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PEC audio pots, where to get them?

post #1 of 13
6/21/10 at 2:34pm
Thread Starter 

I am curious about the PEC pots, are they still available? I have done some search but the only audio taper model available right now seems to be the 5K single. Where can I find the 10k and 50K models?

 

Thanks for any info :D 

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post #2 of 13
6/21/10 at 2:39pm

Digikey has both 10K & 50K ohms at the moment.

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post #3 of 13
6/21/10 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks!!  :D

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post #4 of 13
6/21/10 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 

should I get the dual pot or two singles?

 

I seem to remember (have read somewhere) that the channel matching isn't great with the PEC's.


Edited by AudioCats - 6/21/10 at 2:59pm
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post #5 of 13
6/21/10 at 5:02pm

Channel imbalance is beyond not great.  It's terrible.  They also have a tendency to go noisy. And the movement is not smooth.  If you do use one, put a resistor in line with it to help reduce the imbalance.

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post #6 of 13
6/21/10 at 6:01pm

My luck with them is 50/50, one was good, one is entirely worthless.   I'm done buying them.

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post #7 of 13
6/21/10 at 7:37pm

^^ same here..in fact am looking to replace the one in my Stacker 2 headphone amp..getting to the point where i can't live with the channel imbalance regardless of how good it sounds..even at half way point in the wiper position the imbalance is intolerable now. Coupled with the scratchiness that it has developed I am done with them.

 

 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsavitsk View Post

Channel imbalance is beyond not great.  It's terrible.  They also have a tendency to go noisy. And the movement is not smooth.  If you do use one, put a resistor in line with it to help reduce the imbalance.

 

 

 

Tried this and it just exacerbated the scratchiness 10 fold.

 


Edited by sachu - 6/21/10 at 7:39pm
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post #8 of 13
6/21/10 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks guys, I will probably go dual-mono then. Can the scratchness be tamed by a few drops of Deoxit?

 

It is a shame they can't be used in a balanced amp (because of the channel balance)... On the bright side, two mono is 1/3 cheaper than a stereo :D

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post #9 of 13
6/21/10 at 8:54pm
Quote:

Originally Posted by sachu View Post

Coupled with the scratchiness that it has developed I am done with them.

 

Tried this and it just exacerbated the scratchiness 10 fold.

 


scratchiness that got worse with the additional resistance points to DC offset on the pot which seems to get worse with higher resistance pots. I don't know the stacker schematic, but I'd look there first.

 

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post #10 of 13
6/21/10 at 9:39pm

I should have made it clear..not additional resistance..what i did was shunt the pot.

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post #11 of 13
6/22/10 at 5:18am

I'd still check for DC offset on your source like Doug recommended if you already haven't.

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post #12 of 13
6/22/10 at 6:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by n_maher View Post

My luck with them is 50/50, one was good, one is entirely worthless.   I'm done buying them.

yup.  i have a silent one in my Bijou, shunted.  my B1 buffer has some noise, but barely audible via speakers.  otherwise i have 3 other worthless pots on my bench right now.  never will i buy another PEC.  TKD all the way for me. 
 

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post #13 of 13
6/22/10 at 8:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AudioCats View Post

Thanks guys, I will probably go dual-mono then. Can the scratchness be tamed by a few drops of Deoxit?


PEC Pots are sealed: You cant clean them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AudioCats View Post

It is a shame they can't be used in a balanced amp (because of the channel balance)... On the bright side, two mono is 1/3 cheaper than a stereo :D


You could always shunt :) IMO the channel balance is good in the top 2/3 of the spin, but I do agree the start is worthless and the last bit of the first 1/3 is a little rough for matching. Design the gain of your system so that the pot is normally at half spin, or more and life is good.

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