Between my XA30.5 power amp and DS Jr. I’ve noticed when no music is playing that I get a low-level of noise. It’s almost like subtle static rather than any buzzing. I use balanced connections however nothing changes when I use RCA connections - same noise, same amount of noise.
My new speakers are a bit more sensitive than before (90 vs. 87db) and during quiet passages it is audible for a couple feet away.
For whatever reason I decided to try the attenuator today, despite me not needing to decrease gain. Heard a hit ‘pop’ and the noise is essentially gone unless my ear is on the woofer! Microdetail is much more apparent than before!
I tried listening from the couch and turning the volume to hear the same music level with and without the attentuator in (my iPad measures about 80db on both settings). With the attenuator in, I don’t notice this noise like I do with the attenuator out.
What does the attentuator do inside the dac?