tc electronic Level Pilot X

I bought this and have used it for many years in order to have a volume control at hand for emergencies like crashes (when a sample is stuck in the buffer), or sudden loud sound sources and It does the job. It's heavy, sturdy and affordable, not to mention it looks nice and clean.

The downsides however are in logevity. After having been used for a couple years it started to 'crack' a little bit in use, possibly due to corrosion. I suppose this is acceptable wear considering my studio is used at least 60 hours a week, however I switched to an ARC (from RME) which digitally controls the output, and after taking this out of the signal chain I was blown away by the difference in fidelity. My sound was more open, the stereofield was more clear and the high end sounded more complete. I was obviously very used to the sound of my set after all these years so maybe the difference was extra noticable to me because of that, but I feel like a component this essential in the signal chain should'nt make compromises to sound quality, not even when it's 100 years old.

This is a very simple device, consisting is a very high quality potentiometer in an aluminium enclosure, very minimalistic and classy in design. The rotary knob feels smooth, as expected most of the volume reduction is smooth up until the last part where the drop is mostly accentuated. I can't hear any loss of quality or colouration introduced by the circuit, I measured the SPL from my speakers and it appears that there is practically no attenuation in sound level when the unit is at its peak position (although the experiment was not perfectly accurate since I had to hold the mic with my hands). The pot is not dented, and there are no indicators other than a single one on top of the knob, however the min position is roughly between the TC and the max falls on the C of the brand :) so you have a way to visually understand where you are. I advice in calibrating the volume of the speakers at max and measure it (I have it at 83dbf each) and use the pot to reduce the volume. The attached wire is very long, but despite that you need additional cables since the balanced extensions are too short, about 50 cm apart.