After years of hearing about how good the RK27 was and wanting to try out the alleged "fake" version, I ordered a few from JK_Parts. If fake, they are doing a great job on them, how anyone could tell I cannot say. Everything about them feels legit (except for the shipped price, of course) and tracking is well within spec. Maybe they are a ghost shift product? The only issue I have had is some slight hum noise on a Class D amp that I eliminated by grounding the pot at the rear screw. A nice bonus is the availability of circuit boards on eBay to mount them cleanly.
ORIGINAL ALPS RK27 27 Type Dual 50K Potentiometer, Brand New! | eBay
The Panasonic EVJ are no longer available in 50K with the threaded panel mount option, but 20K are still available. I have stocked up on them. I may like these more, the action is smoother (the RK27 has a very slight scraping feel when turning).
ORIGINAL ALPS RK27 27 Type Dual 50K Potentiometer, Brand New! | eBay
The Panasonic EVJ are no longer available in 50K with the threaded panel mount option, but 20K are still available. I have stocked up on them. I may like these more, the action is smoother (the RK27 has a very slight scraping feel when turning).
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These look interesting 1pc Potentiometer 100k Log Alps Audio Amp Volume Control Pot Stereo W Loudness | eBay they appear to be centre tapped and could be used for an "automatic" loudness control?
Those "ALPS Pots" are actually stepped attenuators, and for sure have nothing to do with ALPS. But they're quite good quality for the price.
I've taken couple of these apart, just to check the "innards" for quality of soldering etc. When assembling, I threaded the "post" with (IIRC) M2.5x0.45 thread die and used a nut there instead of that locking washer.
Resistors are 0603.
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Hi sorry if i jump and please redirect me to any other more appropriate thread.
I wonder if anyone has any experience with cermet linear law faked pots used for volume control.
If i am not wrong there is at least one UK designer using them (NVA brand) ?
I am worry about any possible warping effect of the plastic disc where the resistive traces are deposited ,,, instead of ceramic in the cermet type.
Could this deformable disc be a reason for a not optimal contact with the wiper ?
I am suspicious about the ultimate quality of the Alps Blue pots. It turned out inferior to a series attenuator in some tests ... the sound was much cleaner with the attenuator.
The difference between a good knife and a scalpel ...
Going back was not easy. I related the superior performance of the attenuator also to a better contact of the wiper.
The efficiency of contact is very important in my view. Just changing speaker plugs with better ones cleaned up the sound remarkably.
I wonder if anyone has any experience with cermet linear law faked pots used for volume control.
If i am not wrong there is at least one UK designer using them (NVA brand) ?
I am worry about any possible warping effect of the plastic disc where the resistive traces are deposited ,,, instead of ceramic in the cermet type.
Could this deformable disc be a reason for a not optimal contact with the wiper ?
I am suspicious about the ultimate quality of the Alps Blue pots. It turned out inferior to a series attenuator in some tests ... the sound was much cleaner with the attenuator.
The difference between a good knife and a scalpel ...
Going back was not easy. I related the superior performance of the attenuator also to a better contact of the wiper.
The efficiency of contact is very important in my view. Just changing speaker plugs with better ones cleaned up the sound remarkably.
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for some interesting images check out
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/alps-rk27-motorized-pot-teardown.256712/#post-6942768
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/alps-rk27-motorized-pot-teardown.256712/#post-6942768
