system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does lowering the volume on a device actually work?
gpt
Simple version:

You turn a knob, and a coil is wound/unwound which increases the resistance of the electrical current by increasing the distance it has to travel through the coil. This resistance drops the power(volts&amps) which causes less energy to be transferred to the speaker.

The same process happens in a digital device, but it's instead controlled by a digital potentiometer, which regulates the current that passes through it, instead of a mechanical coil.