[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Luvdunhill has a REALLY nice solution - not sure if he is ready for disclosure or not. I heard it at the Dallas meet, and it really is the way forward.

It is 'common' knowledge that luvdunhill's solution is a PGA2320 (or 2310? I forget), ATTiny and rotary encoder combo. I'm using one in my Exstata, and I absolutely adore the control it offers.

It isn't a new idea...... there have been several solutions using the same chip pop up now and then, but nothing that has really made it to the mass market DIY audience. So I really hope that this one is ultimately made available to the wider community.

 

[pabbi1]

Yeah, built one of those...

It has some funky mechanical noises on switching, but the 41 steps are nice... for $250ish.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, built one of those... It has some funky mechanical noises on switching, but the 41 steps are nice... for $250ish.

That's the Acoustic Dimension switch. Not the Seiden.

se

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koyaan I. Sqatsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally I prefer to use my hand to turn a crank. Remotes are for lazy people, and are a waste of a perfectly good opposable thumb. se

doesn't work across the room unless you have gorilla arms

I didn't think too much of remote control until I started getting into it. it has all the pluses and none of the downsides, when done right. I can't understand why anyone would NOT want it, other than complexity and cost (and both are quite low compared to the 'metal shafty things' you guys are posting here for many hundreds of dollars!

relay atten and cpu could be built for way less than half that. way way less.

computer driven lightspeed for even less than that.

I think the mech shaft thingies are anachronisms. but each person has the style they are shooting for, I suppose.

 

[XXII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koyaan I. Sqatsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Both DACT and Goldpoint use the same Elma switch which uses a pair of spring loaded ball bearings that ride on teeth inside the body of the switch. The springs in the stock switches are rather stiff and give an industrial clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk feel. Elma can supply what they call a light detent spring which isn't nearly as stiff and gives a very nice tactile feel and I'm pretty sure they're the same springs that Goldpoint uses as they feel the same.

This is exactly the reason I prefer the DACT over the goldpoint. The clicks of my old goldpoint use to annoy my gf when she was sleeping. No problem with the DACT

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif doesn't work across the room unless you have gorilla arms

Or a pair of legs.

Quote:

I think the mech shaft thingies are anachronisms. but each person has the style they are shooting for, I suppose.

Yup.

Vive la difference!

se

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXII /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is exactly the reason I prefer the DACT over the goldpoint. The clicks of my old goldpoint use to annoy my gf when she was sleeping. No problem with the DACT

Should have kicked her out and got yourself a girlfriend who wasn't such a light sleeper.

se

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koyaan I. Sqatsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or a pair of legs.

it really is a lot more than just that.

tv watching with a preamp (and yes, phones amps are great preamps, too) means you need at least 1 mute level and you often have to chase the volume a lot during a show or during a change of shows or channels.

or switching between devices (tv and dac, for example). when I watch movies with my media streamer into the dac vs mp3 player into the dac, the output is a good 10db diff (media streamer is buggy but I can't fix that). so I need to change attens with input (or even output) changes.

and you also want FAST volume changes. I've recently been using a motor pot for my only input atten (really 'roughing it' for now, lol) and the time it takes to get to where I need it to be is just TOO slow for me. motor pots are great for small tweaks but they don't shuttle around very fast.

the digital ones (like the PGA) are great because they are instant, they can 'slide' (walk between the 'to' and 'from' and increment the dB values so its a smooth ramp) and they can be memorized. can't do much of that with the 'robot arm twisting a knob' kind of thing.

the only way I like the twisty knob is with some tricky stuff; such as using a motor pot and linear resistive path as a servo config; that way you can zoom directly to a digital dB point and the pot is not at all in the way (its not in the analog path and is used only as a 'valuator' to set or display the value). so you get all there is that is positive about the rotary UI paradigm and none of its drawbacks.

physical controls are just over-priced. you can achieve the same kind of look/feel - and better - for cheaper than the ways most people are thinking.

I just can't see throwing $200+ toward a mechanical thingie like that, anymore. you don't HAVE to, at least; not anymore. there are other options than frankenknob

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

I would stay with manual like some says remote is meant for non-active people...

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif it really is a lot more than just that. tv watching with a preamp (and yes, phones amps are great preamps, too) means you need at least 1 mute level and you often have to chase the volume a lot during a show or during a change of shows or channels. or switching between devices (tv and dac, for example). when I watch movies with my media streamer into the dac vs mp3 player into the dac, the output is a good 10db diff (media streamer is buggy but I can't fix that). so I need to change attens with input (or even output) changes.

Ah, ok. See, I don't use my audio system for watching TV and movies. It's strictly for music.

Quote:

I just can't see throwing $200+ toward a mechanical thingie like that, anymore. you don't HAVE to, at least; not anymore. there are other options than frankenknob

Wait'll you see my knobs. You'll WANT to touch, caress, and yes, even turn them (I say knobs because there will be two of them).

se

 

[luvdunhill]

I'm sure the amps just cannot wait to be turned on after seeing your knob.. eh.. wait.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvdunhill /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure the amps just cannot wait to be turned on after seeing your knob.. eh.. wait.

*ahem*

se

 

[linuxworks]

I'm not at all against the knob UI paradigm. I'm going to great lengths to keep it, in fact.

I don't like the expense of those click-stop attenuators. really over priced. I'm sure they perform well but I can't see myself paying those prices for that kind of thing.

relays and precision R's are not too expensive and there are quite a few designs to pick from (diy and commercial). if you are really picky you can build your own and use whatever brand of R's you want. some believe that larger sized R's tend to have lower noise levels and so you may not want the smallest built-in chip style R's that you find on some rotary attens.

the active volume controls (pga and such) won't ever be considered true high end. they have op-amps and gain stages and they don't get bypassed, not even when staying below 0db. the pga chips are very nice but they won't be in the same class as R's and wire

also, with relays, you can add as many as you want (usually stopping at 8bits). that's 256 steps. a lot of steps! find me a stepped atten with a knob that does 256 steps. and yes, you DO want more than most stepped attens give you. for real world use, you do. 7 bit is enough for me, but some want 8 and so 8 is do-able, too

 

[Juaquin]

I'm gonna throw this out here if anyone's considering the PGA route - you don't need control from a microcontroller. The datasheet outlines how to use a couple pushbuttons to do it. Of course, this won't let you use presets, fading, and all those other fancy features, but if you want simple up/down control it's hard to beat the simplicity.

 

[luvdunhill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif they have op-amps and gain stages and they don't get bypassed

actually, there are some where this isn't the case, you just have to hunt around.