FumblingFoo
100+ Head-Fier
Interesting. How would that affect the results vs balanced?
Found the balanced version of the measurements @ http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/violectric-hpa-v281-balance.php
I was kinda crestfallen to see the THD and noise plots so laden with peaks and graph noise compared to the unbalanced measurements. Are these real distortions or something like measurement error like the first huge peak found on all THD graphs?
- Is the satandard volume control a potentiometer or stepped attenator?
That's great to know, but when I play the headphones in unbalanced mode with the music off and crank up the volume all the way @ 0db pre-gain, the noise is about twice as quiet as in balanced mode (but still pretty faint), but that's to be expected because the balanced out has about 10db more power, right?
Stepped attenuator. The other questions IDK.
The standard volume control uses an ALPS RK27 pot with 41 detents (I think it's 41). The detents are little bumps that you feel when turning the pot. It's NOT a stepped attenuator. In fact, Violectric doesn't offer a stepped attenuator option.
The basic motorized volume control also uses an RK27 pot, but without the detents. The pot turns smoothly, to make it easier for the motor. You can also adjust the pot by hand.
The relay volume control also uses an undetented RK27 pot, but in this case, an A2D converter reads the pot position and adjusts the relays accordingly (in 128 steps). The audio only goes through the relays -- never through the pot. So the control path is:
Remote -> Motor -> Pot -> A2D -> Relays
If manual adjustment wasn't necessary, the remote could directly control the relays. But the indirect approach allows both manual and remote adjustment.