cd player + preamp = too much gain

Hi Vaughan,

I would suspect that the Goldenjacks and the Rothwells (and any other similar attenuators) all differ somewhat in terms of the resistor values that the designers chose, and possibly also in their internal circuit configurations. Those differences, and how they match up with the component impedances, would likely overshadow any differences in resistor quality.

And neither manufacturer seems to have internal design details presented on their website, which makes it all hard to predict.

If the 10db attenuators seemed to have minimal sonic impact, though, and if 10db attenuation was insufficient, why not try having 10db attenuation at the preamp input and another 10db at the power amp input?

Best regards,
-- Al

Thanks Al - not sure if I'll fork out more $$ to do that test! Might just get a passive volume control and leave it set at a certain level, at least this may save the experimentation with different in-line attenuators.

Any idea as to what manufacturers have a good reputation for not altering sound too much?

Go to CIaudio.com and check out the VPC-3. I have the same problem and this takes care of it with no sonic degradation. You'll need another set of interconnects to put it between your CDP and preamp.

nifty machine, functions as a switch box too - have configured yours for non-variable outpout?