I'm finding I'm not getting enough headroom on my Melos pot since the Northstar DAC outputs higher than my previous DAC. (And the Melos might have a pretty high gain)

I like have a lot of room to play with on the volume knob, but right now I can't take it past 9 o' clock. Is there something I can do that won't degrade sound quality? This is only a problem with my HP-2, using the Melos as a preamp works fine.

these might help.

nifty...but expensive

Oh cool, I guess I'll know what to look for

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2911180#post2911180

There's also something called the "Nude Attenuators", and I'm sure there are cheaper versions (still called attenuators) one can get at parts express and whatnot.

There's also something called the "Nude Attenuators", and I'm sure there are cheaper versions (still called attenuators) one can get at parts express and whatnot.

Thanks! Completely forgot about PartsExpress, they have the Harrison 6 dB for $26 or generics for $6...i'm going to grab one of them.

I remember reading in some old threads on HF that using Harrison Labs' attenuators degraded sound qualities, I've personally never used them, however. I'll see if I can dig up those threads.

EDIT - and IIRC, it was a post by Hirsch that convinced me not to get them.

Found the thread.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37079

Thanks very much for posting that, I guess I can deal with less headroom on my pot, so glad I don't have a SA.

Thanks! Completely forgot about PartsExpress, they have the Harrison 6 dB for $26 or generics for $6...i'm going to grab one of them.

Hi jpak

I tried the 3db Harrison's from PartsExpress a few years ago, thinking that just a little attenuation might be alright, but they degraded rather than attenuated. I don't remember all the specifics but I do remember that I tried to use them on quite a few occasions and had to pull them out of the circuit each time because they ruined the high end.

IMHO, I don't recommend them for audiophile use.

Maybe they are better now.

USG

Thanks upstateguy, I've got used to less movement on the pot, it's not a big deal anymore.

3dB or 6dB of attenuation is not enough and will only give very slightly more play on the volume knob. You need maybe 10-20dB of attenuation if 9 o'clock is already super ultra loud. This works very well, and cheap (just a couple resistors):

http://goldpt.com/mods.html (under Pre-Attenuation)