Low gain dac!

russ69 - I always heard that an attenuator would degrade the sound, but maybe that is just a tale !

As to millercarbon - I know that where a volume knob is sitting isn’t really important, therefore writing from 6 o’clock to 8-9 o’clock would give you and others a picture of the small adjustments that is useable, in reality it is more between 6 and 7.5 !
As it is more you with a problem, please stay out of this tread, life is too short to answer grumpy people. Please find peace in some other thread, have a nice day.

Why not a DAC with a volume?  My Chord Hugo has a great volume control and sounds awesome.

"...russ69 - I always heard that an attenuator would degrade the sound, but maybe that is just a tale !..."

I have used inexpensive 10 db pads to knock down the hiss on a high gain pre and amp setup with high efficiency loudspeakers.. I could not hear any change in the frequency response. If I had to guess I'd bet they are flat within .1db in the audio band. 

Thanks russ69 that’s good to know.
elevick - I have a fantastic tube pre amp, just would like to have bigger volume range.
cat_doorman - would prefer rca output (single ended), price? $2000-$3000c color? Not so important, but preferably black, input? Usb, and toslink for tv. MQA I am NOT a fan of.
Will check your link 🙂

Check the output impedance of your source against prospective attenuators. From something I once read, I think there are ways to mismatch and lose the highs. Your might have better luck with a passive pre in between for impedance matching. (Schiit Sys $49)

Unless there is something else you don’t like about your DAC, it’s probably worth trying the low cost passive or attenuators first. Not sure where your current DAC lies on the spectrum of what’s available, but if you’re curious about a different sound there are a lot of choices, a lot of comparisons, and browsing is free.