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HighFidelityGuy
18-03-2010, 16:50
A few weeks ago I realised that I had too much gain in my system as I couldn't get the volume control on my preamp much above 9 o'clock without causing hearing damage. It was something I'd just not really thought about until I stumbled across an old review of the Rothwell Attenuators (http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/html/attenuators.html) in a back issue of HiFi+.

http://www.rothwellaudioproducts.co.uk/images/inline_attenuators_small.gif

I remembered reading about these years ago and the improvements they could make by allowing you to use your volume control around the 12 o'clock where they generally sound better. So I decided to give a pair of these a try. They're usually £39 a pair but I was lucky and found some on ebay which I got for about half price. This had the added benefit of them already being burnt in.

I installed these last night in between my Caiman DAC and my passive "preamp". I'm happy to say they that they definitely made an improvement in my system. I'm now able to set the volume control at 12 o'clock to achieve my preferred listening level with most music. This has improved the sound stage a little and made the volume control much less "jumpy". What I mean by jumpy is that as the pot is logarithmic and I'm now using it higher up it's range, small movements to the dial only make small changes to the actual volume. Before it was sometimes difficult to get the volume just right via the remote as it jumped a bit too far. Also, the fact that I'm only attenuating one input on my preamp means that the other inputs are unaffected. So I'll be able to use another input for my phono stage which will already have a lower output voltage than my DAC.

The build quality on these devices is very nice and they're very easy to install. I've also not noticed any reduction in sound quality which was something I was a little worried about seen as they're an extra obstacle for the audio signal. I guess they must cause a slight reduction in sound quality but it must be extremely small.

So overall these little widgets have made quite a substantial improvement to the level of enjoyment I can get from my system, so they were definitely worth 20 quid and are still quite reasonable at £40. I'd certainly recommend them to anyone suffering from excess gain. :)

The Vinyl Adventure
18-03-2010, 17:09
Paul (primalsea) makes his own version too... i use his within my system when i want a bit more control over the stepped attenuator... the difference in sound quality is not noticeable as far as i can tell in my system (although it is quite hard to tell with such vast differences in volume)

Themis
20-03-2010, 08:16
Nice review Dave. :)

I'll get a pair of these for testing, I think. Thanks you two. ;)

camtwister
20-03-2010, 09:34
You may also wish to experiment with Goldenjacks attenuators.

Scoot over here:

http://www.goldenjacks.com/

Iain, the person who builds these, made a pair to my specification at a fair price. The quality of work was of a high standard. I have no connection with the company or individual.

I've had excellent results using them to match genuine line level outputs (at a healthy 775mV) to equipment with input sensitivities below 100mV, particularly common on vintage gear.

As an aside, perhaps Haselsh1 would benefit from in-line attenuation before his Croft Micro Basic pre? He often says that he suffers from not having unity gain in his system.

Joe
20-03-2010, 10:13
i've got a pair of Rothwell attenuators sat in a drawer unused (I had the power amp sensitivity adjusted recently so don't need the attenuators any more).

I'm happy to let these go for a charity donation, so anyone interested please PM me and the first to respond secures them.

The Grand Wazoo
20-03-2010, 10:45
Dave,
I don't know if you've done it, but it may pay to try placing them in all the possible different locations to find which sounds best. I used to use 20dB pads in a pre-power amp link & they were infinitely better at the power amp end.
The way I see it, you have several possible places you could put these in your set up.


Caiman output
Pre input
Pre output
Power input

Try them all & keep your ears open for rolled-off treble.

twelvebears
20-03-2010, 15:21
These look like a good option for me actually. The volume of my M3 is always right at the bottom end and getting the subtle adjustments right with the remote is a pain.

should be easy to fit as the pre and power sections are actually connected internally with actual phone cables (short ones) so I can insert them before the power amp section and benefit on all sources.

Actually I think I'll get Mark Grant to make me a couple of mini GHDs....

Joe
20-03-2010, 16:50
Rothwells have now been snapped up!

Cheers

Joe

Haselsh1
21-03-2010, 11:10
You may also wish to experiment with Goldenjacks attenuators.

Scoot over here:

http://www.goldenjacks.com/

Iain, the person who builds these, made a pair to my specification at a fair price. The quality of work was of a high standard. I have no connection with the company or individual.

I've had excellent results using them to match genuine line level outputs (at a healthy 775mV) to equipment with input sensitivities below 100mV, particularly common on vintage gear.

As an aside, perhaps Haselsh1 would benefit from in-line attenuation before his Croft Micro Basic pre? He often says that he suffers from not having unity gain in his system.

I agree totally with what you say but I am eventually going to send the preamp back to Glenn Croft to have the resistors changed. I would do it myself but it may never work again.;)