Compared with the previous generation MAX series, one of the major improvements of the DX320MAX Ti is the replacement of the carbon film analog potentiometer with a stepped attenuator, making this the world's first portable player with a balanced stepped attenuator (4 sections).
The analog potentiometers of DX220MAX and DX300MAX slide on the carbon film in the potentiometer with the resistance at different positions decreasing as you increase volume, which is used to attenuate the volume. Analog potentiometers solve the bit rate truncation problem in digital volume adjustment, retaining the full resolution of the recording. However, its design principle can present severe channel imbalance between the left and right channels at very low volumes. Also, the resistance tolerance of carbon film can be quite large, and often there is a+/-2dB uncontrollable volume imbalance between channels in the entire range and as the years of use increase, the carbon film wears, which may introduce a distortion to the sound when adjusting the volume.
One of the best ways to adjust volume in analog, is with stepped attenuators. The resistors we have chosen are of very high precision, with low temperature drift, no thermal noise, and excellent audio performance. Our stepped attenuator utilizes a high-durability alloy contact to switch the internal discrete resistors mechanically. Our use of high-precision resistors keeps the difference between channels controlled to within +/-0.1dB. This is a massive improvement over +/-2dB of carbon film potentiometers. Moreover, there is no severe channel imbalance issue at very low listening volumes. In terms of sound, the stepped attenuator is very transparent, with accurate positioning and more precise imaging.
With the development of the miniaturized stepped attenuator going on for a number of years, we are very excited to finally have it appear on the DX320MAX Ti. We seek to never compromise with our pursuit of perfection!
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