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stepped attenuators

Stepped attenuators are new to me and I must say that I'm impressed. I recently acquired a new Burson PI-160 and it leaves the older unit (which I have) in the dust. Burson says that the signal is at its weakest when going through the volume control and tried and tossed out a remote in favor of the attenuator. I can see why. I have all the detail, dynamics, nuance, tone, sound stage, etc. at lower settings that I no longer have to crank it for things to get lively. Its like each setting is all that Burosn intended (hardwired, if you will) allowing all the signal to come through undistorted. I know there's more to this unit than the volume control but I feel it must have a huge influence on the sound quality.
How do you feel about them?
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clio09
3,355 posts
 
I know there's more to this unit than the volume control but I feel it must have a huge influence on the sound quality.
How do you feel about them?

All switches impart a sonic signature. It has to do with diode effect. I suspect the reason you're enjoying the Burson has more to do with the circuit design and buffers than the switch.

FWIW - I like stepped attenuators too. I especially like the Seiden switches. However, my Lightspeed attenuator and Truth preamps (both using LDR technology) eliminate the switch from the equation and compared to other passive or buffered devices the difference is noticeable.
magnumpi205
504 posts
 
Everything has to go through the volume control, attenuator.
rbrowne
175 posts
 
I switched out a defective potentiometer in my Audio Note L3 pre-amp for a Goldpoint Stepped Attenuator and am happy with the results. More open and transparent sounding. Stepped attenuators usually eliminate L and R level mismatching often found with conventional potentiometers at lower volume settings.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
Everything has to go through the volume control, attenuator.

Yes obviously the signal goes through the switch. What I meant was that in an LDR design the sonic signature of the switch itself is not imparted in the signal. A Radio Shack switch works as well as the best Shallco stepped attenuator. There will be no difference. Here is a more technical explanation:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1276356977&openflup&548&4#548
and
[url]http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1276356977&openflup&549&4#549

As the OP indicated, Burson states the signal is weakest when it goes through the volume control. The only better solution than what Burson came up with is the LDR IMO.

FWIW, I'm getting one of these Burson units myself. They seem to have an excellent reputation.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
Be sure that the one you select allows a sufficient range of adjustment, a friend had to change his a couple of times as the first were too sensitive and allowed him to use only the first few stops. When this happens the change between stops is magnified and it is hard to get the volume you want.
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