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Do switches color sound like potentiometers do?

post #1 of 5
2/5/12 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 

From what I understand switches are on or off, so there should be no degradation in the signal.  Am I right on this one?  I want to get a switch for my B22 build, but don't want to get anything which adds are takes out from the signal.  

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post #2 of 5
2/5/12 at 6:48pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by flargosa View Post

From what I understand switches are on or off, so there should be no degradation in the signal.  Am I right on this one?  I want to get a switch for my B22 build, but don't want to get anything which adds are takes out from the signal.  

 

When the contacts get old or dirty they can sound bad.  I have a 22 year old amp that now needs the source select switch "worked" backwards and forwards when the right channel starts making small "stuttering" noises like it is starting to cut out.  I think the buildup of dirt and/or oxide can act like diodes (I believe I read that somewhere...).

 

Make sure you select good quality switches with good (preferably sealed) contacts.

I don't think you will get much (if any) sound colouration from a good pair of gold contacts that are properly in contact with each other.  Potentiometers and attenuators have many more issues and variables due to the nature of their resistive elements.
 

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post #3 of 5
2/6/12 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by murrays View Post

 

 

When the contacts get old or dirty they can sound bad.



One of my cars which is 18 years old, the copper on the door pin switch contacts was so tarnished it didn't complete the interior light circuit to ground.

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post #4 of 5
2/6/12 at 6:44am

Why not buy a can of contact cleaner and go to town on your dirty switches?

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post #5 of 5
2/6/12 at 4:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikongod View Post

Why not buy a can of contact cleaner and go to town on your dirty switches?


Yes, I dealt with the switches a couple of years back, but that is going off topic a bit. It was a big job to dismantle first the amplifier, and then the switches. They were not good switches and the contacts (not gold) had blackened with oxidisation. Indiscriminate spraying of contact cleaner is not advisable - it usually goes everywhere except where you want it too, with adverse side effects. The problem has recurred recently, but as it is my "speaker" amp and most listening is now done via the "headphone" amp these days it can wait... (saving for a couple of better quality replacements to get it fixed once and for all).


By the way, some environments can accelerate oxidisation, e.g. sulphur fumes from thermal springs.


To the OP - if you get good quality switches you can save yourself from this hassle in the years to come. Good switches can be expensive, though.

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