Do You Miss Knobs and Dials and Switches?

[robh36062]

No I have enough to keep me satisfied.

Rob

 

[voodooless]

Man, you guys really love your knobs

I must say, I really love those classic audio systems as well. There is something to say for those tactile switches and knobs. The look and feel of those things are just exquisite.

But! But I’m a lazy f*ck, and getting up from my couch to change the volume, or anything else is cumbersome. So I do welcome our new digital overlords when it comes to remote controlling everything from my phone

Best of both worlds? Yes please!

 

[Mean & Green]

I would miss them if I didn’t still have plenty of them. Nothing better than a satisfying click of a switch or relay, or a twist of a dial. Instant results with no latency or lagging and a nice feeling of tactile interaction.

The thing I dislike about my streamer is its complete lack of any need to touch it. Once it’s turned on I just need an iOS device to operate it, which yeah it’s convenient but it’s not an experience, it holds no sense of occasion.

 

[MattHooper]

Best of both worlds? Yes please!

This one looks very compelling:

The problem for me is that it’s for computer-based audio, and I needed a volume knob that could learn the IR commands of my legacy equipment.
That was a product that essentially didn’t exist, which is why I had to have one made.

 

[MattHooper]

Here’s the Darko video where he is discussing the appeal of volume knobs.
This is the video that got me off my butt, reminding me that’s what I wanted:

 

[Mart68]

View attachment 432534

Sony XB930QS - very nice, one of the few things I regret selling. Better build quality than a lot of the ES.

 

[Mean & Green]

Sony XB930QS - very nice, one of the few things I regret selling. Better build quality than a lot of the ES.

Yes it’s been a really brilliant CD player, still works as well as the day I bought it. Nice feel to it and slick in operation I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s my forever CD player unless it fails in a catastrophic way.

I love it.

 

[Gorgonzola]

A high level of knob absurdity was achieved with the Yamaha C-1 preamplifier.

 

[Robin L]

(And yes, I resisted calling this thread “ Show us your knobs!”)

But seriously folks . . .

I don't mind using my laptop as an interface at all. Basically, I use it as a lookup device for Tidal. I also use the parametric APO EQ. Like that interface a lot. I adjust volume via the knob on my Topping L30, usually have the three-position switch for overall gain set to its highest level unless I'm using IEMs which rarely happens. My Yamaha RX-V461 AVR has its volume level set to -25 db. It has rocker controls to adjust treble and bass, they don't work nearly as well as the APO EQ. My DAP and smartphone both have tactile controls to adjust volume, the DAP also has EQ that doesn't work all that well. The DAP has ALAC files, the smartphone has access to Tidal. The smartphone sounds better.

Almost forgot - have two remotes I use a lot, one for the Sony Blu-ray player (my unit for playing CDs via the Topping E30 DAC) and the remote for the E30 to switch between the Blu-ray player and the laptop. As I only have a few buttons I need to access on either control, no problem.

 

[Drakon]

Yes and no. My amplifier with a smooth face looks really nice. Like art. No remote. No meters.

The two knobs and power switch on the big AV receiver makes for a clean and purposeful appearance. The remote has all the buttons I could ever need.

But I do miss the switches and knobs on the newer cars receivers. I've passed on a newer version of my car because the manufacturer has gone full tactile controls.

And I loved the illuminated sliders of my old BSR graphic equalizer.

Love these while you can. Manufacturer price points, component failure concerns and component availability will eventually lead us to a world of no moving parts.

 

[mhardy6647]

A high level of knob absurdity was achieved with the Yamaha C-1 preamplifier.

Yeah, but.... ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

[mhardy6647]

View attachment 432536

But seriously folks . . .

I don't mind using my laptop as an interface at all. Basically, I use it as a lookup device for Tidal. I also use the parametric APO EQ. Like that interface a lot. I adjust volume via the knob on my Topping L30, usually have the three-position switch for overall gain set to its highest level unless I'm using IEMs which rarely happens. My Yamaha RX-V461 AVR has its volume level set to -25 db. It has rocker controls to adjust treble and bass, they don't work nearly as well as the APO EQ. My DAP and smartphone both have tactile controls to adjust volume, the DAP also has EQ that doesn't work all that well. The DAP has ALAC files, the smartphone has access to Tidal. The smartphone sound better.

All y'all do know of the famous/infamous Westminster Gold album covers, yes?
... this is why us old guys aren't ready to give up our vinyls, you see?

Westminster Gold Series

A classical recordlabel which made fame in the early 1970’s with unusual album sleeves These covers were mainly the work of Christopher Whorf for pieces by Tchaikovsky, Richard Wagner, Ludwig…

musiceureka.wordpress.com

 

[MattHooper]

I consider this to be at our near the peak of audio aesthetics:

Shades of “ the most beautiful speakers in the world” thread, we have very, very different ideas for peak audio aesthetics. I get that it has plenty of knobs and dials, but that looks more like something that would welcome me at the gates of hell.

Opinions… I got a million of ‘em….

 

[tmtomh]

I went back-and-forth with the company designing my remote volume knob to get the volume increments and action just right for my taste. So the volume did not move up too fast or too slow when turning the dial.

Another thing I like about having the volume knob right beside me when I’m listening as I don’t have to even look at it to operate it, and the volume knob gives me a really good feel for how much I have turned up the volume.

With a remote control it was about pressing down a button and either looking at the volume read out or just listening until the volume got to the right point. With the volume knob, I know that I have turned it up a quarter turn and can immediately turn it back back down to the same quickly, and I have a really fast idea of where to turn the knob to get the volume I want.

By the way, as to volume knobs on pre-amplifiers, I don’t know if you’ve ever operated a SIMAUDIO preamp but their volume knob is a thing of beauty to operate.
Large, silky smooth, nice big read out for older eyes:

View attachment 432517

Your remote volume knob sounds like exactly the device I would be looking for. Does the company that made it for you sell these and they just did customized features for you - or did you have them make the entire product for you essentially from scratch?

 

[mhardy6647]

Shades of “ the most beautiful speakers in the world” thread, we have very, very different ideas for peak audio aesthetics. I get that it has plenty of knobs and dials, but that looks more like something that would welcome me at the gates of hell.

Opinions… I got a million of ‘em….

Those components are all wedge-shaped (actually, I am not completely sure about the power amp) (see below ) and can also be arrayed quite fetchingly (perhaps rather less forebodingly) on a shelf or credenza, too.

rando internet images -- of course.

 

[MattHooper]

Your remote volume knob sounds like exactly the device I would be looking for. Does the company that made it for you sell these and they just did customized features for you - or did you have them make the entire product for you essentially from scratch?

The design was from an existing design they used for their own custom remotes that ran their custom amplifiers.

It was a fully custom outfit called Adams Custom Audio, in Poland. (my friend was at the Warsaw audio show and he noticed their custom remotes, and since he knew, I was looking for something like that he got me in touch with them).

They hadn’t built a custom remote for any other gear than their own, but they were willing to do one for me and my equipment.

They were fantastic to work with. It was expensive though.

By the end of it, they said they were open to doing custom remotes for other people or even doing another custom remote for me.
They said we could explore other styles.

Unfortunately, I can’t find their website anymore. I was in email contact with them a year ago when they sent me some new programming for the remote. They said they were working on a new website, but I haven’t seen it up and working yet.

 

[tomchris]

Sansui CA-3000 Preamplifier:

 

[Short38]

Folks,

In this modern digital day and age, when so many of us have moved to digital playback, very often using some form of computer control via a touchpad, smart phone, keyboard or whatever to control the system…

…. Does anybody miss the look and tactile experience of using volume knobs/dials/switches, etc.?

Or do you still have those in your system?

For a while when I first switched to a digital server system, when I ripped all my CDs, and later added streaming, calling everything up and operating it via my smart phone was kind of a cool novelty. “ A new world!”

Over time for me the novelty wore off, and it started to feel like one more damn screen I had to interact with, after interacting with the phone all day long.

And don’t get me started on using a laptop or a keyboard to interact with an audio system.
There is no interface I despise more. It feels so kludgy (and perhaps reminds me too much of work).

Anyway, that’s one reason why I had a remote control custom-made for me with a big volume knob, and which could do some other switching in my system. It’s really nice to use in a tactile and aesthetic way, and it’s part of my break from the digital world:

View attachment 432277

Aside from that, of course, my pre-amplifiers have their own buttons or volume knobs. But they are in a different room which is why I need to use a remote.

How about you folks? Still doing the tactile physical knobs and dials at all?
Or miss it?

(And yes, I resisted calling this thread “ Show us your knobs!”)

Yamaha 3200 works for me. I am old and find screen based interfaces tacky.

 

[tomchris]

...and naturally, the ultrarare Technics SU-A2:

 

[Hear Here]

When my godfather died in 1971 (his father built this pile in Devon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Drogo), he left me a most unexpected sum of money that I decided to spend on something rather special - one of these -

Not a knob on it, but a lever or slider for just about everything. My pride and joy for a decade or so.