Grand. I've seen the DACT type with SMC resistors on eBay...safe to go for? I think dual stepped attenuator isn't the worst to go for in terms of ease of use
Eli Duttman said:
Ok. Party pooper.😀 I plan on using the two 50K PEC pots I have on the new preamp I am building. The trick is to mount them fairly close together and after you put the knobs on wrap a black rubber o ring around both knobs. Then hold one knob while turning the other to get everything balanced and after that all you have to do is turn one knob or the other to adjust both channels. Kind of like the track on a tank.
I just order a bunch of these pots for a guitar amplifier because I wanted low noise long life pots. I have heard good things about them and will now have a chance to find out.
West Labs Milspec Conductive Plastic Pots
More expensive than standard carbon comp pots but cheaper then blue velvet or stepped attn. I suspect that they would work fine for hifi too.
Will let you know how they work out.
mike
West Labs Milspec Conductive Plastic Pots
More expensive than standard carbon comp pots but cheaper then blue velvet or stepped attn. I suspect that they would work fine for hifi too.
Will let you know how they work out.
mike
G said:
Belt drive as opposed to direct drive. 😀 I like the concept. However, I suspect that the low listening level mistracking complained about previously may be a residual issue.
I agree Eli.
The problem with two separate pots linked with a belt is that they could only ever be matched at one point in the rotation. Adjusting the relative offset of the two pots only makes the audio 'kick in' at the same point at the lowest end of the scale; it doesn't in any way compensate for the differences at other points over the rotation.
The ebay SMD series attenuator is great. I'm sure there are better solutions, although these will cost a lot more (I'd expect).
The problem with two separate pots linked with a belt is that they could only ever be matched at one point in the rotation. Adjusting the relative offset of the two pots only makes the audio 'kick in' at the same point at the lowest end of the scale; it doesn't in any way compensate for the differences at other points over the rotation.
The ebay SMD series attenuator is great. I'm sure there are better solutions, although these will cost a lot more (I'd expect).
Been there. Done that. Problems are:
As above.
There is always some slippage/elasticity in the belt, which makes the thing a maintenance problem.
If the belt is tight enough to minimize the above problem, the bushings of the pots (which are, after all, not designed for that sort of side load) wear fairly rapidly.
Two pots, you're better off just adjusting them independently. You get pretty skilled at it after awhile. It does remain a PITA, though.
Aloha,
Poinz
As above.
There is always some slippage/elasticity in the belt, which makes the thing a maintenance problem.
If the belt is tight enough to minimize the above problem, the bushings of the pots (which are, after all, not designed for that sort of side load) wear fairly rapidly.
Two pots, you're better off just adjusting them independently. You get pretty skilled at it after awhile. It does remain a PITA, though.
Aloha,
Poinz
If you live in Oz these are a total no-brainer.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=39258&highlight=
Under 6 bucks a pop from Jaycar (10k or 47k ganged) and make Alps sounds very ordinary indeed. I actually prefer them to a Taiwanese ladder attenuator with Dale resistors I bought on ebay.
Only problem is their small size - some people find it hard to take them seriously + they require a very steady hand to solder.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=39258&highlight=
Under 6 bucks a pop from Jaycar (10k or 47k ganged) and make Alps sounds very ordinary indeed. I actually prefer them to a Taiwanese ladder attenuator with Dale resistors I bought on ebay.
Only problem is their small size - some people find it hard to take them seriously + they require a very steady hand to solder.
I been using PEC for quite a while now. In dual mono form which I like for complete control, & dual versions that never fail. Even after a bazzilion solder/re-solder, they keep on tickin. Sound excellent. I had to throw a pair of the China 10k stepped jobs in my DAC because of down time pre/amp & out of PEC & o.k., but a couple steps do not work in variouse spots..I'll stick to PEC for now. I have had DACT & like em. but they have a sonic sig them selves also. I rember when I went attenuator crazy years back, DACT, etc,, ended w/ TVC, then slid a active pre into the mix a year later & sold the TVC immedialey...
J & G
J & G
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DACT-type-23-...ageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122
Anyone had experience of those?
L
Anyone had experience of those?
L
OT:
Hey Pyschobiker:
whereabouts in Ireland are you? Theres a few of us get together every now and again for DIY comparison etc. If you're interested email me.
On-topic:
I've bought 2 of those DACT type attenuators from ebay. They seem well made and nice enough quality. They feel even nicer if you put a big heavy knob on them. They have a great advantage in that they are quite compact/not too deep. On one amp I had to ground the body of the switch to have it noise free. On the other amp I couldn't get it completely noise free (ground hum), that was mounting it on the chassis plate where everything else was mounted. I ended up replacing it with a LDR instead - which will be my volume control of choice in the future. In each case the seller responded well and sent them quickly - I had them in a week or so.
They do sounds good, very clear and waaayyyy better than a regular pot.
On using the 2 mono pots: A friend has that on his airtight amp and to be honest it would annoy me! On that amp the pots are quite stiff and the knobs small so I don't think the o-ring trick would work.
For the few dollars, buy it made up - soldering SMD stuff in that kind of switch would be painful.
Fran
Hey Pyschobiker:
whereabouts in Ireland are you? Theres a few of us get together every now and again for DIY comparison etc. If you're interested email me.
On-topic:
I've bought 2 of those DACT type attenuators from ebay. They seem well made and nice enough quality. They feel even nicer if you put a big heavy knob on them. They have a great advantage in that they are quite compact/not too deep. On one amp I had to ground the body of the switch to have it noise free. On the other amp I couldn't get it completely noise free (ground hum), that was mounting it on the chassis plate where everything else was mounted. I ended up replacing it with a LDR instead - which will be my volume control of choice in the future. In each case the seller responded well and sent them quickly - I had them in a week or so.
They do sounds good, very clear and waaayyyy better than a regular pot.
On using the 2 mono pots: A friend has that on his airtight amp and to be honest it would annoy me! On that amp the pots are quite stiff and the knobs small so I don't think the o-ring trick would work.
For the few dollars, buy it made up - soldering SMD stuff in that kind of switch would be painful.
Fran
G said:
Transformer volume control.
Many people swear it has better SQ than pots, I havent tried one though.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.