Thanks for the reply! I can see how it makes sense that I am not driving the amp harder by turning up the volume, but something is definitely happing when I set the amp at max and add a passive volume controller? Maybe somehow the impedance matches better or I don't know what? I apologize for...

True I added a "k" now :) So far I found this helpful page: http://www.dact.com/html/technical_info.html Some things seems to suggest that 50k would be good be good, but honestly I think I am going with 10k unless someone can tell me why not to do that. It seems like the most suggest thing...

Hi Boy am I confused :D I thought building a passive preamp would be a walk in the park, but I am having some trouble grasping the concepts of impedance matching. Here is the situation: I wan't to run my Bottlehead Crack with the 100k attenuator at max, because I think it sounds better...

I have been searching this thread without finding any mention of the SQ benefits of playing the amp at full volume??? Of course normally this would mean blowing out your ears, but that's why you use a passive preamp to control the volume instead. It's a trick I picked up with my last tube...

I get your point - thank you! You imply that if I choose to install resistors they should be similar to that of the old volume control? Can it be beneficial to choose a resistor that goes well with a specific headphone (HD600) - is that a thing??

Thanks for your quick answer. I would have thought that I didnt need resistors when I have an external volume control. Or do resistors / volume pots serve other purposes than limiting the volume? I apologice for my ignorance :)

Hi, I have a diy tube amp that I didnt build myself. I will attach a picture. Problem is that the channel balance is uneven at low to medium volume and only at max is it okay. So I bought an external volume control that works great. Still I fear its not perfect. The left side is perhaps a...

Thanks for the tip! :) I will try it out when I get a chance (tomorrow most likely)

UPDATE on the Musiland 01 USD. I just got the usb converter that I settled on and as promised, here are my impressions: Setup was easy. I just installed the driver that came along with it and after waiting 10sec upon plugging it in it automaticly takes priority as primary sound driver in...

My Vsonic GR04's are unbareable to listen to without EQ. However, with EQ they are very pleasent.    The way I use it I aim to tune the sound signature of lesser phones to match my reference setup. Before I bought a tube amp, I also did add a little bass to my HD600's.

I just bought this one after a lot of reseach: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SM-PRO-NANOPATCH-NANO-PATCH-PLUS-SPEAKER-VOLUME-CONTROLLER-/321085969930?pt=AU_Pro_Audio&hash=item4ac237160a It gets good reviews. If you are looking for something even cheaper Fostex is making a volume controller called...

I will. All though I only have a crappy usb to spdif converter to compare it to. However, I can inform you as to how easy it is to setup. My laptop has a history of rejecting other sound drivers, so if it works with me I wouldn't be worried with any other source :)

Because the combined cost of my setup is around 1000$ so I couldn't justify spending four times the amount of money on a USB->SPDIF converter :)

Dude, I havn't even heard the unit yet - I just bought it. I am not saying that the Musiland is better than the ap2, but in general - you often pay for marketing and company profits when you buy hifi equipment. I am sure that you yourself have experienced an expensive piece of equipment that...

Thank you for your help, but I strongly disagree with that statement within the world of hifi :D 

I ended up buying the Musiland Monitor 01 2012 edition (should be very different from earlier version) after reading this review: http://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/musiland-devices-reader-review/     Maybe I will buy something to clean up my USB power, but 58$ for this!!!: Even...

That makes sense to me. My DAC has a dedicated power supply with 2x DC outputs: The plug is a 8-pin DIN. Do you know a USB converter with a 8-pin DIN power input?

That looks great! I might just go ahead and buy that one.

Hmm, would it be possible to (more or less) agree on a point of diminishing returns for USB converters? By that I mean: is a M2tech hiface v1 for example, good enough for further improvements to be not worth the money?  I would also really love to hear, if you could recommend specific...

My thought exactly. Unfortunately I cannot since my amps potentiometer is kinda bad. The amp works best on max volume and I am still waiting for my external volume controller to arrive. Still, as you hint at. This is a good opportunity to test how much of a difference a good usb converter...

Thanks for your response. As I said - I got this DAC at a great price. Besides - wether the USB data is converted within or outside of the box is not going to make that much of a difference I think. If you look at the way USB is implemented in DAC's it is to my knowledge often a seperate...

EDIT: Thanks for the help. I bought a Musiland 01USD 2012 edition which recived good reviews: http://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/musiland-devices-reader-review/ The thread has so far not let to any conlusion regarding the importance of a quality USB -> spdif converter and nor has anyone...