Is it better to turn up the volume in the software or on the speakers?
I was surprised by the best answer as it seems to me to be more or less wrong.<p>Let's ignore the discussion about dynamic range and bit depth etc., and assume that the volume control on your operating system controls the DAC rather than doing the stupid thing of digital volume reduction.  The fundamental issue is signal to noise ratio on the analog line.  If you turn the volume too far down on the computer and turn the volume up on your speakers, the sound on the analog line is too low with regard to the electrical noise and will be hissy.  If you turn the volume up too much on the computer and turn the volume down on your speakers, then the signal will be so loud as to produce distortion either in the DAC or on the line itself.  You're looking for a middle ground: as loud an output from the computer that you can produce without causing distortion in your loudest music parts.  Once you've got that set, change the volume on the speakers to compensate.