I want to upgrade my Noble pot, what should I get

[murphythecat8]

hi everyone.
I want a better volume control. Right now I have a noble pot, and while I know its relatively good, I would like to try something a little bit better.
I have up to 50$ maybe a bit more for that.
any suggestions?

 

[triplej]

In general, a "stepped attenuator" is a big improvement over any POT.

 

[AudioLapDance]

Also you can go for a ladder attenuator.

Actually, funny you should mention this ... I'll be doing a bit of a 10k pot shootout!

Classic older R27 10k

Valab 23 Step Attenuator Potentiometer 10K Stereo Log (series)

Valab 23 Step Attenuator Potentiometer 10K Stereo Log | eBay


DACT Type 21 Stepped Attenuator 10K FOR PASS P1.7 DIY (I have an older version)
Dact Type 21 Stepped Attenuator 10K for Pass P1 7 DIY | eBay

and (at a slightly different price point)

TKD 64185 10K, 2CP-2511 Series, Stereo, Conductive, Plastic Volume Potentiometer, (50 dB audio taper)
http://www.partsconnexion.com/tkd_64185.html


The little ones are great! They're cheap, sound good, track well and fit everywhere.

But if I were you, I'd do:

TKD_73334 10K, 2CP-601 Series, 6R25, Log Taper
TKD 10K LOG TAPER 6R25 (2CP-601)

Valab 23 Step Ladder Type Attenuator Potentiometer 50K Log Stereo (see if they'll do 10k)
Valab 23 Step Ladder Type Attenuator Potentiometer 50K Log Stereo | eBay

Both look great bang-for-buck! And give you a taste of two different technologies!

PS And they if you wanna go exotic or DIY, do a LDR (Lightspeed) too!

 

[Ian Finch]

The traditional, easy way forward is to substitute ALPS RK27 (blue velvet). These are large ( 27mm square) but genuine examples are still excellent quality. Ebay (HK) has many sellers of Chinese copies for as little as $10 US. (even the labels look genuine) and other lower, but still good quality grades. They are fair value for money but not often original parts.

I have bought genuine RK27 ALPS motorised pots from ALPS Japan Motorpotentiometer, Fader Motorfader Crossfader items in ALPS Japan Potentiometer kaufen store on eBay! and they are the real deal @23 euros + charges. There are examples of extreme High-end stuff on the site too.

 

[AudioLapDance]

Ian, do you know if the other pots, (non-motorized)RK27 10k, are genuine?

Alps RK27 Potentiometer 10K 50K 100K 250K 500K 1M Pot Blue Velvet Japan RK27112 | eBay

 

[Ian Finch]

I think you can take Familygate's integrity for granted. Fake and fraudulently branded second source products are accepted products in China and Asia but it is unacceptable and generally illegal to misrepresent the origin or quality of the goods in most Western countries, where buyers can expect and afford to specify only the OEM item.

It is nothing to do with Ebay and their fantastic selling platform but the traders; where their supplies come from and their culture of selling products that match the appearance but not necessarily any technical specs. of what they purport to be.

The seller's perception is that these are toys for boys and the quality is not really important because we are just suckers chasing long obsolete parts dreams anyway. It's amazing, BTW, how many brand new products which have long been obsolete keep appearing on Ebay in substantial quantities and cheap, too. That's why people buy them and yet still can't accept that there need be a connection between cheap, rare and fake.