I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the small SMD stepped attenuators from china, ex. SMT Resistor 50K Step Attenuator Volume Control Alps | eBay.
For small amps they might be a good upgrade? Anyone know how they compare to the little green ALPS pots (1pc Japan ALPS Volume Potentiometer 10KAX2 RK09 Type | eBay).
Thanks,
Lyle
For small amps they might be a good upgrade? Anyone know how they compare to the little green ALPS pots (1pc Japan ALPS Volume Potentiometer 10KAX2 RK09 Type | eBay).
Thanks,
Lyle
I bought one of these DACT Type 21 Stepped Attenuator 20K FOR PASS B1 DIY | eBay though I haven't used it yet.
my main criteria was good channel matching and checking with the multimeter it certainly achieves that! Not sure what the longevity will be like or whether the 21 steps will be fine enough, but it seems to be what it claims
Note that as far as I can tell it is effectively a bunch of smd resistors connected in series and a wiper tapping in at various points along that series of resistors, so somewhat like a conventional pot made up of smd resistors.
Tony.
my main criteria was good channel matching and checking with the multimeter it certainly achieves that! Not sure what the longevity will be like or whether the 21 steps will be fine enough, but it seems to be what it claims
Note that as far as I can tell it is effectively a bunch of smd resistors connected in series and a wiper tapping in at various points along that series of resistors, so somewhat like a conventional pot made up of smd resistors.Tony.
I bought a Chinese stepped attenuator with the loudness tap several years ago for a Marantz preamp rebuild and it still works. The tracking is light years better than the old pot (CTC) it replaced. The only question was the longevity, 3 years in service is not long enough.
It looks like this one but with the loudness tap -> 1*ALPS 500K 'A' Log Potentiometer Attenuator Stereo New | eBay
It looks like this one but with the loudness tap -> 1*ALPS 500K 'A' Log Potentiometer Attenuator Stereo New | eBay
I've been running the "gigawork" attenuator wintermute linked for about a year now. It replaced the standard pot from my Yaqin MC-100b amp that looked basically like a copy of the ALPS blue velvet, but wasn't an ALPS. I assume it was just some good-ish quality Chinese pot.
The attenuator sounds better than that pot. I don't like using all the audiophile adjectives, so I'll just say it sounded clearer.
The attenuator sounds better than that pot. I don't like using all the audiophile adjectives, so I'll just say it sounded clearer.
I agree
I've just recently discovered these volume pots using the SMD type fly speck size resistors. I'm using a 10K one that a buddy of mine gave me in a passive preamp. I'm sure glad he did. I don't even know the brand of it.
I feel this the most transparent, quick sounding volume pot I've ever tried. Better than wirewounds, ladder or series types using 1/4 watt (?) resistors for sure!
It sounds great with every amp I've thrown at it so far. All the way from my my giant 300 watt per channel Emotiva XPA-2 to my 3/4 watt per channel Darling tube amp.
I have not played with optical volume pots such as the Optivol yet. I'm a bit reluctant to have to supply power to a passive. And they are around $50as I recall, so not exceptionally cheap.
Mark
I've just recently discovered these volume pots using the SMD type fly speck size resistors. I'm using a 10K one that a buddy of mine gave me in a passive preamp. I'm sure glad he did. I don't even know the brand of it.
I feel this the most transparent, quick sounding volume pot I've ever tried. Better than wirewounds, ladder or series types using 1/4 watt (?) resistors for sure!
It sounds great with every amp I've thrown at it so far. All the way from my my giant 300 watt per channel Emotiva XPA-2 to my 3/4 watt per channel Darling tube amp.
I have not played with optical volume pots such as the Optivol yet. I'm a bit reluctant to have to supply power to a passive. And they are around $50as I recall, so not exceptionally cheap.
Mark
Yep, I plan to order some also. I just have to decide if I want 10K or 20K.
Picking the "K" has always been somewhat of a mystery for me. I used to make passives with 100K Radio Shack pots, but often experienced a little bzzzz noise in them. I switched to 50K Alps blue......similar effect.
Then I thought I'd try a 25K in a Pass B1 Buffered preamp. NO noise. I think experiented with a wirewound 10K. No noise there either. With the large solid state amp I have (Emotiva XPA-2) or with all the tube amps I use. No noise with the 25K or 10K devices.
Mark
Picking the "K" has always been somewhat of a mystery for me. I used to make passives with 100K Radio Shack pots, but often experienced a little bzzzz noise in them. I switched to 50K Alps blue......similar effect.
Then I thought I'd try a 25K in a Pass B1 Buffered preamp. NO noise. I think experiented with a wirewound 10K. No noise there either. With the large solid state amp I have (Emotiva XPA-2) or with all the tube amps I use. No noise with the 25K or 10K devices.
Mark
Hi Deadpool (great movie btw) which switch did you buy? I've seen some expensive ones on eBay, I'm thrifty by nature so I'm looking at cheapies. I've seen some cheap ones from eBay seller ericyam DACT type SMD 21 Step, but description says short before break. Is this same as make before break?
Short before break should be the same as make before break I would think (as a make is basically a short).
My one that I linked to back in 2010 is working beautifully. It has been in service for a bit over two years now (yeah my projects tend to drag out.....)
Channel matching is very good, and I never feel like I need more steps. So much better than all of the cheap traditional pots I had used over the years, the channel matching was always the thing that annoyed me. Especially when the mismatch was not linear!
Unfortunately the seller (gigawork) doesn't look like they sell them anymore, I assume this is the one you are looking at smd stepped attenuator | eBay ? I suspect it is an evolution of the one that I originally bought.
Tony.
My one that I linked to back in 2010 is working beautifully. It has been in service for a bit over two years now (yeah my projects tend to drag out.....)
Channel matching is very good, and I never feel like I need more steps. So much better than all of the cheap traditional pots I had used over the years, the channel matching was always the thing that annoyed me. Especially when the mismatch was not linear!
Unfortunately the seller (gigawork) doesn't look like they sell them anymore, I assume this is the one you are looking at smd stepped attenuator | eBay ? I suspect it is an evolution of the one that I originally bought.
Tony.
Last edited:
yep movie was good, I was a fan of Deadpool when he 1st appeared in Uncanny X-men wayyyy back now...
anwhos I ordered this oneDact Type SMD Stepped Attenuator 21 Step Volume Control POT D Shape Shaft | eBay
such a cost effective upgrade...yep they design an S shape to the internal copper trace so basically the next step will 'short' (make) before the previous step 'breaks' (opens) nice engineering solution probably copied by someone else though, I do get a tiny tiny tiny little pop from the tweeter as it steps
Last edited:
I tested a make before break stepped attenuator on a B.Putzeys' balanced volume control.
The feel of the control was superb. Even though it is in the NFB path of an inverting opamp stage.
The steps were set to ~1.5dB and when rotated it sounded like a continuous track type vol pot.
I changed the gain in the balanced volume control to have a range from -51dB to +0.1dB. effectively similar to a passive vol pot.
By way of comparison, I had originally used the Putzeys with a plastic film continuous track vol pot when the range of the control was the standard (as designed) ~ -60dB to +45dB. It was terrible. The control was too severe. The balance wandered badly near the extremes of the rotation. Only the bottom part of the rotation from 10% to 30% was usable.
The feel of the control was superb. Even though it is in the NFB path of an inverting opamp stage.
The steps were set to ~1.5dB and when rotated it sounded like a continuous track type vol pot.
I changed the gain in the balanced volume control to have a range from -51dB to +0.1dB. effectively similar to a passive vol pot.
By way of comparison, I had originally used the Putzeys with a plastic film continuous track vol pot when the range of the control was the standard (as designed) ~ -60dB to +45dB. It was terrible. The control was too severe. The balance wandered badly near the extremes of the rotation. Only the bottom part of the rotation from 10% to 30% was usable.
Last edited:
Thanks DeadpooL, the one I was looking at was a different vendor but appears identical to the one you show. Based on your feedback, I'm in.
Dact Type SMD Stepped Attenuator 21 Step | eBay
Last edited:
I highly recommend these, they are a bang for the buck. Me and a few colleagues did some blind tests at the office and sonically we were on the same conclusion that these did beat every potentiometer we had. They could not sonically beat a DACT although, but the later is much more expensive.
I've used these to replace the pots in my two SWTP 207 monoblocks. Build quality looks good, the 'feel' is good, and I'm pretty sure any distortion is lower than the cheap original carbon pots. Audiophile quality at a very reasonable price (one I can afford!). I'll be using them in future projects and repairs.
I also have one of the DACT SMD stepped attenuators. I modded my pre amp,
an ARC SP3A with one and it's worked flawlessly for 8 10 years.
A beef with the SMD resistors was they distorted compared to some good
discreet resistors. I've not experienced this that I know of.
I had to attenuate the the output of the preamp to make it work
properly. I don't know what they go for now and I don't know
how they compare with the Made in China stuff.
I'd rather have a good one than a crappy one.
an ARC SP3A with one and it's worked flawlessly for 8 10 years.
A beef with the SMD resistors was they distorted compared to some good
discreet resistors. I've not experienced this that I know of.
I had to attenuate the the output of the preamp to make it work
properly. I don't know what they go for now and I don't know
how they compare with the Made in China stuff.
I'd rather have a good one than a crappy one.
I tried a DACT smd attenuator and also a conventional one with Dale resistors.
Both from China and E-bay.
The feel of the DACT is smoother than the notches on the conventional switch.
However to me the smd gave a much sharper sound that to me was harsh.
The Dale resistors were more mellow and pleasing to my ears.
Others may take the opposite view depending on taste and system.
They are so cheap I would suggest buying both to compare.
Both from China and E-bay.
The feel of the DACT is smoother than the notches on the conventional switch.
However to me the smd gave a much sharper sound that to me was harsh.
The Dale resistors were more mellow and pleasing to my ears.
Others may take the opposite view depending on taste and system.
They are so cheap I would suggest buying both to compare.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.