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Shunt Attenuator Reality

Posted by Peter Qvortrup (M) on January 22, 2007 at 06:11:01

In Reply to: Shunt Attenuator Myth posted by Steve Eddy on January 17, 2007 at 17:47:22:

Dear Steve,

You used a quote from the Audio Note website, so can we add to that “The components in the shunt leg are also of course extremely high quality”, here at Audio Note we don’t do things by halves.

Secondly, of course using bog standard Ohm’s law, then you must come to the conclusion you did, as do, of course, manufacturers of consumer grade electronic appliances. We, however, are looking at high quality reproduction equipment, a world where seemingly irrational things make a difference, and where those differences can be easily heard if one cares to listen, and despite the fact that nothing shows up on the Audio Precision, one needs to dig a little deeper technically to work out why.

Conceptually, the reason why its better is because the switch contact is not in the signal path and the fact that, unlike a potentiometer (voltage divider), the signal traverses only one resistor and two solder joints (in, out). A standard volume control type potentiometer has a screen printed track of whatever material and a wiper contact. To replace the track of the volume control with a string of high quality resistors means you still have a switch contact in series with the signal, although this may be better than the pot’s wiper now instead you have just added a string of resistors and many soldered joints in series with the signal.

The shunt attenuator avoids all these problems although as always nothing comes completely without a price, and in this case the shunt has a variable load and output impedance, which rises with increasing volume, however, at more than 10dB attenuation things become less hair raising and sonically the trade off is well worth this impedance issue.

Sincerely,
Peter Qvortrup & Andy Grove

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