HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

A question for all users of stepped attenuators, especially NVA users.

I was wondering how many steps on your stepped attenuators that you regularly use for everyday domestic listening and which ones - start, middle or end of the range ? Are there a significant number of steps that you don't use ?

Many thanks, Stu

In my NVA system the P50sa has (I think) 20 steps of which I really only use steps 6 - 10 with A40's and Cube 3's.
But I do tend to listen at fairly low levels in a smallish room.

24 step.

Fretless wrote: ↑Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:49 am In my NVA system the P50sa has (I think) 20 steps of which I really only use steps 6 - 10 with A40's and Cube 3's.
But I do tend to listen at fairly low levels in a smallish room.

Thanks Fretless.

I too don't play very loud and have a small room so probably wont get anywhere near the last steps.

Stu

You will regret not having them.

I use all the steps between around 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock, depending on how loud I want the music and if no one else is in the house. The listening area is quite small. The DAC output is set at 2v.

CN211276 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:10 pm I use all the steps between around 10 o'clock and 3 o'clock, depending on how loud I want the music and if no one else is in the house. The listening area is quite small. The DAC output is set at 2v.

Thanks CN. My CDP also has a 2V maximum output.

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote: ↑Mon Mar 12, 2018 11:45 am You will regret not having them.

Thanks for the warning. I am in two minds now. Thing is i only use a small part of the volume control now and i know that i will use more of it when i go to passive from my 3x gain active stage at the moment. Still, i cant see myself using the very highest resistor values. It all depends on the phono really i.e cartridge output and gain of phono 1. Trying them is the only way i suppose. I could always add more or alter resistor values if for example moved houses and the room became very much larger.

The thing that attracts me to building my own is that i can choose the values at each step. Some people's only complaint about stepped attenuators is that sometimes there is too much volume increase between steps. There are lots of resistor values in between the values used at HFC. I could give my self a finer control in my most used volume "area". Also having kids and people in the house some times i dont want the volume to be able to play too loud. If i limit the values to as loud as it will ever need to be then there is little chance of my kiddies or any one else sending my amps in to clipping or thermal runaway. A built in kid / idiot safety device if you like No blown amps or melted voice coils

Stu

I don't use anything past 1 o'clock on my P90SA.

I use maybe 4 or 5 steps of the P50sa.... for both vinyl and digital use the range between 9 and 12 o'clock.

Thanks George and Hemmo.

Having put a 10k in the series and 200R in the shunt position I am getting a better handle on this now.

I am having to think about the different recording levels of different CD's. Old Blue Note recordings have a lower level than this Chemical Brothers CD I have just put on. And it is good to hear from users that use vinyl as well as digital. I have a suspicion that most will have the attenuator further around the dial to get the same volume.

Stu