RCA Line Attenuators

He may be referring to some of the links and statements on the website.

 

Well , 5V or mv ? My phono cart outputs 9.5mv, no probs. a typical CDP/DVD outputs 2V. With a small(ish) room (12X13) like mine, 80wpc receiver and 95.5 sensitivity speakers, some CDs will send you running for hills at 9 o clock on the dial. I've read old pots have the bulk of the volume well below the first third of the scale, to make up for components/recordings that used to be much less hotter than today's brickwalled CDs. To add insult to injury, my vol knob has detents, so less room for adjustments.

BUT.......since there's a dynamic expander in the signal path, with its own vol pot, it could be used for that purpose. I always had it around 70%, and moved it 5-10% to fine-tuning of the signal strenght, but since the CDP had it's own variable output level, I really never cared much. Nowadays only Oppo and McIntosh feature it, and both are way out of my league. Enter the Yamaha CD-S300, a really bare-bones, yet highly recommended budget machine.

 

Yeah 5v on the tuner..just a guess, my bad. It's LOUD!

 

It's unbelievable, period.

 

I've seen CD players 4v and higher before. I though the tuner was going to be too much for the pre-amps inputs. I put it away for awhile until I though of finding some attenuates. Now I'm enjoying it for sure. Nice little tuner with HD Radio.

 

Rothwell's attenuators start at -10db, they also sell -15db & -20db models. As a guide, their online shop suggests that -10db seems to suit most situations, but it may just come down to experimentation. I've ended up with about four different sets along the way.

 

Just installed a pair of Monacor ILA-1020 variable attenuators between my Rega DAC-R and Elex-R. Without, I was getting maximum tolerable volume at 9 or 10 o'clock on the volume dial. -20 dB gets me up to 12 o'clock. Pleased to have the extra control.

 

How odd this should resurface; I’d just asked a similar question over at PFM this week.

DVD player for CD playback - audio levels.

 

Did t you get an Oppo with variable volume, @The Pinhead ? Did this take care of your volume sensitivity issue or did you run with attenuators as well?

 

I use Rothwell both balanced and RCA attenuators between my Schiit Gumby / Auralic Vega DAC's and Monoprice Cavalli Liquid Platinum headphone amp and they work as advertised. The Cavalli had too much gain so I attenuated the incoming signal.

 

I got a pair of Rothwell XLR -10db and a pair of Harrison -6db from a fellow member, and I am still working them in my system. Too many things going on for me to take too much time experimenting, but the reduction of the Harrison RCA attenuators was not enough for my turntable chain. I will need to consider something that reduces it more.

The XLR and RCAs are now coming off my Oppo UDP-205 but still tweaking with the variable volume on the Oppo.

 

I'm using a pair of -10dB Rothwells and they've proved a perfect match on the inputs of my new Vincent SV-237MK integrated. All I wanted was a little more wiggle room on my volume control between the 9 - 12 o'clock position, and they've given me that, without any adverse effect on sound quality. Like many things, it's trial and error until you find what works, and sometimes I think that some may right attenuators off before experimenting a little. It's not always a one size fits all scenario.

 

Yes I did. Problem solved; no need for line attenuators. It also replaced my old Pioneer DV-393S, which has no HDMI output, so I''m rediscovering my concert DVDs, and also listening to all kinds of formats files (hi-rez included) from a USB stick; terrific sound. Funny thing is I don't own any Blu-Ray discs ! (donations accepted) Little availability of titles I might want to own, and priced sky-high. Anyway, the upscaling capabilities of the Oppo are unparalleled. My wife has a lowly Panasonic and the upscaling is more than acceptable (while the sound is mediocre), so guess things have changed a lot in the last decade.

On the downside (not complaining) the Oppo set me back U$ 1000, but a Yamaha CDN301 retails for U$ 890, so I got the NOS Rolls for a little more. It's a 2014 NOS BDP-103D.

 

This has probably been posted before but this handy calculator should help you figure out how much attenuation you need: Crown Audio - Professional Power Amplifiers

 

Such a rabbit hole... so there's people praising the Rothwell Attenuators, and others claim that they (and others) kill frequency response. I'd like to attenuate the output of my Musical Fidelity V-90LPS Preamp, since it is overloading my soundcard's line input with louder records.

So what would be the "safest" way to do so without risking sound degradation ?

There's also devices like the "Nobsound":
https://www.amazon.de/Nobsound-Precision-Passive-Controller-Preamplifier-Black/dp/B07GRQRNK6?th=1

I dunno wich would be the safer option ?
Technically all options would add impedance in the signal path sadly, won't they ?

 

The Harrison Labs 12db model has worked well for me and my Sangean HD Tuner. Sound quality seems fine.

 

Unfortunately those aren't available in Germany.

The Rothwell ones are, but they are pretty darn expensive (around 60€).

Now, there is more "consumer grade options" like these (the only ones that are available from german amazon)
https://www.amazon.de/Monacor-ILA-1020-Pegelminderer-vergoldete-Kontakte/dp/B0057G44WM

they technically should do the exact same just looking a bit less "bling" than the Rothwell / Harrison / xyz ones, right ?
That switch on them does concern me a little as to what is going on signal-wise there inside.

 

I tried the -10db Rothwell attenuator with my Fisher 800c. While it certainly did the trick it has too much impact on the sound, really killing the air that tubes offer. If I hadn’t been comparing the sound, the Rothwell in sonics were very nice, but once removed and listening again there was no question that they wouldn’t be going back in.

 

They don't degrade the sound, they only attenuate it. They are a resistive load, which has no effect on frequencies.

 

Thats exactly the confusion I was talking about, lol

 

Your problem is the sound card you are using to record. Input is fixed. A better audio interface will have adjustable volume controls for the right and left channels. If you can get one of those, you can probably forget about attenuators or anything else. Something like a Focusrite or Audient unit would probably do the trick. Then you would attenuate volume at the interface and adjust in your recording software as needed. Between hardware and software volume adjustment you should be able to set the levels precisely enough to make a decent needledrop.

 

I will say one more time, search for "car volume control" on the e auction site. You may be able to find a similar thing anywhere that sells auto stereo equipment. It is an adjustable passive attenuator (potentiometer) and it does not color the sound.

 

I posted this earlier on page one.

Take a look at the tour of my former audio room, which I put below my equipment profile on my member profile page.

To drop voltage only purely resistive device is required.

Purely resistive devices do not effect the frequencies that way capacitive reactance and inductive reactance will.

As I have mentioned on the first page, I own different attenuators and have used them at different points of time without incurring any issues.

The round knob that is hanging over the back of the sofa is an analog volume control knob.



In other words, it is a volume attenuation device or in simple terms a variable resistor.

It is connected inline between this tube preamplifier.



And what ever tube power amplifier that I may be using at the time, like this 845 based SET.



Which in turn, drives these vintage highly modified, Altec Lansing A7 theater speakers.



I use it because it is more convenient than trying to reach directly behind me, where I have the preamp, which does have a volume control know on its front panel.

You will also note that member @Thorensman uses them and he doesn't have any issues with them either.

 

I tried these Rothwells for XLRs from Oppo to Parasound (no tubes) and haven’t put them back for the same reason of sound impact. I REALLY wanted them to do the trick.

 

Ok Folks, I bit the bullet and ordered the "Monacor" RCA Line Attenuators.
I tried to test the claims that these devices are problematic in terms of SQ once and for all:

https://www.amazon.de/Monacor-ILA-1020-Pegelminderer-vergoldete-Kontakte/dp/B0057G44WM

They come with a 3-selection switch, "-10dB" "-15dB" & "-20dB"

I decided to compare the -10db setting and the -20dB setting to a non-attenuated one using the CBS test records frequency sweep (1000hz refference tone, followed by a sweep from 20hz to 20khz):



There is pretty much NO difference to the frequency response using these.
Just maybe a very miniscule measurable drop in the very high-end (around 19khz):



Interestingly, the "-10db" / "-20dB" marks on those attenuators are totally wrong. the -10dB setting is around -6.5dB IRL while the -20db setting is actually about -9dB)