Volume Pot and Preamp

[notakosan]

I am thinking about buying Aiyima A07 and pair it with the preamp below. For convenience volume would be controlled via the preamp:

Dayton Audio WBA31 Wireless Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Audio Receiver with IR Remote

My questions are:

• Does the volume pot impact sound quality? Because I will have a preamp, am I better off removing the volume pot?
• Alternatively I can consider buying an amp board without volume pot
• If I turn the Aiyima volume pot all the way up, would it be similar to having no volume pot at all? Or am I better off leaving the volume pot about half way up?

Thanks in advance.

 

[russc]

I wpouldn't worry about it.
Just leave the amp volume set at whatever gives the most useful range on the preamp volume.

 

[notakosan]

I wpouldn't worry about it.
Just leave the amp volume set at whatever gives the most useful range on the preamp volume.

Thanks for the reply. Is it because volume pots have minimal impact on sound quality? Seems like people talk about low quality volume pots a bit on this forum, that's why I am worried about it.

 

[rayma]

Most all pots significantly affect the sound quality, except for switched resistor controls.
You can experiment with leaving the pot at a certain setting or at maximum, though that
may increase the background noise level.

 

[russc]

So a resistor with a switch doesn't affect sound quality but a resistor with a wiper does?
Have you evidence to back this statement?
Unless the volume pot is faulty or appalling quality then no problem.
All recorded music will have passed through several.

 

[Indigent Audio]

Generally a true statement wiper pot vs switched resistors, wiper contact/degradation/oxidation are mostly the issues...the difference to most people’s ear is negligible unless the wiper pot is old or poorly cared for... for evidence try

Google

Also in general, the less pots in the chain the better...my amp has a volume pot so I built the preamp so it’s volume pot could be bypassed with a switch. 2 pots can get satisfactory results, the advice mostly would be to keep the preamp pot at the lowest practical value

 

[Indigent Audio]

Generally a true statement wiper pot vs switched resistors, wiper contact/degradation/oxidation are mostly the issues...the difference to most people’s ear is negligible unless the wiper pot is old or poorly cared for... for evidence try

Google

Also in general, the less pots in the chain the better...my amp has a volume pot so I built the preamp so it’s volume pot could be bypassed with a switch. 2 pots can get satisfactory results, the advice mostly would be to keep the preamp pot at the lowest practical value

 

[myleftear]

Here’s an interesting post about all that:

What is Gain Structure?

(It’s not about resistor/switch/wiper)

 

[rayma]

So a resistor with a switch doesn't affect sound quality but a resistor with a wiper does?
Have you evidence to back this statement?
Unless the volume pot is faulty or appalling quality then no problem.
All recorded music will have passed through several.

A mechanical pot is a rather crude device at best, and a proper switch is much better.
In a research lab you will only see switched resistor attenuators, not "pots".

The old argument that the signal has already passed through hundreds of (pots, capacitors, switches,
cables, you name it......) has always clearly been faulty, as well as been proven wrong in practice.

And by the way, Sheffield Labs set up their recording levels, and then replaced each of their expensive
recording pots with two metal film resistors to improve the sound quality of their direct to disc records.

 

[notakosan]

Here’s an interesting post about all that:

What is Gain Structure?

(It’s not about resistor/switch/wiper)

Interesting article.

Based on that article, I would think you almost always want an onboard volume pot on the amplifier, or at least some input resistors to reduce gain. You never want to feed signals coming from external preamp directly into the amplifier circuit. The reasons being:

• Almost all amplifier boards have very high gains
• This means the signals coming from an external preamp needs to be low, which decreases the S/N ratio
• The cable between preamp and amp is a candidate for introducing noise

 

[MAAC0]

Volume pot should be on the amplifier, so You can turn it down for experiments.
You touch the amplifier inputs and get a full blast of hum, noise or loud music, which can kill Your speakers.

If You don't want a pot, at least include a muting or limiting circuit of some sort.

Don't connect /disconnect cables before powering off

is usually printed in the manual, but nobody sees it.

 

[john61ct]

I want to use true balanced wires between the preamp/volume control for a long distance connection, sometimes outdoors.

I understand higher voltage is required.

What about current levels?

I don't have the speaker/power amps yet, need to use DC power from lithium battery banks as much as possible, no mains available.

So apparently a buffer / balanced-to-unbalanced board will be helpful?

Like the BTSB project? No pot, but the gain required can apparently be hard-coded?

Any feedback / suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[notakosan]

Don't connect /disconnect cables before powering off
is usually printed in the manual, but nobody sees it.

I've never seen it myself, but have certainly got my share of loud noises from touching these cables.