When you use software/os volume using digital out do you loose bit depth?

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[U]ber|Noob

Limp Gawd
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If you have your computer connected via hdmi/optical/coaxial digital out and you set the volume to 20% for example in software or the operating system. Are you loosing a lot of bit depth by digitally reducing the volume.

The same as if you reduced the volume in audio editing software you would loose the unused bits?

If you are starting with 16bit bit depth for example.

Or does the digital signal send extra volume information to the receiver/dac and then the adjustment is made?
 
For an analog output, the volume simply adjusts the output of the amp.

In the case of digital output, the signal is just the audio streams and is untouched.
 
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It depends on the implementation of the replay chain but for Windows, since Vista, it uses 32-bit internal samples (up converting the source as necessary) for handling mixing and volume control.

The net effect is you don't lose any resolution from the software volume control.
 
Yes.

I wouldn't advocate actually doing that though; the master volume control is programmatically accessible and applications can abuse it (deliberately or just through poor implementation). You don't suddenly want to find both your amp and the Windows volume control at 100% ...
 
[U]ber|Noob;1041485787 said:
If you have your computer connected via hdmi/optical/coaxial digital out and you set the volume to 20% for example in software or the operating system. Are you loosing a lot of bit depth by digitally reducing the volume.

The same as if you reduced the volume in audio editing software you would loose the unused bits?

If you are starting with 16bit bit depth for example.

Or does the digital signal send extra volume information to the receiver/dac and then the adjustment is made?
Click to expand...

Set your sound output to 24bit then you have no problems with volume control etc. You have some spare.
 
Thanks but its really meant as a theoretical question for future reference. So I'm interested in exactly how it works.
 
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