[sdiy] Audio taper pots - shunt resistors and contact resistance

[David G Dixon]

> But then you are paying more.  If we consider commercial 
> volumes (since you mention "quantities"), a cheap Chinese 
> carbon track log pot in volume is going to be cents (think 
> Behringer quality).  Compare that to a 2164, of which you 
> still need a pot, plus the RC network on the input, and a 
> share of the supply decoupling caps, and additional PCB area, 
> and higher power consumption, and increased assembly time, 
> and higher unreliability (more components, more MTBFs, do the 
> stats), so... yes... 
> there is a cost.

Well, yeah, but I thought we were talking about "quality" here.  If you're
not prepared to put your audio signal through a "cheap Chinese carbon track
log pot" then the 2164-based solution is probably still cheaper.  It is also
probably better, no matter how expensive the pot.  Plus, if you use linear
taper pots by the thousands, and don't typically require audio taper pots,
then they will be more expensive because you won't be buying them in similar
quantities.  On the other hand, if you buy 2164 chips 10,000 at a time (like
we do), then the choice is probably already made.