Re: replacing a pot
Posted: January 5th, 2022, 2:19 pm
Shashi,
No "power" is being burned off, just a voltage divider reducing the signal voltage at the input. The same amount of signal is "burned off" regardless of wiper position (from input to ground through the full pot resistance). All you are doing is tapping into a different spot with the wiper. Our perception of dynamics and frequency balance changes at lower listening levels (Fletcher-Munson curves). Also, there will be more resistor "noise" at the bottom of the pot (going through most of the trace), and with the level so low, the residual amplifier noise will be more prominent and not masked by the music. The question is how much of this is the pot (voltage divider) and how much of this is amplifier noise and our perception of the sound due to its level.
David
No "power" is being burned off, just a voltage divider reducing the signal voltage at the input. The same amount of signal is "burned off" regardless of wiper position (from input to ground through the full pot resistance). All you are doing is tapping into a different spot with the wiper. Our perception of dynamics and frequency balance changes at lower listening levels (Fletcher-Munson curves). Also, there will be more resistor "noise" at the bottom of the pot (going through most of the trace), and with the level so low, the residual amplifier noise will be more prominent and not masked by the music. The question is how much of this is the pot (voltage divider) and how much of this is amplifier noise and our perception of the sound due to its level.
David