Headphone users...volume control...levels

Hi...just wondering in what way people use their computer...and the use then of headphones/ speakers...whatever you use to listen to stuff.
 
Ah...well...you know, you check your email, you do a bit of work in Sonar, you watch a video on youtube, you play an album, you watch a movie, you do a bit of work in Sonar, you listen to someone's home recording from Critic's Corner, you visit Soundclick, you watch a youtube video...you do a bit of work in Sonar...
 
You get the idea...that's me basically...
 
Now...all the while I have headphones on...work in Sonar probably speakers...but mostly I just whack on the headphones and off I go...so to my question...
 
If you're anything like me...do you find yourself riding the volume all over the place? I have a common level I use in Sonar...but after that all bets are off. If I listen to a bit of Hank Williams I set my volume here....ACDC there...someone's Soundclick song....have to change volume again...a DVD...change volume again...a youtube video blasts out and I'm turning that down in the youtube volume bar until it is virtually off...
 
Naturally everything can't be at a uniform volume...maybe it could if I had a limiter or something right between the source and my headphones/ speakers...so anyway...
 
What is your method of volume control when using your computer?
 
thanks

Don't know what OS you're using, but apparently Windows 7 has a sort of volume normalizer feature in its sound device property settings.  "Loudness Equalization" they call it.  Says it "uses understanding of human hearing to reduce perceived volume differences".  Here's a link to a [seven-page] discussion of it, from the perspective of some guy wanting to turn the feature OFF. (I've only read the first page) :

Automatic volume leveling during audio playback

Vista, which I'm on, apparently has it too.  I go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > then, on the Playback tab I select my current audio device and then hit the Properties button (or right-click > Properties).  I then choose the Enhancements tab and there I see an unchecked box for Loudness Equalization.  I check it and then hit the Apply button. (btw, there's also a Settings button available once you've checked Loudness Equalization, which lets you adjust a slider for shorter or longer release time.)

Result?  Really haven't noticed that much difference yet, but I've only dinked around with a few videos, toggling the feature off & on.  But, you might give it a whirl and see if it makes maybe just enough difference for you.

I know it is generally frowned upon, but I have (and have for at least a decade) used my DAW as my main computer for everything else as well, including gaming.  So I have a soundcard hooked up to 5.1 speakers in addition to my Echo Gina card for Sonar.  I simply disable the 5.1 card when Sonar first profiles it, and I have had absolutely no issues ever in the years I have been using Sonar. 

Then just set Windows to use the "regular" card for default play, and use the real card for Sonar/Wavelab etc.  Easy peasy.

This may not be the best case scenario for everyone,  but it works great for me.  As a bonus, you can quickly check your mixes on crappy computer speakers to see how it translates....

For my active monitors, I built a DIY passive volume control that has worked out very well.  It makes a world of difference to have a knob easily accessible for a quick sound level change.  It's documented here:
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2286534&mpage=1&print=true
 
For headphones, I use the Focusrite VRM box, which also has a volume control you can immediately access to change levels.