I always wondered if I was hearing what I “expected” to hear but the click to 25 on the BHK is yoooodg!
Ron - exactly… hated that since I first heard it and searched the why on the forum. Also, the gain slope on the BHKPreamp seems higher giving you a more sensitive volume impact. The DSD it takes more levels to affect volume (lower gain slope). I love the lower gain slope in the DSD…
Mark - thanks, great find and thanks for push it to be recognized.
I’d say that it has ended up being a matter of finding a good area on the DAC that is primarily source-dependent (both due to the external, physical source, and then within that, the files, tracks or discs you’re spinning now) such that you can then use your Pre’s volume control as usual. Find the spot on the DAC that allows the Pre to operate in the sweet spot of its volume range. Easy to tweak either a bit from there.
DACs used to be fixed output, so this was not an option/issue before.
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Very interesting. I too have had my DSD locked on 100 since purchasing. I have 384 hours of continuous play on it now.
I have always felt the BHK Pre sounded best at the second stage of 52 or higher on the volume control but of course some recordings were at too high a level there. Now putting my DSD to 80 I can get to the gain stage of the tubes where is seems best to these ears on my Maggies.
Nice I say. Thanks.
Btw the new P15 in my system jumped the listening experience dramatically as well.
Cheers
@RsZk - make sure you understand Mark’s comments were about using the DSD as the final volume control and not fixed at a number. I never liked using the BHKPreamp as final volume control. When Mark first brought this up I thought oh, just reset the DSD to 80 like I liked it and missed the point of using the DSD as the variable final volume as you find the BHKPreamp sweetspot for each source.
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Gotcha so using both volume controls to come up with final sound preference and performance. This is so against my digital line of thinking of “losing bits” but the proof is already in the pudding and my system is already sounding better.
@badbeef - I love the BHKPreamp at 70 and the DSD at 70… man it sounds so much better than DSD at 80 and adjusting the BHKPreamp. This is streaming using the Nucleus+. So these numbers are different for every system. Also, I don’t cringe hearing the gain changes at 25 & 52 every time I use the BHKPreamp as volume control. Now I will turn to my DMP for the BHKPreamp sweetspot number with that source.
@RsZk - yeah, I got my number for streaming, now I hit the DMP source. The sound is definitely better. So, the fixed number will be for the BHKPreamp for each source. I have just two sources… Nucleus+ and DMP. Once you get those numbers, you use the DSD as the final volume control.
DMP - Looks like 65/70 for the DSD/PRE so far… and the DSD will drop when the sweetie gets home…
A shout out thanks to Mark…!
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@cardri Yeah. And that memory thing will definitely get worse. I think the brain is a bucket and once its full for every drop that goes in another has to leave. You just don’t get to pick which one stays or goes.
@badbeef Awesome suggestion. Back to using the DSJr as a volume control as it was before the BHK pre showed up. Dang this is a fun hobby.
Also thanks to @JMK for bringing it up in the first place.
We are all just like a bunch of loose rabbits in the yard. Variables. Lets see - 100 on the DAC volume x 100 on the preamp volume = a lot of choices.
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@Baldy - no disrespect to scumbag (that just sounds funny saying it in my head), Mark brought this up a few weeks ago so I lowered my DSD to fixed 80 and really did not fully process what he is saying. Today it finally hit me after reading @JMK and Mark explaining it again… That Mark is definitely persistent, thank goodness…
It is about finding the sweetspot of the Preamp and then using the DSD as final volume. After playing with the Preamp and DSD gain slope it all made sense… DUH!
Thanks. More evidence of the full bucket theory. 
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@Baldy - you think it’s easy being stupid… I have spent a career nurchuring my incompitance… using the Peter principle… in my career… 
Mark, thanks a lot for the input!
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I want to thank @JMK for bringing it up. It’s not a competition ; ). I had felt it was not a subject I should bring up myself for various reasons. And sorry for hijacking your thread, bud ; )
Yeah, my apologies for that focus… it is not a competition and Vern is right… about the cumulative input… all good stuff…
If there was a button to send virtual beers 
I would!
My wife approves of this recommendation on settings!
@RsZk - OK; @JMK and @badbeef deserved the beers… great follow up and excellent ideas…
Completely forgot, my apologies Ted…
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All kudos to @tedsmith actually since without him we would neither have this gem of information nor a dsd dac!
The other salient gem of wisdom that ted gave was hidden in the thread about whether the v1 snowmass sounded better then the v2. As audio buffs we can sometimes fixate on the minutia. To loosely paraphrase, Ted’s advice was to relax and listen to the music and not stress about things.
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Send me real beers.
Hah do you live in Canada? Then I may!