Listening Test: How to Deal with Volume Differences?

Roon Software Discussion
1

I want to perform a listening test, but it’s tedious to get the volume leveled among sources. If one source sounds a bit louder than another, my first instinct is to think it sounds “better.” But it’s not necessarily better; it’s just louder.

I have a low-end setup. Roon Core connects to my Pi via RoPieee. Connected to the Pi is an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC. The Dragonfly connects to Kanto YU6 powered speakers along with a powered Kanto SUB8 subwoofer. The speakers include a variety of inputs ready to go.

Let’s say I want to hear the difference between Bluetooth and Roon, both streaming from Tidal. My phone connects directly to the speakers. I control the volume through a combination of the iPhone volume and volume from the actual speakers. To compare Roon’s same track streamed from Tidal, I have volume control from Roon itself, plus the speaker volume. By the time I apply volume adjustments between sources, my memory of the sound becomes less clear and even more subjective.

Do you have any advice? I don’t want to spend too much – one day in the future, I will upgrade in a major way.

Thanks,
Brian

2

Probably more trouble than you want to go to, but I use REW to measure the output of each device and make adjustments in Roon’s Headroom Management DSP to match levels. For DACs, I can match levels to within 0.05 dB

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3

I use SPL Meter on my iPhone to adjust the volume of the sources I am assessing. I can set different volumes for each input on my receiver or adjust them in Roon as per David’s comment above.

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4

Thanks for the ideas!