Adding remote volume capability to a preamplifier/power amp system?
- Thread starter Old Guy8
- Start date
IMS,
Mine is between preamp and power amp, with RCAs.
The preamp volume knob is at max on mine. But, preamp volume knob could be set lower to limit remote max volume. It has worked well. Price has gone up.
Can't say for all other units, whether can be used between amps.
The MCM Electronics #50-8394 is sold by Newark for around $46. No experience with it.
Edit: I bought a second universal remote, identical to one came with volume Control. About $10 off eBay. I taught it the codes off original remote. So have working spare if one craps out.
Mine is between preamp and power amp, with RCAs.
The preamp volume knob is at max on mine. But, preamp volume knob could be set lower to limit remote max volume. It has worked well. Price has gone up.
Can't say for all other units, whether can be used between amps.
The MCM Electronics #50-8394 is sold by Newark for around $46. No experience with it.
Edit: I bought a second universal remote, identical to one came with volume Control. About $10 off eBay. I taught it the codes off original remote. So have working spare if one craps out.
Last edited:
Just took one for the team in regards to the mcm unit, will report back how it fares. The other unit looks well put together, remote also doesn't look like a toy compared to the mcm, plus it as more features. The only thing I could find that people didnt like about the mcm is the led and the remote. Looks like the device can also use other remotes based on codes, so might go down that route if need be.
Thx.
Thx.
Last edited:
I have the Audiocubics and it works really well. I didn't know they were still available tho.
It's worth the money if remote volume control is important to you. Very well built and it shows.
Holy mother of pearl jam, wtf was MCM thinking with the blue led power light! That thing lights the whole room up. Okay, maybe it's not that bright, but bright enough for me to put some electrical tape on it so it only glows from the top or where I left a little opening. The led is on all the time and blinks when you use the volume control. There is also a red led that lights up when you mute it, this isn't half as bright. When you mute and unmute it starts lower and gradually increases to where you had the volume before, which is pretty cool.
Now to what I think of this device. Once again, let me preface by first saying that I don't have systems like lots on this forum have, and my old ears are not trained as I'm one year into this hobby. Build... It's very compact, and I was expecting it to be something that was built, well, like a cheap piece of poo for 38 bucks. Nope, this little box is all metal and frickn heavy for its size. I mean the wth is in this thing? Power supply, it's a basic walwart. I wonder if adding a different one would help it, any ideas on that>???? Remote. It seriously cannot be built any more basic. Volume up/down and mute. But it works. Now, if you step on it, maybe drop it on cement, well it will be a goner. Sound... I have it connected between by mini tube pre and my power amp. I cannot A and B it. I detect no noise with this added. But I can tell it sounds better without it in place. How much better, well not much, but I can slightly tell it's there.
Final thought, I'm keeping it in the chain. I had my GF listen to my rig with and without and she said I'm off my rocker as she couldn't hear any change in sound quality. I listen to CDs and flac files but I rarely listen to an entire cd at once, therefore I'm constantly getting up and manually turning my pre down, then back up, rinse, repeat. Another reason, my room gets very dry and humidity is very low so anytime I want to decrease volume I have to decrease/increase, and I have to use a dryer sheet, or zap. This little gem solves that.
I was seriously thinking on getting the other device listed above, probably sounds better, looks a tad better, remote looks real too. But that would mean the remote would have cost more than the moded preamp I have.
There are also other preamps with remotes, also from China. One could place that in the chain and use its remote capability. These get very good reviews and the build quality looks great. Ex. HIFI PGA2311 Remote Volume Control Preamplifier Stereo Preamp With 4 Way Inputs Home Amplifiers|Amplifier| - AliExpress
I have another chifi tube preamp coming via snail mail from China, that too has a remote and was inexpensive as well. Time will tell if that device will replace my other pre and the mcm. If not, then I'm going for the Conrad Johnson tube pre with remote that others seem to luv.
Happy turkey day
Now to what I think of this device. Once again, let me preface by first saying that I don't have systems like lots on this forum have, and my old ears are not trained as I'm one year into this hobby. Build... It's very compact, and I was expecting it to be something that was built, well, like a cheap piece of poo for 38 bucks. Nope, this little box is all metal and frickn heavy for its size. I mean the wth is in this thing? Power supply, it's a basic walwart. I wonder if adding a different one would help it, any ideas on that>???? Remote. It seriously cannot be built any more basic. Volume up/down and mute. But it works. Now, if you step on it, maybe drop it on cement, well it will be a goner. Sound... I have it connected between by mini tube pre and my power amp. I cannot A and B it. I detect no noise with this added. But I can tell it sounds better without it in place. How much better, well not much, but I can slightly tell it's there.
Final thought, I'm keeping it in the chain. I had my GF listen to my rig with and without and she said I'm off my rocker as she couldn't hear any change in sound quality. I listen to CDs and flac files but I rarely listen to an entire cd at once, therefore I'm constantly getting up and manually turning my pre down, then back up, rinse, repeat. Another reason, my room gets very dry and humidity is very low so anytime I want to decrease volume I have to decrease/increase, and I have to use a dryer sheet, or zap. This little gem solves that.
I was seriously thinking on getting the other device listed above, probably sounds better, looks a tad better, remote looks real too. But that would mean the remote would have cost more than the moded preamp I have.
There are also other preamps with remotes, also from China. One could place that in the chain and use its remote capability. These get very good reviews and the build quality looks great. Ex. HIFI PGA2311 Remote Volume Control Preamplifier Stereo Preamp With 4 Way Inputs Home Amplifiers|Amplifier| - AliExpress
I have another chifi tube preamp coming via snail mail from China, that too has a remote and was inexpensive as well. Time will tell if that device will replace my other pre and the mcm. If not, then I'm going for the Conrad Johnson tube pre with remote that others seem to luv.
Happy turkey day
Last edited:
AudioFeline
Super Member
I had a motorised volume pot installed in my preamp. eBay/AliExpress sell kits, not very expensive. They have the motorised pot on a driver board, a sensor on a lead that can be mounted under the amp, and a remote control. They run on something like 12V DC, the tech was able to take power from the preamp's transformer. The one that was installed on my amp had an Alps volume control, but I assume all motorised pots use the same electronics so the one on the board can be replaced with a higher quality one if required. Also the one I got included a relay so 4 inputs can be switched (some kits come with relays for more inputs), but I haven't used this option. It's worked fine for me for some time. So no need to get an external box, it can be installed inside the amp if you have some spare space inside.
Alrighty then. Soooooo, went out of town, came back and fired the system back up without drinking whiskey and it took two songs, switching back and forth to realize that this device is going back into the box. I'm not sure what I was thinking/drinking, guessing it was my song choice before, but this device muffles the hell out of everything. Oh well. I think I wanted it to work so bad that I convinced myself that it was fine. I will say this, it was nice to be able to sit back and adjust the volume for a few days.
I know from your later post that this device didn't work out, but regarding bright LED lights in general, these things are a godsend (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLVEQCO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
I've used them on many device, can double up for more dimming if needed, and they are invisible if you use the right size to cover the LED only.
I'm surprised to hear this. I have the cheapest possible passive volume control to volume level match when I'm comparing XLR vs RCA components and I've used it in extremely critical listening and don't hear any artifacts with the cheap volume control at all. The one I'm using isn't remote controlled, but I would think most of these types of devices don't impact sound quality.
Also the reviews for the MCM device on Amazon don't seem to have many (any?) complaints about sound quality:
https://www.amazon.com/MCM-CUSTOM-5...ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=1
This is similar to cheap lini-level volume control (not remote controlled, but sonically transparent):
So is using multiple layers of blue painter's tape. And currently on hand.
AudioFeline
Super Member
If you are handy with a soldering iron, and there is room inside the chassis, installing a resistor will dim a LED - the more resistance the greater dimming amount.
I've also used the LightDims stickers, and they have my endorsement.
The cheap in-line volume control two posts before this one has been suggested as a viable option when needed to attenuate the line signal going into some portable digital recorders (that don't seem to have compatibility with normal line-level). Users report no degradation. Because of the extremely low cost, I would assume the components are quite cheap. The "no degradation" comments may be a reflection that the improvements outweigh any degradation in quality introduced by the device, or that the overall quality of the system isn't sensitive enough to reveal limitations. I would expect that on a very high-end system that advantages of better components would be evident. But please don't take my post as slamming this - based on good reports I've bought one so it is on-hand in my box of audio tricks in case I need it one day in an emergency.
I've also used the LightDims stickers, and they have my endorsement.
The cheap in-line volume control two posts before this one has been suggested as a viable option when needed to attenuate the line signal going into some portable digital recorders (that don't seem to have compatibility with normal line-level). Users report no degradation. Because of the extremely low cost, I would assume the components are quite cheap. The "no degradation" comments may be a reflection that the improvements outweigh any degradation in quality introduced by the device, or that the overall quality of the system isn't sensitive enough to reveal limitations. I would expect that on a very high-end system that advantages of better components would be evident. But please don't take my post as slamming this - based on good reports I've bought one so it is on-hand in my box of audio tricks in case I need it one day in an emergency.
Last edited:
I'm no audiophile and I do not have high end gear, so like stated in my signature, take my comments with a grain of salt. I listen to rock, and I have found that one of the best tracks to listen to and compare gear, to me, is Rocket by Def Leopard on CD. That over dubbed, over engineered, over everything song played at a comfortably loud setting makes it pretty easy to find the short comings of certain devices. And that song made it clear to me and with my setup, that I would no longer use said device.
Racingh11
Super Member
I have tried the MCM unit. Only on a friends garage system though, so I can't really give a good review at this point. It is a 3000+ watt rms system and it is the noise in the room! haha. But I did get one for myself. More for less critical listening like movies and tv or radio where I don't want to go adjust things. Otherwise I can just switch off that signal loop and get the best sound. I may do some tests when I finally get around to trying it and see if it adds distortion and noise. Being an electronic volume control; it must be some type of voltage controlled amplifier setting the gain. And they aren't easy to design for quality sound. They are used in compressors as well. Maybe there are good ICs available for that... One thing that does give me an impression that it lacks quality is the super bright power LED. That needs to be trimmed down or covered up.
AudioFeline
Super Member
There are kits of IR circuits available (circuit board and components) to control a motorised pot. But the kits are more expensive than getting a board with remote from China.
One thing that I don't think has been discussed, or maybe I missed it, is where to set your pre-amps volume control? Ex. On my preamp I never really go above the 1pm mark. Let's say you leave it there, incorporate the MCM into the mix, if I press the remote volume up to its highest level, will it max out at where my pre is set, or will it go higher. I never tested this; guess I should have. Or would one max out the preamp?
Last edited: