PAC LC-1 Passive Volume Control Review

[silverD]

C taper pot -> Pulled from Amazon

 

[silverD]

But some may have a B taper? -> pulled from another forum

 

[DSJR]

Ah, a 50k pot. I wonder what the typical difference would be with a 10k one?

You think this is perhaps bad in response? What about shunt attenuators with a fixed (47K?) resistor inline and the volume adjusted by changing the value of resistor 'steps' across the load as you rotate the control.

 

[Talisman]

So would you say that the Nobsound knob is the knob of knobs?

I really must stop this. It can't be the single malt because it's almost gone.... oh

what i mean is just that i found the nobsound volume knob to be much higher quality than the one tested.
I didn't quite understand the reference to the "knob of knobs" but it is definitely a good quality knob

 

[Slayer]

I've used this one for various projects. Seems to work rather well. If i get a chance I will send it to Amir if he would like to test it.

 

[Xulonn]

Want "better performance"? You could get a Goldpoint 47-step "Level Control" for only $425! (Or the balanced XLR version for only $691)

 

[anphex]

I've used this one for various projects. Seems to work rather well. If i get a chance I will send it to Amir if he would like to test it.
View attachment 207730

I am about the get this exact thing but in the latest version for switching between AVR und DAC .

As for the LC-1 it's really a shame manufacturers don't provide data like resistance range, max power handling... I didn't get an answer on Amazon questions.

 

[Zenek73]

I'm curious about much more expensive solution

High Quality Audio & Industrial Attenuators and Passive Preamplifiers

 

[Chr1]

Anyone know if there's a similar cheap option available in the UK?
Lots of no-name, similar looking Chinese options on Ebay, but don't want to assume that they are of similar quality...

Already got a Tisbury Audio passive pre but looking for a cheaper subwoofer option...
Tisbury passive preamp

 

[Hipster Doofus]

great , so many of us play around with these little gadgets and now we can begin to decide if they are worth it.

keep up the obscure reviews , simply love it

 

[BostonJack]

I'm curious about much more expensive solution

High Quality Audio & Industrial Attenuators and Passive Preamplifiers

They look at least interesting. I've got a Chinese knock-off chassis for an expensive Swiss pre-amp. I'm contemplating building a switched preamp with a single output buffer using Neurochrome PCBs and their universal buffer.

It is eye opening to cost out the parts. Difficult to get to a total cost much below $400.

I expect to produce very low distortion and noise, thanks to the attention to performance of neurochrome.

 

[amirm]

I have a few other ones to test.....

 

[Zenek73]

They look at least interesting. I've got a Chinese knock-off chassis for an expensive Swiss pre-amp. I'm contemplating building a switched preamp with a single output buffer using Neurochrome PCBs and their universal buffer.

It is eye opening to cost out the parts. Difficult to get to a total cost much below $400.

I expect to produce very low distortion and noise, thanks to the attention to performance of neurochrome.

Another polish company

Hattor Audio

But I suspect it's not easy to match passive solution to our existing audio.
So I will probably buy RME

 

[phoenixdogfan]

-1 db at 20 khz. My 69 yo ears are definitely gonna notice that. Headless Panther!

 

[pseudoid]

The amount of "passive xlr volume control" offerings at aliexpress, is mind boggling.
The prices and appearance (of quality) are all over the lot but most lack any audio specifications, if they can ever be trustworthy.

 

[Chr1]

Not the most complex of things, so one would hope for affordability and decent quality nowadays...

(Prime candidate for extreme audiophile snake oil pricing however obviously.)

 

[mhardy6647]

ooh, excellent! Good to see ASR reviewing real audiophile products; i.e., a passive linestage.


(just kidding... well, sorta, and mostly!)

 

[Chr1]

Would also be interested in how cheap RCA audio switches measure up...

Currently using one of each of these to switch between sources and power amps. Sources being an AVR and DX3 PRO, both having a volume control. Not sure if they have any audible effect on sound quality but as they are simple switches, presumably less likely than something with volume attenuation...

Switch

Another switch

 

[mhardy6647]

Why wasn't this available during my modding days. Could have easily bought / made power amp kits that didn't have their own volume control.

Voted golfing at first but saw the channel separation isn't perfect, but decent enough so changed to a happy. I don't see how a stereo volume pot can affect channel separation with RCA cabling unless the ground is somehow shared? Then again I don't know how bad a 3.5mm cable affects channel separation so I don't have a baseline to compare with. If a 3.5mm cable does better than this I would go crazy tho.

umm.. I mean... it's not too hard to make one, you know?



I -- ahem -- didn't actually make this one... but I could have!
Also note the extremely audiophile 30-gauge enamel insulated magnet wire twisted pair interconnects. Very audiophile.

 

[Chr1]

For sure...

But if you can't solder...and don't want to fry expensive equipment (+ fingers), decent budget options are appealing!

PS: Kinda equate soldering within a decent sound system akin to tinkering with high performance vehicles.
Best not to do it if you haven't got the requisite skills...

I am happy balancing carbs/injectors, tuning for BHP, setting up suspension etc...

but can't solder for s*** unfortunately.