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In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: Contact-free volume controls?
Post Subject: Out of the Signal Path?Posted by Paul S on: 1/11/2010
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Well, there's noise, attenuation and impedance to reckon with, at a minimum.

The TAP TVC I use claims that the step circuitry itself is "out of the signal path".  OK, fine; but so what?  Doesn't the voltage have to "cross" something, somewhere, at some point, in order to be divided/attenuated, and doesn't the unwanted voltage/current have to go somewhere from the shuttle point?  There's always plenty of noise to thwart, route and re-route, irrespective of the means of division.  To be "good", any attenuator/pre-amp topology will yet have to deal effectively with the basics.

Does anyone know how the voltage gets turned into light, or if it then gets "re-converted"?  Can any of this happen without some kind of diode effect?

Does the light conversion system itself require power from any source other than the signal?  I would hope any active circuitry was limited to a well-isolated buffer, if only to avoid parasitic noise.

I admit I am leery of "active attenuation" for hi-fi.

Paul S

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