Single Channel Attenuator

A "single channel single ended passive attenuator" is a potentiometer (pot for short) and will cost you about $3.50 in Radio Shack. Throw in RCA plug and jack and you're up to $5.00. Assumng you have a solid state preamp with output impedance of 50 ohms or less, a 10K pot will work fine. If this is a temporary experiment, keep the output wire short and you don't need to install the Pot in any sort of enclosure.

marakanetz...Perhaps RS parts are not of the quality one likes to have in the audio path, but, as a temporary device to determine needed attenuation a RS pot is fine. (And I have never had unusual problems with noise from RS pots, although all pots eventually get noisy and need a dose of contact cleaner..RS again). When the desired pot setting is determined, measure the resistance setting, and replace the pot with a couple of fixed resistors. Surely one wouldn't leave any extra adjustable attenuator device, Mouser or otherwise, in the circuit permanently.