Of Attenuators & Muting

Hello everybody! I hope you can help me with my query. If attenuators adjust volume by approximately -10db, supposedly reducing background noise, allowing you to maximize volume control thereby giving out more details in the music, etc., would there be anything gained similarly if my amp has a mute function and just use that? I noticed that by doing so, I can turn the pot up to 2 0'clock position without the sound being too loud. I haven't tried attenuators yet so I'd like to know if by just muting my amp would be a similarly good solution also.

Thanks guys for any help


regards

 

By mute, I assume you mean it loses 20dB, so you can hear if the phone is ringing etc. My original NAD amp [the best ever 3150] had one of those. Just depends on where in the circuit the mute is - at the input YES, at the end NO. It is an unfortunate fact that pots have their highest thermal noise at about 9 o clock, tho it's never bothered me.
I would not rely on a front panel control that will boost volume 20db when someone switches it. Disaster in the making. The point is that CD output is about 12-20dB too loud versus everything else. Actually, no it isn't. When they designed CD spec, they probably allowed the extra 20dB for true peaks, and allowing digital mastering without overload - expecting CDs to be at -20dB rms levels...the rest is bad history.

 

I found that with many amps/CDPs the correct value for attenuation is around 16dB. Aim to get the volume control at 12 O'clock +/-1.
There is a link to an Excel spreadsheet you acn download in the thread "DIY Attenuation Adapters for CDPs" in the DIY section. https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=1461&highlight=attenuator