I have a really sensitive pair of speakers. I like to listen to music late at night sometimes, and I cannot turn the volume up very loud. Wood floors and all. At micro volumes, I must turn the balance control almost all the way to one side consistantly. It does sound good though when I do this. As I turn it up louder the sound balances out more.
Does anyone think I am losing anything by having to have the balance control turned so heavily to one side? It is a pain though.
Thanks
I don't know whether I fit into Nate's guru category, but here goes anyway.
The problem you are experiencing is called tracking error, it is not uncommon, it is unavoidable with classic pots and you can cure it.
You see, a pot has a working angle of 260-270 degrees, min to max. A pot consists of vipers moving along carbonated plates. At your minimum, the carbon on the plates has its full impedance on line, and thus attenuates. As you move the knob clockwise, the viper moves along the plates and the impedance is reduced. Typical pots have two vipers, better pots 2x2 pots for better accuracy.
Unfortunately, for all that, even an ALPS Black Beauty pot has a min to max gain error of 3 dB. In voltage terms, this is about 41%, but in power terms, which is what we want here, that is exactly double, or 100%. For comparison's sake, new digital ladder attenuators (e.g. Wolferson) have a gain error of just 0.1 dB, or just 1.1%.
From the above, you can easily deduce that even with the best of classic pots, there will be an error. Thus, you can't escape it.
That said, what you describe is a serious deviation which you should look into. The obvious cure is to change the pot for a new one, and while at it, consider two more moves:
1. if possible, have it replaced by a high quality, but also high price pot, from people like ALPS, Noble, TDK, Bourns, etc, and
2. while at it, change all other pots as well, in particular the balance pot as well.
Pots do wear out, and do need to be changed. How soon depends on their initial quality and the amount of work they have had to do.
If this is not a good time for changes, try this. Take a small bottle which used to have some nose or eye drops in it; these usually have glass pipettes used to drop just one drop, or dose otherwise. Wash it out well with tap water. Then put in some vaseline, about what could be placed on the nail of your small finger. Add about as much benzine (gasoline), close the bottle and shake vigorously for about 10-15 minutes. In the end, a soft, almost liquid jelly will form.
Turn you pots to their utmost left position. Drop one small drop of the substance into them, assuming you can find an opening to do that (some pots do not have such openings). Slowly rotate the pot clockwise as far as it will go, then insert another drop. That done, rotate the pot from min to max at least 20 times, not too fast, but you don't have to crawl either.
WARNING: Make VERY sure that stuff does not get anywhere else, because it is highly conductive and could cause short circuits.
If the said drops did indeed get inside, I guarantee that pot will not bother you for at least another two years. Works on any mechanical pot.
Cheers,
DVV
