Series volume controls; how this works.

Factual Questions
1

I`ve got a slide volume control on my headphones cord (right at the point that the two ear wires form the y). My personal walkman also has a volume control (analog) in the form of a dial. I keep the dial at about the three quarters level. The slide control on the headphones cord is adjusted according to background noise and comfort, but usually kept at about a quarter of its potential. The walkman is pumping out the volume at three quarters power and the slide control is knocking it down to about a quarter of that.
The question is; How is the battery consumption affected by this?
I sense that it is not the most efficient way to use the thing, am I right?

Or, are the batteries working as if I am listening at three quarters level all the time? Or is it somewhere in the middle?

I`m thinking that there is some power loss through the slide level.

Don`t be afraid to get into series and series parallel circuiting in your explanation. :smiley:

2

The most efficient way is to set the headphones control to the max and adjust the volume at the main volume control

3

I agree with sailor’s configuration. The dial on your walkman is what’s going to determine how much juice is getting sucked out of your battery. If you have the walkman dial to the max, and have the headphone slider to min, then you’re wasting your batteries.