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Alps balance pots?

Maxxarcade

Maxxarcade

Active Member
Any of you have experience with the Alps balance control pots that are common on Ebay? I'm wondering how well they work. I'm assuming those are the ones that don't attenuate both channels when at center position like a standard dual ganged pot would do.

Would it be easier to have two independent volume controls than to have a dedicated balance control? They seem to have a lot of different methods of construction, that all sound different from one another.
 
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I wasted my time on some stereo Alps from that auction site and regretted it, the ohm tracking when compared with an ohm meter were so far off that I never installed them. I switched over to a pair of stepped, not ladder type controls and love them, best $50 I ever spent on four 100k controls with S&H, they track within fractions of an ohm of each other and are available for less in the stereo version. Just my $.02, Dave.

Original control on the left, new one on the right channel during the conversion;
Elite80_05.jpg


Elite80_08.jpg


Elite80_07.jpg


Elite80_11.jpg


Elite80_10.jpg
 
Look pretty similar but as you can see in my pictures, nowhere near the quality of the one I keep on hand for my Mac C27, what part of MI are you in?? I'm near South Lyon, Dave.

Alps_250Kx2_01.jpg


Alps_250Kx2_02.jpg
 
dgwojo said:
Look pretty similar but as you can see in my pictures, nowhere near the quality of the one I keep on hand for my Mac C27, what part of MI are you in?? I'm near South Lyon, Dave.

Alps_250Kx2_01.jpg


Alps_250Kx2_02.jpg
Click to expand...


Man, that Mac pot is huge!

Is there a better place to get a decent (and affordable) balance pot than Ebay?

I'm near Flint, MI.
 
Maxxarcade said:
Man, that Mac pot is huge!

Is there a better place to get a decent (and affordable) balance pot than Ebay?

I'm near Flint, MI.
Click to expand...

I didn't find any, remember, my pics are of log volume controls, not balance controls, I removed my balance controls and replaced them with two mono controls, with stepping it's very easy to count clicks to keep them balanced. You're North of me by 40 minutes. Check Item number: 130292079177 - I dealt with this guy offline and he's very good to work with, I had my order within 9 days, he took a couple days to custom build my mono controls at 100k ohms, good luck, Dave. :D
 
dgwojo said:
I switched over to a pair of stepped, not ladder type controls and love them, best $50 I ever spent on four 100k controls with S&H, they track within fractions of an ohm of each other and are available for less in the stereo version. Just my $.02, Dave.
Click to expand...

These stepped attenuators have 24 positions only. Didn't this to be to few steps for volume control?

I have pinned steps (40+) on my two amps (SS Sansui/50W and tube Pioneer/28W), and these 40 steps are just enough to make smooth regulation of sound volume.

When I restored Pioneer SM-83 (made in 1969), I am was considering installing the same stepped attenuators listed above, but having tried 2-step jumps on Sansui, disbanded this idea. So after all, I am bought vintage pot from Marantz for my Pioneer.
 
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LinuxGuru said:
These stepped attenuators have 24 positions only. Didn't this to be to few steps for volume control?

I have pinned steps (40+) on my two amps (SS Sansui and tube Pioneer), and these 40 steps are just enough to make smooth regulation of sound volume.
Click to expand...

Agree, 24 is not enough.:no:
 
LinuxGuru said:
These stepped attenuators have 24 positions only. Didn't this to be to few steps for volume control?
Click to expand...

I have my 24 steppers on the amps, not the pre-amp so 24 is really too many for me, I only use the last 8 steps, on a pre-amp, 24 might not be enough although if they're designed correctly, each step should provide about a 3db increase in volume. :D
 
The other thing I'm trying to decide, is what the best value for the pot would be in this application... 100k, 250k, 500k, 1 meg? I hear the higher the value, the less attenuation of high frequencies, but I don't know how the type of circuit affects that.

On my amp, the volume pot will be right after the input switch, and I'll probably put the balance control between the pre and main amp circuits. Supposedly this decreases parasitic capacitance from multiple pots being in the same stage.

Opinions?
 
LinuxGuru said:
These stepped attenuators have 24 positions only. Didn't this to be to few steps for volume control?

I have pinned steps (40+) on my two amps (SS Sansui/50W and tube Pioneer/28W), and these 40 steps are just enough to make smooth regulation of sound volume.
Click to expand...
jaymanaa said:
Agree, 24 is not enough.:no:
Click to expand...
More than 24 would be good, but add a -20db attenuator switch, and a 24 step control is fine (gives you, in effect, 48 positions. Not as convienent, but perfectly workable once you get the hang of it. Think of it as a big rig with a two-speed rear axle). ;)
 
Maxxarcade said:
The other thing I'm trying to decide, is what the best value for the pot would be in this application... 100k, 250k, 500k, 1 meg? I hear the higher the value, the less attenuation of high frequencies, but I don't know how the type of circuit affects that.

On my amp, the volume pot will be right after the input switch, and I'll probably put the balance control between the pre and main amp circuits. Supposedly this decreases parasitic capacitance from multiple pots being in the same stage.

Opinions?
Click to expand...
I always heard 100k was best for tubes, don't forget the coupling caps, according to this I should have used .47uf instead of .22uf, I wish I knew more about this stuff, trial and error can get expensive and time consuming.

Coupling Caps
 
Interesting, I am looking for an Alps pot to replace the failing one on my Conrad Johnson PV7. It already runs an Alps but I cant seem to find an exact match.
bob
 
Hey D, I am looking at V-pots for my GM70 build. I like the Step. Attn. Where did you get that? Was it one piece or did you build it? Is it two channel?

Cheers.
 
I,ve been experimenting with the volume pot stuff too with my tube preamp,
I have it all mounted temporally to piece of wood for testing purposes, link
with picture below.
I find I like both types of volume controls for different reasons, I really like
the 24 stepped attenuator for higher level listening, that thing is awesome
sounding.
At lower listening levels I like using two single precision carbon rotary
logarithmic pots with two switches added to be able to switch between
both types of controls, I like the warmer sound of these carbon pots at
the lower levels and I like the fine control of volume level and balance
I get using single pots for each channel.
Now I just need to build a nice looking enclosure with it all mounted in
place.
Just some alternative thoughts of getting the best of both worlds. :)

http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx277/megcrane/Guanzo_Modified_Test_Setup.jpg
 
djnagle said:
Hey D, I am looking at V-pots for my GM70 build. I like the Step. Attn. Where did you get that? Was it one piece or did you build it? Is it two channel?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Dennis, was this for me?? IF so, I sent you an e-mail, Dave. :scratch2:
 
I have used and have installed several Alps balance pots. They have worked well for me and those I have installed them for.

As for installing an Alps in a piece of Mac equipment, of course I would go with the OEM piece. But the size of the pot is not in any way a measure of the quality.
 
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