Squeezbox Duet and Bang&Olufsen 4000, need for attenuation

[alexander_binder]

Hello all,

I just recently got myself some B&O 4000 speakers to get rid of my old sony hi-fi.
The idea, minimal setup, squeezbox and amplified speakers. I use the system mostly at low volumes, and this is where my troubles starts.

The minimum volume on my Duet is a 1 and still to my taste too high, mostly when I want to read a book and still have some background music.

I tried some Rothwell in-line attenuators with -12db. They did reduce the hissing noise a bit when no music is playing. But it did not resolve fully my volume issue to a satisfactory level. And the other issue is that now the speakers don't turn off as there must be some noise preventing them to go in stand-by...

Maybe just to say, I am not an audiophiles expert and not a purist either.

So I am asking myself what I could do, on the wiki: http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.ph...rce_line_level
I found the Goldpoint SA1 (http://www.goldpt.com/sa1.html) that is pasive, and of a minimal design, the price is faar from the minimalistic/simple design.

I do feel this would solve my problem as the duet output around 4 volt and the bang and olufsen are 0.125 not good at the formula but I recon I would need between 20 or 30 db attenunation... the Goldpoint SA1 allow up to 24 setp of attenuation from 0 to -62db (http://www.goldpt.com/info.html).

But what about this noise that the speakers don't tun off? what could be done there or would this disapear with more attenuation?

Also I was thinking the Duet or other squeezbox don't provide connection to ground, could this improve the system?

Regards,

Alex

[darrenyeats]

About the Rothwells, they do custom orders so you can pick your level of attenuation.

[alexander_binder]

In the end I went with the Goldpoint SA1.
No impact on sound quality as far as I can tell, no noise. And finally I am able to fine tune the volume to a very low level for book reading.
I do have to say the price of the Goldpoint preamp is not cheap. But it is a very high quality product in my opinion so worth the money.

alex