Interesting! ALPS blue velvet pot test results....

ransom peek · 26th October 2006, 08:03 PM

I just purchased a blue velvet RK27112A pot from AMB, and have tested, at 7 points, the resistances of the two channels for tracking.

Here are the results in K ohms (using a high accuracy B&K meter) and calculated percentage deviation :

0.001 0.001 0.00%
0.621 0.613 1.29%
2.156 2.188-1.48%
7.500 7.400 1.33%
13.70 13.50 1.46%
33.40 32.84 1.68%
49.70 48.70 2.01%

The specs for the pot say:

-6.0 db to 0 db within 3 db,
-80 db to -60 db within 5 db possible

Is this pot a good choice for attenuation for a briangt lm3875 chipamp?

Is this pot within spec?

DcibeL · 26th October 2006, 08:57 PM

The Alps Blue Velvet are excellent potentiometers. AFAIK they are a conductive plastic type, and because of this will last a very long time without wearing out.

ransom peek · 26th October 2006, 10:27 PM

The two elements are over 2% off relative to each other in resistance readings at some points on the curve.

The question is, how does this affect performance when used as an attentuator between cd player and the chipamp...

And, would this be within spec, when the spec tolerance is defined in terms of decibel tolerance.

wrenchone · 26th October 2006, 11:30 PM

2% is a pretty close match for a ganged pot. I doubt you're going to do any better without going to a stepped attenuator with discrete resistors.

ransom peek · 27th October 2006, 03:44 PM

How would you relate the specs for a pot that are in db to the measured resistance values?

How noticeable would 2% resistance variation be to the ear?

SY · 27th October 2006, 04:22 PM

2% corresponds to about 0.17dB difference. That's pretty small. I'd want to do better, but I admit that it probably wouldn't be audible.

Stuey · 28th October 2006, 02:52 AM

Not probably I reckon; you won't hear that at all.

cocolino · 28th October 2006, 04:48 AM

I have measured a couple of those blue ALPS pots also and can confirm Your measurements. They all performed way better than specs.
The specifications are for worst case what means if You buy one You MIGHT have bad luck in getting one which actually has a tracking error of 3dB (according spes) between channels, what would be quite noticeable (I would say useless for good audio).
So it`s good to know they usually perform much better than this.

26th October 2006, 08:03 PM	#1
ransom peek diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: fort collins co	Interesting! ALPS blue velvet pot test results.... I just purchased a blue velvet RK27112A pot from AMB, and have tested, at 7 points, the resistances of the two channels for tracking. Here are the results in K ohms (using a high accuracy B&K meter) and calculated percentage deviation : 0.001 0.001 0.00% 0.621 0.613 1.29% 2.156 2.188-1.48% 7.500 7.400 1.33% 13.70 13.50 1.46% 33.40 32.84 1.68% 49.70 48.70 2.01% The specs for the pot say: -6.0 db to 0 db within 3 db, -80 db to -60 db within 5 db possible Is this pot a good choice for attenuation for a briangt lm3875 chipamp? Is this pot within spec?

27th October 2006, 04:22 PM	#6
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	2% corresponds to about 0.17dB difference. That's pretty small. I'd want to do better, but I admit that it probably wouldn't be audible. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

28th October 2006, 04:48 AM	#8
cocolino diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bavaria (south of veal sausage equator)	Interesting! ALPS blue velvet pot test results.... I have measured a couple of those blue ALPS pots also and can confirm Your measurements. They all performed way better than specs. The specifications are for worst case what means if You buy one You MIGHT have bad luck in getting one which actually has a tracking error of 3dB (according spes) between channels, what would be quite noticeable (I would say useless for good audio). So it`s good to know they usually perform much better than this. __________________ Christoph *STEAL the BEST - INVENT the REST*

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26th October 2006, 08:57 PM	#2
DcibeL diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Saskatchewan	The Alps Blue Velvet are excellent potentiometers. AFAIK they are a conductive plastic type, and because of this will last a very long time without wearing out.

26th October 2006, 10:27 PM	#3
ransom peek diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: fort collins co	The two elements are over 2% off relative to each other in resistance readings at some points on the curve. The question is, how does this affect performance when used as an attentuator between cd player and the chipamp... And, would this be within spec, when the spec tolerance is defined in terms of decibel tolerance.

26th October 2006, 11:30 PM	#4
wrenchone diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Silicon Valley	2% is a pretty close match for a ganged pot. I doubt you're going to do any better without going to a stepped attenuator with discrete resistors.

27th October 2006, 03:44 PM	#5
ransom peek diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: fort collins co	How would you relate the specs for a pot that are in db to the measured resistance values? How noticeable would 2% resistance variation be to the ear?

28th October 2006, 02:52 AM	#7
Stuey diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia	Not probably I reckon; you won't hear that at all.

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