[ai0tron]

Hi, thanks for stopping by, now that your here I'd like to ask you a few questions, please continue normally...

Someone mentioned changing the volume pot on the Melos to a stepped attenuator. Would a stepped attenuator provide enough control at low volume to avoid being inconvenient? As a preamp im not very picky about volume, but with headphones I find that it requires lots of minute adjusting to find just the right level. Is a stepped attenuator really a step above even top of the line volume pots in terms of sound quality? Also, how difficult would swapping them out be? I can do simple soldering projects like putting a couple wires onto the board or something if that's all it requires. Would upgrading all the caps be much harder or just more tedious? Is that something a novice like myself would even want to consider? Where would I get the parts? Is finding out what parts to use as simple as looking inside and reading off numbers or do I need to get a list of parts somewhere?

Now, if you have an answer, it is my humblest wish that you exchange this information with me for the full value of my gratitude.

 

[geom_tol]

It should be very simple to switch to a stepped attenuator.
Will it be possible to adjust the volume to exactly the right level you want? I don't know.
Stepped attenuator are sonically better than the best pots. But will you hear this? Possibly.

Replacing all the caps. That is a very tedious task indeed. You'd have to take them all off, check their values. Then order new ones. And with the electrolytics you'd have to check for polarity also.
Unless you can find a parts list that you know is correct.
It can certainly be done, but it will be a lot of work involved.

 

[MirandaX]

Generally it's pretty easy to install a stepped attenuator; you just have to resolder a few connections, and they're far from the main circuit board on the Melos (judging from the pictures here), so you don't really have to worry about burning out nearby components by overheating or slipping.

You should notice a sonic difference with a stepped attenuator, particularly if the volume pot on your Melos has been used a lot. Over the years, the wipers in a volume pot wear away, degrading the sound. Most volume pots sound optimal only for the first 1000 full turns or so.

A top of the line volume pot has about 10% mismatch between channels when new; a stepped attenuator should be better than 1%, or down to 0.1% if you make your own.

You can read a couple of "praise" reviews for stepped attenuator upgrades at: http://www.goldpt.com/success.html
Of course those guys manufacture them, so they may be slightly biased. (The Placette Audio web site also has wildly glowing reviews of their particular stepped attenuators.)

With a high quality stepped attenuator, you should have enough volume positions. If you really want optimal control, you can actually build one yourself (this is also more than $100 cheaper than buying one). Here's a link describing how to do this, starting from the Bottlehead Sweet Whispers kit:
http://home.att.net/~joemacjr/diypro...ttenuator.html

 

[pigmode]

The Dact CT2 (24 step)

http://www.hifi.nl/allesoverlees.asp?TekstID=1300

I think I will go with a high quality alps.

 

[KurtW]

Keep in mind that a stepped attenuator is much larger (usually in length) than a pot, so make sure there is room. You can also look at the specs for the stepped attenuator you're thinking of using to see what the difference between steps is. Particularly if you're only using one source, you can customize the steps to give you the most resolution where you need it. Often there are big steps at the lowest volume settings, so you need to make sure that you don't plan to use it there.

 

[MirandaX]

There is almost certainly enough space inside a SHA-1 for even a very long stepped attenuator, judging from the pictures someone posted here a while ago. Not sure about the SHA-Gold.

 

[ai0tron]

Thanks for the responses, my gratitude is yours. Very usefull stuff. I took a peak inside the Melos and yeah, there is lots of room inside there. I'm probably going to get one prebuilt just because I want something I am fairly certain is working properly, and because lately I just dont have the TIME.

And i did notice that most stepped attenuators seem to provide the least amount of adjustability in the lower volumes, but I am wondering what exactly those volumes would be in relationship to my current pot. Is there anyway to make an educated guess regarding that relationship? I mean if those values are whisper quiet then whats the point of having adjustability, but if those values are listenable, then it may be that I need to customize. Ill talk to some manufacturers and see what i can find out.

 

[dngl]

make sure you share your results with Team Melos... I'll be next in line if it gives a fair performance boost.