Attenuators, Vishay Dale vs Dact?

[Guijs]

Hello,


I'm looking for a good attenuator for my tube pre-amp project. I was thinking about the Dact CT2 mono, but there ir a Ladder Type with Vishay Dale resistors that looks like very good. Does anyone here ever tryed these against the Dact?

http://cgi.ebay.com/for-ALTEC-Amplifier-Stepped-Attenuator-mono-pair-100K_W0QQitemZ5825357238QQcategoryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Wich one is better choice? The Dact worth the price?

Thank you.

Guilherme

 

[Mick_F]

I never tried the DACT but I have the one you found on ebay and it is very good. Others on this forum agree with this point of view 😉

Mick

 

[Guijs]

Thanks Mick. So no disavantages on this one?

 

[mr mojo]

Guijs,

Hi!

I usually post in the tube section, but I saw your post on the home page when I logged in.

I recently built my first scratch DIY tube amp and struggled with what type of pot/attenuator and which brand.

I don't know what your budget is or how soon you need your attenuator, but I thought I'd give you a heads up on what I used.

I went with a custom attenuator from Shalco-exceptionally high quality and they can be ordered in mono, stereo, log taper, any ohm value and almost any number of steps. They also use precision 1% metal film resistors in a ladder arrangement, are encased in a MU metal shielded can and have solid silver contacts. Rated number of turns is listed over 10 million.

Shalco generally manufactures attenators for military and commercial broadcast/engineering applications-I don't think there is a higher quality attenuator to be had.

I ordered a stereo 500k, log taper, make before break, 30 steps in 1.2db incrments. Cost was @$175 USD, turnaround time was about 4 weeks, no down payment needed to place order.

A mono attenuator would be @ half the cost.

I've been exceptionally pleased with mine and would never use a carbon or plastic pot for volume control ever again-attenuators truly DO make a very large difference in sound quality.

Just my $.02!

Best,
mr mojo

 

[Guijs]

Mr Mojo,


Thanks for the help! Can you give me a link to this manufacter?
I need two 100k mono attenuators. This price you told me is near of the cost of a Dact Mono.

Guilherme

 

[mr mojo]

http://www.shallco.com/frameset.html

HTH. The folks there were very friendly and knowledgeable.

Best,
mr mojo

 

[moreismore]

You could try these guys, if you don't have such deep pockets.http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/index.php?cPath=26

 

[Mick_F]

You could try these guys, if you don't have such deep pockets.http://www.diyfidelity.com.au/index.php?cPath=26

That is exactly the same attenuator as the one sold on ebay.

And, no, there are no disadvantages with this one.

Mick

 

[Guijs]

My doubt "Dact vc Ebay Ladder Type" is because Dact uses SMD components, wich is much better than common solded components. I want to know if is better enough over the Ladder type...

 

[Mick_F]

"Ladder" refers to the architecture not to the type of resistors used. You can make a ladder-type attenuator using SMD resistors, for example.....

Btw, I doubt that the Dale resistors are worse than any SMD res.

Mick

 

[HugoR]

I agree with Mick.

If you are obsessed with transparency then you should have a look at the very costly Vishay S102 series!

I am planning to build myself a stepped attenuator using Grayhill's rotary swith (not cheap) and the affordable Vishay/Dale RN60D resistors.

Hugo

 

[Guijs]

Well, I bought a pair of the Mono 100K, ladder type, with vishay dale from Ebay. Now, what do you guys recomend for a source selector, like Dact CT3? 😀

 

[Guijs]

Hello,


I did some measures in my pair of Vishay-dale ladder type attenuators, and find more than 1% of variation. The resistors are 100k but I found some with 99K, 101K, etc. Is this normal?

Plus, it have 24 positions but only 23 can be reach, how I make the connections?

Guilherme

 

[eapavant]

Well are they 1% resistors? If they are a 100k +/- 1% resistors, 99k or 101k should be in tolerance.

 

[fluckscapacitor]

I really would stay away from those cheap attenuators w/ the Vishay resistors. The switch mechanism is very poor and most of them exhibit switching noise, and they only have a life of 1-2 years before some of mine have gone bad and no longer make contact

 

[janpieterelbaas]

If you want a really good attenuator that is accurate and good built quallity? Try this one seen on the picture!

Can be found on :

http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/

and review can be read at



http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/stepped_attn_e.html

Greetings Jan Pieter