
Originally Posted by
anthonyTD
My own personal reasons for using Switched attenuators were founded a long time ago,the main one being Accuracy,over conventional pots etc, Therefore i needed a good Switched attenuator that not only performed well sonically, but was reliable, and would fit into the space i had available, i also knew the switch type that DACT use as i had used versions of it too in earlier products, those were the initial reasons for choosing the DACT type, however, i also believe that the small footprint of the components lessen the problems that can be associated with larger, conventional resistive elements, ie; contact areas of the resistor material to connection ends, and the affect vibration has on each type etc. As for one type being sonicaly better over the other, well, that is always going to be subjective, as Marco has found by replacing certain material types in his experiment, however, in my opinion, the positives of switched attenuators on the whole, made from either surface mount, or conventional resistive elements[what ever the material] compared to conventional pots are always apparent to me.
I would love to see evidence of changes in sound due to vibration in resistors in domestic or professional audio applications, got any?
FYI: In the aerospace industry component performance under severe vibration is a apparently a critical performance test, NASA apparently recommend that resistors (the metal element) are connected into circuit with a flexible intermediate conductor IE a thin wire....presumably because the wire acts like a vibration absorber of some sort increasing the reliability of the part....I can't imaging anything in audio that would be comparable....
Listening in a Foo free Zone...
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.