jtfoo 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 They are just different type of volume pot. The blue alps is decent for most cases, esp when you're on the budget. I used them alot since the other alternatives are much expensive. But if digi01 can get the stepped attenuator cheaply, then got for it. I have no experience with china's stepped attenuator, but some I heard some are those 'break before make' type, the downside is you'll hear 'pop' evertime you turned the volume knob. The expensive one e.g DACT. are 'make before break', so no 'pop' sound. Maybe Huangyong or others can comment on the china attenuator whether they are which type. Never tried black gates, coz they are too expensive for me and for what I read, they takes along time to break in. But many swear by it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squalle 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 agree with jtfoo I've read some cases abt the pop. physically, it's due to the break before contact to the next one, then potential difference in close proximity will cause spike, hence the pop. but how irritating this thing is, is very subjective. search in head-fi. read ppl's comments in that forum before Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 Din realise that there are some many types of different volume pots around til I started to jump in. Used to think the blue velvet is already the best around. Btw, just found out ALPS is the name of the company that manufacture the pot. See, I'm learning fast. Anyway, wat's the advantage that stepped attenuators have over pots? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squalle 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 I think I've mentioned stepped attenuator that is properly done (matched and connected properly) will have superior balance between L and R channels next, if it's made out of very tight tolerance resistors, then you can expect a far better stability Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 I think I've mentioned stepped attenuator that is properly done (matched and connected properly) will have superior balance between L and R channels next, if it's made out of very tight tolerance resistors, then you can expect a far better stability Thanks for the info squalle, from what I have learnt from you guys, I'm inclined to try out the step attenuator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squalle 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 sample pic of a stepped attenuator: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtfoo 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2006 Anyway, wat's the advantage that stepped attenuators have over pots? As mentioned, Stepped attenuator has extremely good traking between left/right, depending which type of resistor you used 1% to 0.1% error. Blue Alps are normal carbon pot, the cheapest type, errors can be as bad as 20%... Also with stepped attenuator you can choose to use metal film resistors (who wouldn't), lower noise, better stability wrt to temp than carbon. A good article to read on pots, though he missed out on the attenuator. http://sound.westhost.com/pots.htm . This site also contains alot of other articles when I learned most of my stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2006 Thanks for the article, jtfoo. Really let me learn more about pots. Anyway, finally settled to get digi01 to assemble a Zen for me. Thanks for all the recommendations and help from all of you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiv 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2006 Hi! I just bought a new Grado SR-125. May I know how much will this amp cost? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2006 Changed my mind on the Zen, will be getting a MJ instead... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
