Yes indeed. Mosaic makes this very easy.
You might have missed the point actually Erno 
Greg is spot on. This little exercise I did on a lazy Sunday afternoon wasnāt about the theoretical performance of the dCS stackā¦ I actually wanted to know if I could perceive an actual audible difference between the 2V vs. 6V setting, when fully level matched out of my speakers.
Turns out itās exactly as we already know; the closer one gets to ā0.0dBā on the dCS volume knob, the better it will sound. Whichever way you get there; through the use of a Pre-Amp, or by closely matching the output voltage setting to your direct connect Ampās sensitivity. 
The discussion of dCSā digital volume control usually revolves around āresolutionā, I must admit I was a little surprised to see it so easily measured as changes in dynamic range (on hindsight, I wonder why Stereophileās John Atkinson never bothered to measure this 
).
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I understand it, but we are focussing on different situations. You have mainly tested the perception of using the digital volume control of dCS, whereas I on 0dB out into a preamp, both at 2V and 6V out, and do the attenuation in the preamp.
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I wonder if the rest of your system chain, meaning your Pre-amp and Amp in combination, would negate any SNR advantage that dCSā 6V output setting has over 2V 
My preampās SNR at balanced out is 137 dB, A-Weighted, 135 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, so no problems there The power amp will be used in both cases, dCS volume or preamp volume.
My BartĆ³k has: 24-bit data: Better than ā113dB0, 20Hz - 20kHz unweighted. (6V output setting).
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Its been a while acoming and unlike stereophileās Art Dudley I dont have the vocabulary.
Any way as we left the scene one of my Levinson 33Hs had developed a penchant for āāfalling overāāā¦it appears all it needed was a trip in the back of a van to wetherby, a month on test, which found nothing and a trio backā¦its been prefect ever since.
The XLR RCA issue has be decided in favour of the XLRsā¦mine are Townshend F1.
The space and clarity is much more pronounced and fulfillingā¦Iāve always wanted HIFI to give me the āābeing performed toāā feelā¦the being in there with them as they create the music. Yes I know this isnt how its doneā¦but it does it for me. And the XLRās are streets ahead of the RCAs.
Now things change up a gear.
Following a moment of Covid constipation I spent a fair amount of an all naim set up for my cycling loftā¦5 boxes wont admit what.
As the summer progressed I was relegated to pretendeding to cycle as the heat is too muchā¦so Iāve going back to Naim Uniti Nova with the small PMCsā¦
Following a chat with my DCS dealer heāll PX my Covid constipation attack + NWB for Nova and an ex dem Vivaldi Upsampler and a small supplementary considerationā¦deal to be done on tuesday.
So much anticipationā¦and trying to disuade myself from getting the clock.
Will he hold out?
NDX2 + XPS + 282 + HiCap + 250
As I wait for my Bartok, Iāve been reading this thread with great interest to try and understand pros / cons of different output voltage levels and running the Bartok direct vs using my preamp. For fun, I took my office DAC (RME ADI 2) and ran it balanced direct into my Bryston 3B(3) amp. Like the Bartok, the RME has different output voltages. The +1dBu balanced is ~ 1.73V while the -5dBu is ~ .85V (6 db lower i think)
For the 1.73V setting, for most recordings the comfortable range was -25db to -15db. While the .85v setting the range was -15db to -9db. Even with loud orchestral passages. No clipping here as the RME has pre and post fx metres and I can clearly see the post never exceeds the pre (i.e. the recorded level of the programme material)
Here is the shocker for me: My 200w/8hom Bryston 3B(3) on the 23db input turns into a 100w amp at 2v. If I understand the math correctly, a .6V input turns my amp into a 10w Amp with full scale 0db!! (Albeit one with a massive power reserve)
So it would appear Iām using way less power and listening at a lower level than I thought. I listen midfield to Harbeth SHL5+ in a 12 by 18 foot room with a low ceiling. 5-10w orchestral peaks would put me at low 90db in my room.
Canāt wait to try the Bartok out!
I donāt want o get too complex with this but there are a couple of things that may be of interest.
The first is that there are various types of dB scales . As you know dBu is related to voltage. However when you get your Bartok you will see that the scale is dBfs ( decibels full scale). So the voltage at 0dBfs = the full line voltage selected but only IF the recorded level is also @ 0dBfs ( which it probably wonāt be).
The measured output of your power amp depends upon two factors , the input sensitivity and at what level of distortion this has been specified and the level of distortion that the maximum output of the amplifier has been specified at by the manufacturer. These days few manufacturers bother to specify these distortion levels and if you ignore them you can more or less get any number you care to.
Thanks @PAR. Fortunately in my case the Bryston Amp I use is quite flexible with switchable gain at 29db and 23db. I like the later because it is less noisy. The trade off is that the lower setting requires a bit more voltage to reach its rated output 2v input = 100w and 200w (rated output) with 2.82v input. So the 6v setting on the Bartok will likely be too high run direct, while the 2v or the .6 v output will likely be the sweet-spot to get the Bartok volume between -20db and -10db. Nevertheless, I was surprised how little power i appear to be using using to drive to loud levels in my room. Most of my classical records only peak at ~.3db and sit 10-20db below that most of the time.
The other factor is I may be able to run the Bartok 6v into my preamp (which can take up to 8v Iām told) to get the max signal to noise ratio talked about above.
Time will tell what the right setting is - in the mean time this is a great learning exercise!
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Basically whichever line voltage you choose with Bartok the ānoiseā part of the signal to noise ratio will be inaudible ( unless you are bothered by flies farting or ants coughing: āOh no, I hope it hasnāt caught caught Covid-19ā). Further the noise level will be masked by the (worse) S/N ratio of your amplification and even if it were not the whole thing will be swamped by the sound of your room even if it seems to you to be silent ( I assume you do not live in an an echoic chamber). BBC engineers work to the quietest average measured level of a domestic room as 42dB ( note that is a positive reading above 0dB). I have listened in my room at 3 a.m. to what I heard as absolute silence yet even that turned out to measure 34dB.
In short, donāt worry in real life about the level of noise from a Bartok or any other dCS DAC at any line level, it can only be sensed by a meter not by humans.
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Sorry Pete, but you are mixing up quite a few parameters. SNR, THD, amp sensitivity, masking effect of amp and environment, concluding every noise and distortion until 40dB is OK, because unheard. If so, why bother to buy dCS, get a blaster from your neighbourhood store 
Not quite what I mean and you are conflating several posts concerning different aspects.
Kindly show me where I say that? But are you telling me that you are able to hear,say, -113dB noise ( dCS spec irrespective of line voltage for Bartok) v. -123 dB ( Stereophiile measurements) In a room with 40dB ambient noise via amplification with . say a S/N ratio of 80 - 90dB?
I have always said that specs only need to be adequate, the actual listening experience depends upon much more.
Yes, if relying exclusively upon commonly quoted specs you can apparently just buy a blaster from your neighbourhood store ( or something along those lines). Read Audio Science Review. They tell you that all of the time 
.
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Can anyone tell me if a BartĆ³k connected via XLR with a Gryphon Diablo 300, is it better to use 2v or 6v?
I canāt figure out which of the 2 is better. I wouldnāt want to saturate the entry of the Diablo 300. The 6vs seem to have more emphasis, but I donāt know if itās just suggestion. I am tempted to ask Gryphon directly which one is best to use.
If you canāt find the input sensitivity for the amp in any of Gryphonās material, drop them a line. Most of these people are good to deal with.
(Generally I canāt find the info, then feel embarrassed when someone from this forum finds it in 17 seconds flat. Gah!)
I think I have answered your question already last November:
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Hello, thank you, I remember, I was looking for some other feedback. In the meantime I have tried the exact same cable in RCA and XLR, it changes very little, but the XLR is slightly more accurate.
As for the XLR output of the Bartok, why if the input of the Diablo 300 is at 0.617v do you not set the output of the Bartok at 0.6v?
Now Iām listening to it at 2v, but the impression is that at 6v maybe it feels more dynamic, but maybe itās just suggestion.
Thank you
Hello Lele,
If it helps, I prefer the 6v output (via XLR) from my Rossini ā Diablo 300.
I also found the dynamics less impressive with the 2v output.
Of course, itās system dependent (as always), so I suggest that you go with the setting that sounds best to you.
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I am with you, @Bauer Jonathan and @Lele80 . Only, you need to take into account how loud you are playing, and what peaks the music contains. Just be careful not to drive your Diablo into distortion/ clipping, or even fry its input/ pre-amp section.
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Thanks Erno. I donāt play music especially loud, but I take your point.
Iāve decided to revert to the 2v setting, live with it for a while, and then reevaluate my preferenceā¦