Wondering if anyone has a recc for a USB device that would allow me to control volume and playback (play/pause ff rw) on my Windows 10 system?
I bought a new keyboard that I’m quite comfortable with but it doesn’t have the convenient hardware media controls I’m used to. I have hotkeys mapped to these functions but I miss the tactile feel of a knob/roller for volume. Plus I’m terrible at remembering hotkeys.
I did find some cheapo whitelabel ones on Amazon but I’m leery of the build quality.
One of those Elgato StreamDecks (Elgato was purchased by Corsair) would work nicely I believe. Stream Deck MK.2 | Elgato I don’t know that they can control volume, but I do know they’re highly programmable. I was about to say you should check the manual before any purchase, then I decided to check myself, and I can’t actually find one 
(I did find this video thou https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041927952-What-Can-I-Do-With-Elgato-Stream-Deck- ). (It’s probably expensive and overkill for your needs, but I assume you can actually get one if you’re interested but at the beginning of the pandemic these were hard to get.)
Edit: I wanted to make clear they make a small model with only 6 keys. They don’t seem to present that one often (like on Amazon) when searching, probably because they want you spend more on a larger one. (In $CDN I see them basically in increments of $100: 6 keys $100, 15 keys $200 and 32 keys $300.) Also @Leo has one of these, he uses for sound effects in his office set, so if you want more info, perhaps he would oblige your questions with helpful answers 
Interesting, I hadn’t thought about using a Stream Deck. Looks like my local Microcenter has the 15 key on sale for $125. It is a bit overkill, but very tempting…
I haven’t seen too many little macro keypads with a rotary volume control on them. At least not ones you can buy off the shelf. I do lurk in the mechanical keyboard subreddits and those guys tend to build custom ones similar to what you are talking about. You could ask in there for suggestions - https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/
Something like this might work - A Custom Programmable Macropad Keypad For Zoom Media Volume Controls | eBay
I can’t vouch for the quality of this unit, but it looks interesting.
Exactly what I’m looking for but $90 is pretty rough!
Probably gonna go the DIY route. Arduino controller looks pretty capable for the task.
DIY for that sounds like a fun little project. Good luck, and post your research and progress back here somewhere…it might make me dust off my soldering skills. 