Have you tried this one? It looks better than blue attenuators and also has gold plated contact, but they do not provide information of smd resistors..
For carbon/conductive plastic pots:
The $40 TKD 601 is a good value, although the pins are a little small for soldering wires to if they aren't on a PCB. The $100 TKD 2500 series is also great but may be overkill. Unfortunately Audio Note does not make a 10K, only 100K, those are a great value at $30. PEC also makes a 10K stereo unit which I find a little better than the Alps Blue.
For attenuators:
The blue steppers off of ebay are perfectly fine (I've used Valab's), although there is an audible click when changing steps. Obviously the Goldpoint and Elma with resistors (such as vishay browns) both sound nice and clear, but pricey.
I'm very curious about this unit: 1PC EIZZ 10K High End 24step Stereo LOG Attenuator Volume Potentiometer HIFI DIY | eBay
Not sure if anyone has tried...
The $40 TKD 601 is a good value, although the pins are a little small for soldering wires to if they aren't on a PCB. The $100 TKD 2500 series is also great but may be overkill. Unfortunately Audio Note does not make a 10K, only 100K, those are a great value at $30. PEC also makes a 10K stereo unit which I find a little better than the Alps Blue.
For attenuators:
The blue steppers off of ebay are perfectly fine (I've used Valab's), although there is an audible click when changing steps. Obviously the Goldpoint and Elma with resistors (such as vishay browns) both sound nice and clear, but pricey.
I'm very curious about this unit: 1PC EIZZ 10K High End 24step Stereo LOG Attenuator Volume Potentiometer HIFI DIY | eBay
Not sure if anyone has tried...
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I purchased a 50K stepped attenuator on ebay, the ones with the takman resistors pre-packaged with the switch. After assembly, it worked well initially, but was very stiff, and over a year or so developed switching noise between steps. Disppointing. A while ago I bit the bullet and purchased a 20K Goldpoint and I'm extremely pleased with it. Very light touch and nice steps, about 2dB each.
Was curious about those EIZZ units, but could not find any experience comment about them.
Was curious about those EIZZ units, but could not find any experience comment about them.
I used 1uF Mundorf in RJM's v3 boards. The high end seemed muted to me, and I ended up changing to Wima MKP and thought it was an improvement. But... I made the cap change at the same time I added a belly-band around my toroid transformer, so I cannot say for sure if the cap change or the belly-band (or both) brought back the sparkle. But the change was significant and I think the MKP caps had some part in that.
I'm not trying to say Mudorf's are bad choice. They have a good reputation, I've read that many others like them (including RJM), they are not bad, just different. It's a matter of personal taste.
Richard Marsh (over in Marsh Headphone Amp thread) was at one time recommending Multicap. I have not tried them myself but would like to very much, just to see.
Yes I have. Can't be beat for the price IMO.
As for the SMD resistors, are you really expecting super low tolerance or temp. coefficient at this price point?
That's not a DACT, this is DACT. The genuine product is very similar in quality to Goldpoint, and based on the same Swiss ELMA switch. That ebay attenuator is... well, crap, but it should hold together for a while at least. I don't recommend you buy things on ebay that are marketed using brand names unrelated to the product, it just encourages that kind of false advertising.
re. Mundorf. Yes it is a darker, heavier presentation, the Multicaps (which I also like) are brighter and faster. Wima are ... fine. A bit of "sizzle" maybe where the more expensive stuff like Multicap &c. tends to be clean, but still a solid choice.
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Crap??? Not hardly. I've used one on a regular basis for about 3 years now without a single issue.
Just because some people here have mucho dollars to spend on volume controls and exotic MKP capacitors, doesn't mean everyone can.
I agree with the "DACT" misrepresentation. Perhaps that's why they call it a "DACT TYPE"...who knows.
They aren't misrepresenting anything, they are native Chinese speaking, trying to convey a description in English.
The construction is very nice, better than a fair number of high end items I've seen. It also works very smoothly
and noise free, due to the excellent wiper design. They deserve to sell tons of these, at such a trivial price.
That seems overly generous. The body design looks much the same as these ones which are about a buck each, just with the carbon resistance element replaced with gold contacts and a ring of SMD resistors. The wiper/contact construction is nothing special. How is this possibly a "DACT Type" attenuator? DACT don't make anything remotely similar!
If I wanted a cheap stepped attenuator I'd go with something like this. As with Stan's experience with the Takman, the quality of the switch is probably not great, but at least you get 1/4W resistors and ladder arrangement.
If I wanted a cheap stepped attenuator I'd go with something like this. As with Stan's experience with the Takman, the quality of the switch is probably not great, but at least you get 1/4W resistors and ladder arrangement.
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While we're on the subject of caps. and volume controls, has anyone tried these for coupling caps?
Gen I Sonicap 1 uF 200VDC, Sonic Craft
Gen I Sonicap 1 uF 200VDC, Sonic Craft
I've tried that style. Looks impressive but I found it too big and bulky.
Plus I couldn't tell any difference in SQ or channel imbalance compared to the "crap" attenuator.
I prefer to layout a board so I can mount the volume control directly onto the board if possible, which is easily done with the "crap" attenuator, a ALPS blue stepped or a el cheapo Alpha carbon pot.
My unassuming twelve dollar switched smt resistor control [connected as a passive preamp] sounds better than an entire JC-2 fet preamp clone.
Maybe because the clone has a typical ALPS film pot. I'll replace it sometime and see.
I'd say mine is on the level of a good receiver, but it takes much of the 'life' out of the music.
Also I can hear the electrolytic power supply capacitors change the sound as they warm up [30 min].
They're the 'used' yellow French caps. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Finished-JC...969724?hash=item3ae40a173c:g:tuMAAOSwbPxXQSBQ
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I use a Mundorf. I haven't compared to the Wima, but you can reasonably expect some improvement.
While the circuit will settle after a few days powered up, the coupling cap can take longer.
R3/R2 - so you mean you have the buffer open loop then? That's another tweak option, in addition to the coupling cap.
If I ask nicely can you post photos?
Attached is a photo of my Sapphire. The case I used is rather small so I mounted the boards vertically. It was previously used for another headphone amp (Sjostromaudio QRV-08) for which it was a perfect fit.
Judging from the way how much I liked the Sapphire until now, I think it will get a "proper" case soon.
Concerning R3: Yes, it's open loop.
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