I have a 2 x 6sn7 preamp that has a bad VC. The original is a Noble brand, that has worked well and I found another Noble that is the same size except it is 50K. Would there be much of a change for the different value VC? I don't want to go through all the trouble of installation as it is a tight fit. Thank you for your suggestions. cheers, 808
Can i sub a 50K for a 100K volume control?
- Thread starter DAK808
- Start date
I guess I'm still not clear if the volume control is driven by the tubes in the preamp or if it is at the input (and thus driven by something outside the preamp).
If it is driven by tubes, you should show a schematic of what is driving it. Without that, it is impossible to know. The possibilities range from, "Oh it'll be fine" to "There is no way that will work well."
But if the VC is at the input of the preamp and you are driving it from a CD player, you could go down to a 10k pot easily.
If it is driven by tubes, you should show a schematic of what is driving it. Without that, it is impossible to know. The possibilities range from, "Oh it'll be fine" to "There is no way that will work well."
But if the VC is at the input of the preamp and you are driving it from a CD player, you could go down to a 10k pot easily.
Assuming the volume control is at the input of your tube preamplifier:
If your sources are tube circuits (like a tube phono preamp or tuner), then they'll have higher output impedance than if they're solid state sources (like a DAC or CD player).
If the sources have tube outputs with Zout of 5k, then you'll want at least a 50k volume control at the input of your tube preamp. But a 10k volume control would load down the output of that tube source with Zout of 5k ohms.
If you're feeding the output of an original RCA RIAA phono preamp with 12AX7 tubes to the inputs of your tube preamp, then that's a completely different story.
If the sources have solid state circuits with Zout of 1k or lower, then a 10k pot would be fine.
Precise details needed to give you a specific answer to your question.
--
If your sources are tube circuits (like a tube phono preamp or tuner), then they'll have higher output impedance than if they're solid state sources (like a DAC or CD player).
If the sources have tube outputs with Zout of 5k, then you'll want at least a 50k volume control at the input of your tube preamp. But a 10k volume control would load down the output of that tube source with Zout of 5k ohms.
If you're feeding the output of an original RCA RIAA phono preamp with 12AX7 tubes to the inputs of your tube preamp, then that's a completely different story.
If the sources have solid state circuits with Zout of 1k or lower, then a 10k pot would be fine.
Precise details needed to give you a specific answer to your question.
--
Cool, so it looks like you just have to look at the Zout of the phono preamp. If it is about 5k or less, you should be good to go.
I mean, the main consequence if it isn't is that you would have higher distortion and you might get a reduction in gain from the phono preamp due to the more difficult load and steeper AC load line.
Another suggestion:
Try a fixed resistor (100k for your original 100k pot) like described here (bottom of the page):
Resistors, Transformers, Capacitors for Tubeamps
daniel
Try a fixed resistor (100k for your original 100k pot) like described here (bottom of the page):
Resistors, Transformers, Capacitors for Tubeamps
daniel