DIGI 003R Monitor level pot, Passive or Active?

[arnon_af]

Hey all,

Can anyone tell me if the whole monitor volume pot of the DIGI 003R is a part of a buffered circuit or it is just a passive stereo pot that gets it's input from another pair of D-A converters?
If it's just a pot, do you know it's ohm value?


Thanks,
Arnon

[jeffwuollet]

It IS an active circuit. Using a dual op-amp gain stage. Thats how it creates a balanced output. The mute button is relay based which is why you hear that 'click' when pressed.

I took apart my 003 before sending it to Black Lion for modding.

The pot is a voltage controller for the output amp, not just a variable resistor. I'm sure the intention was to maintain flat frequency response regardless of gain. With a passive pot, you'd lose a negligible amount of high frequency as you attenuated the volume.

If you're looking to upgrade your D/A chain, either get a Black Lion Mod, or find a sweet SPIDF to Analog converter. Benchmark makes a pretty sweet converter, but it goes up to 192khz. Way more than you'd need with an 003.

[nst7]

You should also check out the Dangerous Dbox. Top notch d/a conversion and high quality analog volume/monitor control, with 8 channels of analog summing thrown in free.

[arnon_af]

I got the BLA signature series mod a year ago
They did a wonderful job, I just wonder if they've messed with this circuit.
I e-mailed them last week asking if the monitor section is an active circuit, and if they've changed the op-amps in that section, and added the extra power supply, how much actual headroom in dBu I've actually gained from the original +14dBu headroom.

All I got for now is a reply that they've passed my questions to their tech department.

The reason I'm asking all of this is because I just got a new Fluke and after a few minutes of spare time, I've realized that to get 85 db spl on my Quested VS2108 speakers, the voltage between leg 1 and 2 of my L output for example is 0.04blabla V.
I mean there is very little Voltage coming out of the 003 because of the VS2108's powerful amps. I wonder what is the best way to get a decent Voltage out of the 003 put still pad it correctly so I won't blow my ears off.


Thank you guys for the replies :)

Arnon

[sdelsolray]

A used Lucid DA 9624 converter is great for a converter and monitor controller for a Digi 003.