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Hello kit builders,ABliss' recent M3 pre build has got me thinking about stepped attenuators. He put in Goldring Mini V monos and reports that he likes the sound and control. I'm leaning toward the Goldring stereo version as I do like having the balance control.
This would replace the current TKD pot. Does anyone have any experience with the AN attenuators or forsee any issues with me using this or any other?
Doug
as i said in my post i havn't tryed it yet, when i have finished building my AN kit pre i will. its only the cost of the resistor to try it out after all
it would be a little tricky to impliment in my old pre and i want to concentrate on my new one
brian told me some people prefer noble pots in pre amps and tkd in powers
i too would be interested to hear why you didn't like stepped attenuators simon ?richard
hi dougi've not tryed a stepped att. but another alternative is to do a shunt pot mod
here you put a single resistor (whatever your fav type is) in the signal path of about 90% of the value of your pot. you connect the pot between the signal and earth. so then you have no switch contacts in the signal path ! sound too good and simple to be true ? well, your max volume is reduced and source and input impedance are affected but wether these would be a problem would depend on your set up. i gather people have had very good results with this. maybe there's others out there with experience who'd like to comment ?
i haven't tried this yet but am currently building an AN pre amp and intend to try this out
regards
richard
Hi Doug and Richard,
I do not like stepped attenuators (not pleasant !).
I have tried shunt pot mod on another preamp with cheaper pot and it works fine. On my M3 I did not try it because I am satisfied of the
TKD and I did not want to have volume limitation and impedance changes
but you can try it on your preamp it is very easy to do.
Gilbert
I have done it on a AES DJH Sig. with Caddock resisters, and all it does is reduce the volume by a few dbs. It still doesn't make the pot as useable as a 24 step attenuator. Plus the precision and sound quality of the attenuator is superior.AB.
Gilbert and Richard, thanks for your responses. The shunt pot mod intriques me, and I may try that before going forward with any other changes. Richard, have you tried the AN tantalum resistor in this position to hear it's impact?Gilbert, what did you find unpleasant about stepped attenuators? Was it operational, sonic, or ?
Thanks again for your replys,
Doug
well i finally got round to replacing the metal film resistors i had used in the shunt pot mod with AN tants
was surprised to notice a big difference for changing one resistor. much less nasty top and much more lovely midrange and bass tone
No it's just a matter of precision between 2 steps and
less pleasant to operate.
whoops sorry. i posted a reply and its gone in higher up the thread
