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In Reply to: Shunt Attenuator Myth posted by Steve Eddy on January 17, 2007 at 17:47:22:
I use a shunt attenuator because it sounds great. I have never said the shunt element is not important....everything is equally important. Yes, the resistor ground and the switch used and the wire used and the solder used all make a difference, a big difference. The signal path in a shunt attenuator is the shortest of any attenuator....you can solder the series element directly from an input jack to the circuit and use relays or a switch to switch nude damped Vishays or whatever to ground....sounds more transparent than any series or ladder attenuator that I have ever heard. Its drawbacks are a changing input impedance and always having a resistor in the series path (not a drawback in most uses).However, I will say that using a nude damped Vishay as the series element and using a $1.00 Radio Shack Alps pot to ground is REAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY good.
Follow Ups:
Makes sense to me, Ric.
I use a shunt attenuator because it sounds great.
That's fine. Ultimately that's the only reason why you should use any particlar thing.
I have never said the shunt element is not important....
And I have never said you did say that. Only saying that some have said that. Or rather they have said that the quality of the shunt resistor isn't as important as the quality of the series resistor. And it's that notion that I was addressing.
However, I will say that using a nude damped Vishay as the series element and using a $1.00 Radio Shack Alps pot to ground is REAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY good.
Great.
But that means either there's no difference to speak of between a nude damped Vishay and a $1.00 Radio Shack Alps pot, or it could sound a WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE lot better with the Vishays in the shunt position as well.
se
RicWhat would you use to damp a resistor ? And why does the Radio Shack $1.00 alps pot sound so good ? I'm using Riken resistors in Voltseconds 5S arrangement , sounds great . But I've always found great can get better :-)
TIA
You can damp a resistor with all kinds of different material...please experiment...they all have a different sound...if you have any resistor or cap or whatever hanging in space you have a tuning fork.I am not saying that an Alps pot sounds state of the art for the shunt element....just a nude Vishay and cheap alps pot to ground will blow most any other attenuator away and is pretty darn cheap (the definition of DIY for many....how cheap something is)...not my definition....I try to use the best parts I can afford....a nude damped Vishay to ground will kill the alps pot....but a whole bunch of nude Vishays and a switch will set you back a plenty.
Would you use something like C37 or Herbies dots or nail polish ? Just want to get an idea where to start but not necessarily what you use , I'm sure that's propietary .
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