[eastside504]

I finished building my PPA a week ago and i love the sound! Its a wonderful clean amp. Well now i want to upgrade the amp and cant decide what to upgrade. Should i replace the ALPS blue with a steps attenuator or replace the cerafine with black gates?
My PPA has 637/627, silver wiring, glassman buffers, STEPS PSU, neutrik jack, ALPS blue for volume and bass boost.
What i like to know is what will be the best bang for the buck upgrade? I guess eventually i will replace both, however as of now i can only afford one. Any suggestion will be appreticed. thanks

 

[aeriyn]

Hey, Cerafines are great caps. I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between them and BGs, except maybe the newfound pain in your wallet. =P

As for the stepped attenuator, if you've got the cash, go for it. The DACT group buy is currently on hold but maybe it'll pick back up. ^^

 

[bg4533]

Another vote for the stepped attenuator.

And since no one hear seems to know much about customs I don't think the group buy is going anywhere.

 

[amb]

Personally, I actually like a high quality pot better than a stepped attenuator. I prefer the smooth, infinitely-adjustable action rather than discrete steps. Also, since the PPA's PCB isn't designed to board-mount a stepped attenuator, you'll have to run wires to one. Such wires carry low level input signals and are in a high-impedance point of the circuit (when the volume is not at max position), and thus are subject to noise induction and crosstalk. I would do everything to minimize the length of such extra wiring, but since stepped attenuators are usually physically large and has to be located a fair distance from the pot pads of the board, it may be difficult to do.

 

[aeriyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bg4533 Another vote for the stepped attenuator. And since no one hear seems to know much about customs I don't think the group buy is going anywhere.

Why not mark them all as gifts? No duties or whatnot to pay. Audiocubes does this with nearly everything I've ever bought from them.

Amb, what is considered a high quality pot, comparable to a typical stepped attenuator? I like how the attenuators sound, but I don't like it when a volume position that I want is between two points. >.<

 

[bg4533]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn Why not mark them all as gifts? No duties or whatnot to pay. Audiocubes does this with nearly everything I've ever bought from them.

They will ship to me from Denmark in one big box with over 100 in it. I don't think customs people would fall for the gift thing. If they don't they confiscate the SAs and people come back to me looking for the $6000 or so they all cost

Audiocubes generally ships 1 or 2 of an item and can get away with this.

 

[aeriyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bg4533 Audiocubes generally ships 1 or 2 of an item and can get away with this.

I'm sure they ship more than 1 or 2 items per day. o.o Probably more like several dozen, or more. If the customs folks don't get suspicious of that... oiy.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

Grab a Goldpoint stepped attenuator. If you're good with an soldering iron go kit, otherwise, pay the additional $20 or so, and go pre-built. The mini-V is phenomenal.

Cheers!

 

[bg4533]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn I'm sure they ship more than 1 or 2 items per day. o.o Probably more like several dozen, or more. If the customs folks don't get suspicious of that... oiy.

I meant 1 or 2 items in a package to an individual. I wasn't referring to all of their sales. I would think customs would notice Audiocubes, but who knows...Maybe they only care if it looks commercial..maybe not. I am not willing to risk it though. If someone else wants to they are welcome to.

 

[Dreamslacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amb Personally, I actually like a high quality pot better than a stepped attenuator. I prefer the smooth, infinitely-adjustable action rather than discrete steps.

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeriyn Amb, what is considered a high quality pot, comparable to a typical stepped attenuator? I like how the attenuators sound, but I don't like it when a volume position that I want is between two points. >.<

I like the TKD 2CP2500 series, as well as the Noble AP25 pots. The Alps Blue Velvet is really not bad. As for being comparable to a stepped attenuator, I think the TKD is pretty dang close with its individually laser-trimmed elements.

 

[__redruM]

A simple less expensive upgrade would be a Gain Switch. Or better yet, a gain pot. And of course you could add a crossfeed. Another possibility, is adding an internal DAC. Do you have the battery board yet?

A stepped attenuator would be fine, but I don't see it fitting in the standard sized hammond case.

 

[eastside504]

I have a crossfeed board already, just haven't installed it yet. The amp and PSU will be enclose in a par metal 20 series case so i have some room. Have anyone finish their stepped attenuator from Triode Electronics? [link]http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=89307&highlight=step+attenuator[/link] Any impressions? and how does it compare to a nice TKD pot or other stepped attenuator?