Really dumb question regarding NS-10s/Bryston 2b

[SpeedKing9]

OK, so I have a pair of NS-10's with a crappy power amp, and I just recently purchased a Bryston 2b that should be on its way soon. My question is..what do people typically do to control the volume externally? I didn't have a problem with that as of yet, because I have a volume know on my power amp, but there is none with the Bryston. What do people/studios generally do? Is this a situation where I get like a little mixer or something to run as an "external volume knob"? I'd prefer to not color the sound as much as possible, but any insight would help me out.

[theblue1]

Well, you'll essentially be in the same boat as folks with powered speakers...

I was looking at the Presonus Central Station the other day and it looked like it had a pretty good set of features. A buddy had the little Samson thing and switched to the Presonus and thought it sounded noticeably better.

There's also the Mackie Big Knob.

You'll want to compare features... looked like the Presonus might be used for creating monitor mix with a blend of the input and the computer playback, crucial, of course, for overdubbing.

[XSergeantD]

Helps to know what you're using is you want to work around having external volume control

Check out Presonus and DangerousMusic controls

[SpeedKing9]

very simple setup. just a few mic pres (great river, avalon 737), u-195, u87, sm-57, 421 mics, lynx 2-B for my ad/da and interface, furman headphone amp, distressors as compressors. its mainly a writing/demo studio, but id like easy access for volume control. i dont need monitor mixes, i dont need any fancy crap, im only looking for a volume knob that i can physically twist, instead of doing it on the computer. i also dont want to degrade/color the sound to the point where its noticeable, so if like a cheap small mackie mixer will do the trick, thats cool, but i want to make sure it doesnt mess with the monitoring anymore than it should.

[dj_who]

this is what i'm planning to get.

http://www.nhthifi.com/products/pvc.html

[Rick Sutton]

Originally Posted by SpeedKing9

so if like a cheap small mackie mixer will do the trick, thats cool, but i want to make sure it doesnt mess with the monitoring anymore than it should.

Sssshhhhh. Don't tell anybody, but that's what I'm doing. When I changed my power amp on my NS10s to a Bryston 2 the level was too loud when switching between speakers (my board has an overall monitor volume knob and switching for 4 sets of speakers) so instead of building a proper resistive network I put a Mackie 1202 in line (and out of sight) intending to change it to the proper way ASAP. Well, 4 years later I still have the Mackie in line. It works for me. Anyway, the Bryston is great on the NS10s

[Kestral]

Agree with Rick

I also went with the Mackie 1202 route for my Crown DC200 amp and NS10s.

[Geddyleewannabe]

Any more suggestions on how to control volume with Brystons without affecting the sound coming from your monitors?

Also, what would be a "proper resistive network"?

[Geddyleewannabe]

As I think about it, would I even need a passive volume attenuator to control the volume of my monitors if my DA converter (Mytek Stereo96 DAC) running into the power amp (Bryston with no volume controls) has a volume control of its own?

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

Any more suggestions on how to control volume with Brystons without affecting the sound coming from your monitors?

Also, what would be a "proper resistive network"?

Resistors reduce electrical current. A resistor network is a way to reduce current (like the output to an amplifier) in steps.