Somewhere back 1-2 years ago in prehistoric times, I decided to design a 7 stage logarithmic discrete attenuator module for the ePot.V3 series stepped attenuator & preamp controller. With 7 stages, this allowed for 2^7 or 127 discrete attenuation steps with a granularity of 0.5 dB per step. Arguably overkill in terms of resolution but go big or go home. I was curious how such a discrete alternative would do against the established LDR attenuator module. For those less technically oriented, the discrete version used analog switches to connect combinations of individual low distortion thin-film resistors to achieve a targeted dB level of attenuation. No small part of my motivation was to see how a low distortion discrete stepped attenuator performed against the relatively high distortion LDRs (light dependent resistors), especially since the "measurement uber alles" crowd were so fond of crapping on LDRs because they measured poorly. And sure enough, the discrete attenuator module did indeed measure quite well with low distortion. The distortion spec on the analog switches themselves is 0.004% and thin-film resistors are very low noise as well so no surprise there.
But in the end, all that matters for me personally is, how does it sound? By that I mean, which one resulted in more engagement & involvement with the music. Admittedly, that criteria is inherently subjective. Nevertheless, music is itself inherently subjective, personal and emotional. It either grabs you and pulls you in....or not. The how and why of that, while interesting on an intellectual level, takes a back seat to the question...does it or does it not engage your gut and heart.
My initial impression listening to the discrete attenuation module was....it's accurate, clean and polite. And then I'd plug an LDR attenuation module back in and my reaction was....natural, organic, and involving....yes! But that no doubt reflected my personal tastes. So I nevertheless offered the discrete module as an alternative and stood back to see how customers who tried both reacted. Turns out the vast majority who listened to both agreed with me, and, clearly preferred the LDR attenuation module.
Therefore, going forward, I'm no longer offering the discrete module. Life is too short to listen to lesser gear unnecessarily....or make such gear.
Cheers,
Morten
