my case my powered speakers are acting as the amplifier stage and it just receives line level from the RME. The RME has volume locked at -7db. Roon is set to fixed volume. The speakers control the volume plain and simple. If it’s too loud I turn the volume down. Roon just plays the music the equipment controls the volume.
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