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Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

jamesbvaughan.com

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Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#71

This begs the question, why buy oversized speakers of which you can only use 10% of the range instead of smaller speakers? Is the sound quality better when not approaching to maximum volume?

You can't buy quality sounding speakers without them being high powered.

Do you mean physically, or as in there's no market for high-quality low-powered ones?

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#72
post #20

> Those methods either give me a tiny slider that I can only use 10% of or about 15 steps where the jump from step 3 to step 4 takes the speakers from “a bit too quiet” to “definitely bothering the neighbors” levels. Volume controls need to be logarithmic, not linear. To a first degree approximation, everybody gets this wrong.

Volume controls also shouldn't just be a flat wideband gain - they should respect how we actually perceive sound so the timbre doesn't change as the level changes (when you turn the volume down, you are typically left with just the stuff in the vocal frequency range, and lose all the bass etc). Doing this stuff well is pretty hard (e.g. designing filters that can do that kind of volume adjustment is hard because you…

That's because most volume controls also affect the output impedance.

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#73

Hey OP - if your thinking about a smart knob with haptic feedback etc - check this open source project out that you can build yourself - its amazing: https://github.com/scottbez1/smartknob Video demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip641WmY4pA&t=1s

"you can build yourself" Technically yes, but that is a serious project.

Yeah - I actually asked on the Discord if anyone was selling them pre-made - I would buy some if available.

I dont have time/tools etc to do this.

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#74

Hey OP - if your thinking about a smart knob with haptic feedback etc - check this open source project out that you can build yourself - its amazing: https://github.com/scottbez1/smartknob Video demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip641WmY4pA&t=1s

Wow! I had dreamed of physical "analog" controls as a standard feature on keyboards and input devices for various applications -- would be great productivity booster for power users. I wish this catches on and gets mass adoption.

Yeah - me too - I dont have the time/tools to build these myself - but would happily pay for them as a product.

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#76
For those considering buying speakers: (1) do it, (2) get passive ones and a separate amp. Honestly it’s such a mature market that buying these active speakers just creates e-waste. Keep the e-waste to the amp. You can get really solid speakers for $300 and a cheap amp with BT for $50-100, replacing them basically independently depending on your needs.

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#77

For those considering buying speakers: (1) do it, (2) get passive ones and a separate amp. Honestly it’s such a mature market that buying these active speakers just creates e-waste. Keep the e-waste to the amp. You can get really solid speakers for $300 and a cheap amp with BT for $50-100, replacing them basically independently depending on your needs.

Which speakers would you recommend in that price range?

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#78

Seems like the author moved from a “speakers + networked amp” setup, to a one where with active speakers where everything is built-in. When I was buying speakers for my apartment some time ago, I was similarly considering going for the all-in-one options like this, but I’m glad I didn’t. I prefer the “dumb passive speaker + networked amp”, as it allows you to pick / replace / upgrade the separate components. Went for…

I don't even bother with a networked amp, you can plug a chromecast/airplay/bluetooth receiver into a dumb amp.

Re: Reverse-engineering my speakers' API to get reasonable volume control

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't buy quality sounding speakers without them being high powered.

Do you mean physically, or as in there's no market for high-quality low-powered ones?

Both. To fill a larger room with enough balanced sound with all types of music implies enough headroom that most of the time it will be overpowered. Also everybody would take a mostly overpowered speaker over a sometimes underpowered one.

The "small quality speakers" category is filled by decent bluetooth speakers and a few pc/desktop 2.0 models.

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