I recently had to replace one of those cheapo stereo B100K pots that china graciously sells in packs of 10+ on amazon. I did not replace it with the same, instead, while looking for an ALPS pot that would fit I stumbled across a "ladder attenuator". For those who don't know, the ladder attenuator is essentially a ~23 position switch that has actual resistors across the poles, such that each "notch" gives you a specific resistance for extremely stable volume control. Mine is 23-step and it fit without a problem even though it takes up a lot more space than the tiny B100K. Obviously I could not mount it directly to my preamp board, so I had solder wire leads to the attenuator, which then soldered to the preamp.
I honestly did not expect there to be much of a difference, but WOW there is a huge difference and in a good way. I don't really know how to put it because this amp already sounded good, but with the ladder attenuator no matter which volume notch it is set to, the sound is impeccably clear and the separation between the stereo channels seems to be a lot more defined and precise. This separation makes sound come across as bigger, with more presence and a "wider" span.
The most noticeable changes happen at lower volume levels. The best way I can describe it is like this: with the regular rotary pot, when the volume is low certain sounds are more prominent than others...so you effectively end up with portions of sound that are inaudible. With the ladder pot, as long as it is set to an audible level ALL sound is audible, even subtle sounds.
So if you are want to do ONE upgrade to your amp that will produce meaningful and beneficial results, try a ladder attenuator. I am using one I got from ebay for about $25 that uses "dale" resistors. They are all over ebay.
I honestly did not expect there to be much of a difference, but WOW there is a huge difference and in a good way. I don't really know how to put it because this amp already sounded good, but with the ladder attenuator no matter which volume notch it is set to, the sound is impeccably clear and the separation between the stereo channels seems to be a lot more defined and precise. This separation makes sound come across as bigger, with more presence and a "wider" span.
The most noticeable changes happen at lower volume levels. The best way I can describe it is like this: with the regular rotary pot, when the volume is low certain sounds are more prominent than others...so you effectively end up with portions of sound that are inaudible. With the ladder pot, as long as it is set to an audible level ALL sound is audible, even subtle sounds.
So if you are want to do ONE upgrade to your amp that will produce meaningful and beneficial results, try a ladder attenuator. I am using one I got from ebay for about $25 that uses "dale" resistors. They are all over ebay.