Goldenjacks attenuators

I bought some of the following from ebay -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5771523730&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

just thought I'd see what they are like, and the price wasn't to be sniffed at...

when I first tried them I wasn't too impressed, but was informed that they're take time to open up, tho no mention of 'how much time' this would take...

I did leave them on over the weekend for all my listening - roughly about 16-20 hours and I', still not impressed, the bass has gone...

they may suit other people with other setups, but I mearly used my cdp, dac and amp (with the attenuator plugged between the amp and dac, but on the amp) and i also had the sub plugged into my amp...

I've emailed the guy back asking for a refund...otherwise I'll be selling them on..

anyone else used these before, or had dealings with this seller..?

 

They need longer than that, they're just resistors in a can, it could take weeks on loop for them to get sorted. Just speaking R's in general here though, no experience with those

 

Although not exactly the same, I currently own and sometimes use a pair of Rothwell attenuators, which i am sure these items you have bought are a clone of, i have owned and used two sets of Rothwells.

My personal opinion is that if these devices are going to have the effect that you had hoped for then it should be immediate and blatantly obvious, any talk from the seller about 'burning in' over time is hocus pocus bullshit and complete and utter BOLLOCKS ! The only way they will 'open up' over time is if they explode. Any differences you do note will be you, your mind and your ears just getting accustomed to the new sound over time, nothing else.

This 'burn in over time' shite is just an excuse for people to sell gear and then hope that folk will go away and forget after initial disappointment.

I bought my pair(s)for a very specific reason and that was to lower the input signal level to a pre-amplifier from both a MC cartridge step-up transformer which was un-adjustable and slightly too high and also the output from a CDP , which again was about 2.4+volts and I felt it overpowered the input into my Pre-amp, causing a slight amount of distortion. In this respect the attenuators do/did exactly what i wanted of them and that was they attenuated the input signal down to a lower level.
As far as Tighter bass, cleaner treble, higher highs, lower lows, inky blacknesses, wider sound stages, deeper sound stages, making the music more coherent or 'getting into the mind of the writer' .....you guessed it...(hint: bollocks) .

 

I'm not trying to sell anything. Funny how in DIY circles most people seem to think the oposite.

 

yeah, thanks for both of your replies....I've since got a reply back from the seller and he's happy to refund me.

cheers

I thought I'd at least give them a try...

 

Anex, I'm sure sid was reffering to the seller of the attenuators and sellers in general, didn't look to me as if he was reffering to you.

 

Well no but his post did indirectly say that what I thought was total bollocks.

 

If someone can not hear the difference between spanking new resistors and fully run in resistors, they have a severe hearing problem, IMO.
To say "'burning in' over time is hocus pocus bullshit and complete and utter BOLLOCKS ", is "bollocks", from people who have obviously never tried it.

 

Whether you choose to believe in the effects of burning in or not, the attenuators should work as advertised immediately, possibly/arguably with the added benefit of a slight improvement with time, if they do not then a refund is what I would expect as well and it's good that the seller offered one. It could be that they don't suit your system for some reason or other.

'Burning in' may well have a slight effect over time, but it's likely to be pretty damn subtle. If I were to buy something only to find that it did not do what it was advertised to do, then I would not be prepared to wait several weeks in the hope that it might suddenly start working.
I've used a pair of Rothwell attenuators and they worked perfectly from the second they were connected and my system powered up, and I did not notice any change in their performance in the 12 months or so that I used them.

Just my tuppence worth..........

 

Burning in of Resistors is not a subtle effect. Some change more than others but some designs will absolutely completely change beyond recognition. Having tried MANY types of resistors I have listened, I'm not just making it up. One of things I really agree with Russ on is how long it takes for stuff to settle in properly

 

Fair enough, I'm happy to take your word for it (genuinely) it's just not an effect I've personally noticed to any great degree. I find it hard enough to gauge the effect a new bit of kit or a modification makes after a couple of weeks unless it's easily reversible and you can re-visit the earlier setup. If it sounds good straight away and continues to do so indefinitely then that's good enough for me, as I find my mind plays tricks on me and it's that old 'change = improvement' problem whereby I convince myself that an audible change (that I've paid for) equals an audible improvement, only to reverse the change at a later date and find that it sounded better before the alteration.

However, I still stand by my statement that if it doesn't do 'what it says on the tin', then I would return it if I could, rather than wait in hopeful expectation - that is unless the seller would be prepared to wait until I was happy with the product before receiving payment.....

 

Well I must say, averse to certain marketing tactics myself, I don't think any ridiculously stupid over selling has been made on these,more a description of what they will do,and what is inside....finest resistors,ok, fair enuff.
So on sonic grounds, there isn't an awful lot that is DIRECTLY claimed, more by the list of happy buyers.

 

From my own DIY work Ive found that the quality of resistors varies by quite a large amount also you cant trust the values to be precise, I always test the exact values and match accordingly. Just my little finding.

 

Yeah this burning in thing with electronics is a devil you know.

Bought a new PC, full of those resistor thingies. Do you know I was told I would have to wait for at least a month of usage before it would handle word files and photoshop properly. Burn in apparently!

Same with my toaster, the flavour of the toast didnt improve for at least two weeks.