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Parasound's Hint 6's new volume control provides huge sonic advances?

Promotional language for the (relatively) new HINT 6 says this: "New Burr-Brown Volume Control:
The Parasound HINT 6 is packed full of technical advancements. The new, upgraded volume control replaces the original model's motorized potentiometer and sliding mechanical contacts with a Burr-Brown electronically controlled analog resistor ladder volume control. Technical advancements in the new volume control offer a more distinct sound stage by increasing the dynamic range, lowering the noise floor, improving left-right separation and maintaining absolute left-right channel tracking at any volume level."

I'm not a skeptic, but am trying to learn.

QUESTION: How does a volume control affect so many elements important to the sound?

I almost never look to the details of how an amplifier's volume control is designed. Is it this important?
128x128hilde45
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
@richtruss Thanks for that explanation -- belongs in a textbook, it's so clear! I see the kind of difference better now, and over the other range of methods. If I were comparing other options and price ranges of integrateds, I might look to see how they differed in this regard, though I still don't know the degree to which improvements in volume control  (from model to model) would matter (to my ears, at least) compared to other design elements contributing to the sound. 
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Interesting thread, I do volume control completely in the digital domain which of these methods covers that?
richtruss
163 posts
 
Ha! Got me 🙂 None, I was just referring to analogue, but Digital would of course avoid these issues, like the Lyngdorf approach, as it’s not hitting on the analogue signal.
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
  1. Whether the Para 6 is better largely depends on the connected equipment. It may track better, but that's only a small part of the perceived sound.
  2. 'Better sounding resistors'? In whose estimation and in what context? Higher precision will improve tracking. SMD reduces inductance. Metal film has negative while Carbon film has positive temperature coefficient. How will those changes react with the associated equipment?
  3. Transformer taps change impedance which may affect sonics due to LCR filter values.
  4. Varying PSU voltage introduces its own artifacts
  5. Digital audio math becomes progressively worse as signal level drops and attenuation increases.
There is no free lunch.
wolf_garcia
6,695 posts
 
The 128 step relay switched volume control in my Schiit Freya is great, it preserves an accurate channel balance, and you're never stuck in the "one click more too much, one less not enough" zone. The pleasant clicking sound it makes reminds you that it's there.
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