Carbon pot vs digital pot

[kacernator]

Hi,

I have been searching forums, but didnt find any answer. How does ordinary carbon pot compares to digital pot in sound quality? Is analog carbon pot always better sounding?

Thanks.

[Mooly]

I suspect both can be made such that they are not the limiting factor in an audio system.
It's down to the implementation. A good quality "carbon" pot such as an ALPS carefully matched to the surrounding circuitry is IMO about as good as it gets. Easy to work with, easy to add remote control etc.

The digital pot offers space advantages at the expense of "complex" drive arrangements.

[Bonsai]

I agree with you Mooly.

I used an Alps Blue Velvet in my X-Altra pre-amp (see below) and have got great results - it is very tactile, very quiet (use a big knob though!). I am using a PGA2320 in a new high end pre-amp I am working on. The analog part is running and I have taken special care about isolation, noise and RF ingress filtering and so far the results are very good (I'm using some high end AT phones to assess the sound.)

[Bonsai]

That should read 'assess the sound' above - DIY's expletive 'assessor' must be on overdrive or I mispelt and it misinterpreted.

[Bobby Dipole]

Originally Posted by kacernator

Hi,

I have been searching forums, but didnt find any answer. How does ordinary carbon pot compares to digital pot in sound quality? Is analog carbon pot always better sounding?

Thanks.

IMHO, carbon pots sound great until they get dirty or wear out. They are the bane of vintage gear. Of course you get years of good service out of a new one.

Bobby Dipole