The knob you are calling a volume knob is in reality an attenuator. The mute or 20dB switch is also an attenuator. Both are really just a resistor. The volume knob is probably a trim pot, short for trim potentiometer, a fancy word for variable resistor. If the volume knob clicks then it could be a stepped attenuator, a fancy term for a knob that lets you select one resistor after another until you find the one with the volume level you want.
That is really all you are doing with all this twiddling around, finding the resistor value that yields the volume level you want. You can do this with the volume knob alone or you can do it with the volume resistance plus the 20dB resistor.
Which do you think is better? Running the power through one resistor or two? One set of switches, or two? So there's your answer.
Sorry but it has been scientifically proven no one can fully grasp the cosmic importance of where the volume knob is pointed until they have studied this documentary video produced to get the full impact across. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc
That is really all you are doing with all this twiddling around, finding the resistor value that yields the volume level you want. You can do this with the volume knob alone or you can do it with the volume resistance plus the 20dB resistor.
Which do you think is better? Running the power through one resistor or two? One set of switches, or two? So there's your answer.
Sorry but it has been scientifically proven no one can fully grasp the cosmic importance of where the volume knob is pointed until they have studied this documentary video produced to get the full impact across. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc