Do You Miss Knobs and Dials and Switches?

[EJ3]

You are welcome, unfortunately a classic manual isn't really expedient on smartphones as their OS and behaviour changes depending on the version and on the apps you have installed and settings you have done, but there are many online helps and tutorials. I also prefer classic manuals but with this adaptive devices I guess we have to get used to their different approach.

After my car accident & having 3 cervical vertebrae fused together, using a phone to look at something (or sitting at a computer & doing the same) gets painful to the point where thinking is not a happening process. The only way I seem to be able to learn something like this is for someone that knows it to be able t quickly show me how (or for them to be able to set it up for me.
There is much I cannot do if it takes more than a few minutes.
It's very difficult when you can't even complete picking doing your own laundry in your own home without taking 15 to 20 minute breaks every 10 minutes or so.
I'll find someone that can get it done for me.
But without you telling me, I would not have known that was possible. I have mentioned my issue to many people over several years & not one told me that this was possible.
So, again, thank you!

 

[EERecordist]

Someone should release an audiophile approved smartphone for Spotify listening. Something like this:

View attachment 434425

The people who used those really like them. There are many interviews of location sound recordists who use them on YouTube. Sadly Aaton folded and software support ongoing is unlikely. There is a good argument that source code and the toolchain should be archived, then released to the customers when the business closes. It would be an extension to the right to repair movement.

All of our digital devices will have short software lives. It takes a lot of resources from a company like Apple to maintain the software for hardware, especially anything involving security connected to the Internet, for 6-8 years. Intel has a large software group that builds and maintains software libraries and compilers. They feed the open source projects. They produce little revenue and are vulnerable.

I can't imagine mixing without faders and gain riding is a form of compression.

 

[Anton S]

I like knobs. It's interesting that music player apps model them often. There appear to be libraries/apis that support this because I see graphically similar "knobs" in a lot of apps. I find them more convenient than sliders and infinitely more convenient than pushbuttons or their touch screen equivalent.

Having spent decades working with myriads of buttons, knobs, sliders, and toggle switches, I would say that my preference for the type of control depends the intended function. For selecting a particular source or recalling specific memory settings from, say, a tuner or equalizer, I prefer pushbuttons to any other type, but give me a rotary control for volume or manual radio tuning.

 

[Ericgeers]

I miss the vintage Sansui look with all the knobs and switches.

Yes the black Sansui’s are beautiful! I love the Japanese amps from that era. They are bulletproof and good looking. But I will raise you one better imho. The Yamaha CA-1010 is to me the most beautiful amp ever made maybe..? After a complete overhaul it now functions even better than spec, better than when it first left the factory 50 years ago. I specially love the feel of the knobs and switches. It’s a keeper.

 

[Ericgeers]

@MattHooper Do you remember the early-mid 1980s in HiFi?

We went from knobs and physical switches to electronic touch controls, up/down micro controlled with mimic style indicators and flat panels with little to no protrusions. Slider pots instead of rotary. Some brands did it well, others were just a mess.

Think of that beautiful Sansui above in the thread and then within a few years they had this atrocious thing:
View attachment 432321

Akai did it well, even in their midi range. Notice, not a knob in sight. And those awesome flow charts...
View attachment 432322


It was generally (not always) a horrible time stylistically for mid-fi and some hi-fi. Lots of plastic, space age laser stuff with flow charts illuminated diagrams on the front panels etc.

Then we thankfully went back to proper controls and clean designs for about 10 years until the wretched home theatre craze went up a notch and design went out the window again. We are just at the end of it IMO, peak adoption of stupid touch panels and useless indicators, fake VU meters and tons of lit-up garbage that just distracts from the music.

I eschew remote controls now. And I was a full-on early adopter of universal/learning remotes back in the late 1980s, programmable to control everything and anything (even my A/C) and any bit of HiFi with an IR window or link. Now I hate remotes for my HiFi. I love interacting with the gear and the physical music. No streaming for me. And I've tried it, often. It sucks the life out of high fidelity for me. The remotes are without batteries in their boxes or in the remote drawer.

I just bought a new dishwasher and it has bluetooth/wifi connection and its own app. Ridiculous. Clever for sure, but is this where we are in 2025? Of course, the first thing it did (brand new) was download a giant "security update" that took 15 minutes to download, install and reboot. And I get hundreds of recipes- wow that's useful. Remote control of everything. Suggesting to me when is the best time to turn on based on my usage. etc.

What is that black box? What does it do? Did it catch on in any part of the world? It is an abomination!

 

[Waxx]

how nice to hear that!!! I never get up before 10:30 every day of the year! only if I have to take a plane I make the exception! I hate the morning, I love going to bed late!

I use to be like that, now i wake up at 5AM without alarm, and enjoy the quietness of the early mornings. I mostly go sleep arround 10PM also because i'm really tired then. Before my 40's it was never before midnight, mostly arround 2am actually and i never woke up before 9am without a series of alarms (one was not enough).

I don't know how that changed, but it did, and quiet radically and fast arround my 40th birthday.

 

[EJ3]

I'

I use to be like that, now i wake up at 5AM without alarm, and enjoy the quietness of the early mornings. I mostly go sleep arround 10PM also because i'm really tired then. Before my 40's it was never before midnight, mostly arround 2am actually and i never woke up before 9am without a series of alarms (one was not enough).

I don't know how that changed, but it did, and quiet radically and fast arround my 40th birthday.

I turned 68 last Saturday, so it's not age (at least not for me).
In fact, it's about 9:20 AM here now & I'm getting ready for bed.

 

[ManniX]

I really like knobs, not too many but where it makes sense.

Where I miss it, is to control volume on foobar when listening to the DAC.
I have the Yamaha's Amp RCU but it's not the same.
Was delighted when Fosi presented the VOL20:

Fosi Audio VOL20 Bluetooth Volume Control Knob

Multimedia Volume Knob: The VOL20 is a versatile desktop volume controller with Bluetooth wireless and USB-C connectivity, offering real-time volume adjustments. Perfect for music lovers, gamers, and professionals who demand precise volume controlMulti-Functional: Simple yet versatile, the...

fosiaudio.com

But it turned out to be a pricey piece of junk with mechanical and Bluetooth issues.

Is anyone aware of a similar alternative?

 

[wadude]

Interesting having the opportunity and luxury to look back on life transitions, mostly smooth but with defining moments along the way. I guess that’s when we start talking about chapters.

From a knobs and switches perspective, I preferred the days when they were clearly marked, the transition to black on black harkens back to the concept of “hidden headlights,” often times with one headlight stuck halfway open, which is about as far from “cool” as you can get.

My brother favored Marantz and his daily driver is still a 2270. Once I delved into tubes and after moving through various Heatkit and Eico components, it was the Dynaco PAS2, with the useful switching between mono and stereo, as well as the capability of listening L or R through both speakers; fantastic for listening into mixes. Plus there was room for every type of source relevant at the time. Phono, AM and FM tuners, cassette, CD. Flexible tone controls and loudness. Somehow all those sources have been whittled down to one, although the others and their related software accessories are hanging out on shelves, mostly as historical artifacts and conversation pieces.
Remember these?

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Having spent decades working with myriads of buttons, knobs, sliders, and toggle switches, I would say that my preference for the type of control depends the intended function. For selecting a particular source or recalling specific memory settings from, say, a tuner or equalizer, I prefer pushbuttons to any other type, but give me a rotary control for volume or manual radio tuning.

Pushbuttons are great as switches. My knob preference is for volume, radio tuning, and adjustments along a continuum.

 

[MattHooper]

I really like knobs, not too many but where it makes sense.

Where I miss it, is to control volume on foobar when listening to the DAC.
I have the Yamaha's Amp RCU but it's not the same.
Was delighted when Fosi presented the VOL20:

Fosi Audio VOL20 Bluetooth Volume Control Knob

Multimedia Volume Knob: The VOL20 is a versatile desktop volume controller with Bluetooth wireless and USB-C connectivity, offering real-time volume adjustments. Perfect for music lovers, gamers, and professionals who demand precise volume controlMulti-Functional: Simple yet versatile, the...

fosiaudio.com

But it turned out to be a pricey piece of junk with mechanical and Bluetooth issues.

Is anyone aware of a similar alternative?

I had a thread about volume knob controls, plenty of people participated with all sorts of different ideas and products. So you might find some leads on this thread:

My Kingdom For A Remote Volume Knob! can this be made?

I was watching an old Darko video in which he discussed his appreciation for being able to control an audio system with a remote volume knob. He gets to the "why" of this around 51 seconds in: I was like: YES! Someone gets me! I place a high value on the combination of ergonomics and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[mglobe]

I had a thread about volume knob controls, plenty of people participated with all sorts of different ideas and products. So you might find some leads on this thread:

My Kingdom For A Remote Volume Knob! can this be made?

I was watching an old Darko video in which he discussed his appreciation for being able to control an audio system with a remote volume knob. He gets to the "why" of this around 51 seconds in: I was like: YES! Someone gets me! I place a high value on the combination of ergonomics and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I'm using this: Xencelabs Quick Keys. It connects with a USB dongle to the Mac Mini that is my Roon server, and through a Roon API and MiniDSP API, it controls Roon and also the MiniDSP Flex. It's a quality device that can be customized. It took me some time to figure out how to make it do what I wanted it to do, but I'm not much of a computer expert.

 

[tinnitus]

The answer is NO.

 

[ManniX]

I had a thread about volume knob controls, plenty of people participated with all sorts of different ideas and products. So you might find some leads on this thread:

Oh yes thanks, very interesting.
Exactly what I was looking for.

The answer is NO.

Indeed, there's no alternative to the VOL20 unfortunately.

I'm using this: Xencelabs Quick Keys.

I was more leaning toward the DOIO 3 but the version with double knob is only wired.
The wireless version with single knob and display is wireless but it costs almost like the Xencelabs and there's no review or feedback around about it.
While it's not the form factor I had hoped for, seems to be very high quality and the best alternative so far.
Love that the keys can be recognized with tactile, attention to details.
At 109€ on Amazon is definitely easy and affordable.

 

[mglobe]

Oh yes thanks, very interesting.
Exactly what I was looking for.



Indeed, there's no alternative to the VOL20 unfortunately.



I was more leaning toward the DOIO 3 but the version with double knob is only wired.
The wireless version with single knob and display is wireless but it costs almost like the Xencelabs and there's no review or feedback around about it.
While it's not the form factor I had hoped for, seems to be very high quality and the best alternative so far.
Love that the keys can be recognized with tactile, attention to details.
At 109€ on Amazon is definitely easy and affordable.

So you could look at this as a plus or a minus, but the Xencelabs device works off a usb dongle instead of your computer BT. I see it as a plus because the connection is robust and fast. I tried a Surface Dial for a while and it was neither.

 

[ManniX]

So you could look at this as a plus or a minus, but the Xencelabs device works off a usb dongle instead of your computer BT. I see it as a plus because the connection is robust and fast. I tried a Surface Dial for a while and it was neither.

Both a plus and a minus indeed; I'd even get the VOL20 if it wasn't for the BLE issues.
But also as you said the latency makes a big difference, hopefully my busy USB chain will not collapse.

 

[KLi]

Not so much knobs and dials but nice woodgrain. I bought my Linton partly because of that. I even modded the front of my media pc with fake woodgrain. It looks fake but adds some cozy
Lately I have seen a renaissance in woodgrain and knobs. I hope for the best.

 

[KLi]

I really like knobs, not too many but where it makes sense.

Where I miss it, is to control volume on foobar when listening to the DAC.
I have the Yamaha's Amp RCU but it's not the same.
Was delighted when Fosi presented the VOL20:

Fosi Audio VOL20 Bluetooth Volume Control Knob

Multimedia Volume Knob: The VOL20 is a versatile desktop volume controller with Bluetooth wireless and USB-C connectivity, offering real-time volume adjustments. Perfect for music lovers, gamers, and professionals who demand precise volume controlMulti-Functional: Simple yet versatile, the...

fosiaudio.com

But it turned out to be a pricey piece of junk with mechanical and Bluetooth issues.

Is anyone aware of a similar alternative?

You could try the Microsoft Surface Dial. A similiar knob, works in Windows, sadly not in Linux.

 

[aschen]

This is peak UI for me. Old enough to have knobs and switches, new enough to have a remote.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

My system uses no knobs, dials or switches (except for power switches that are either permanently on or switched by signal). I have a keyboard, mouse and monitor to which have added an external single-knob, all channel volume control. No distractions.