Yamamoto Sound Craft AT-03-3A Highest Quality Attenuator Unit

Overwhelming information obtained with the passive method. Soft, warm, and high-precision sound

The AT-03-3A is a top-quality attenuator unit that delivers the overwhelming information and lively high frequencies characteristic of passive attenuators, while also providing a soft and warm tone. By minimizing the number of circuits the music signal passes through, it improves the freshness of the sound, producing rich lows and extended, light, delicate, bright, and comfortable sound.

High-precision volume adjustment with L-shaped 28 steps

• L-pad type circuit: The attenuator uses an L-shaped volume adjustment function with **28 resistor points switched by a switch**. Only two resistors are required for the signal source, minimizing quality loss caused by the resistors.
• High-precision left-right balance: Successfully reduces left-right level deviation to within 0.2dB, overcoming the weakness of continuous volume, enabling precise soundfield reproduction.
• Detailed step adjustment: Volumes from 0dB to −38dB can be adjusted in **2dB steps**, allowing fine-tuning.The minimum volume can be reduced to −65dB, accommodating any level adjustment.

• Impedance: Designed with **50kΩ impedance**, compatible with any equipment.

Carefully selected top-quality materials

• Resistors (DALE): The resistors in the volume control section, after numerous listening tests, are DALE 1W surface-mount resistors from the USA, minimizing signal loss through the resistors.
• Switches (Seiden): For the volume adjustment and input selection switches, we use the well-known **Seiden Co., Ltd. 45SD type**, providing high reliability and excellent usability.
  

• Internal wiring (6N single-core copper): **1.2mm diameter high-purity 6N copper solid wire is used for all wires for internal wiring. The wire is used in the most insulating Teflon tube** to maximize sound quality.
• Noise Protection: The use of surface-mount resistors also produces almost no noise when switching contacts.

Design and finish

• Ebony Adoptation: The dial and feet are made of ebony, which contributes to a sense of luxury and vibration damping.

Sound quality that prioritizes clarity and purity

The passive configuration (because it does not have an amplification circuit) allows for high sound purity and transparency, and unabated reproduction of the information contained in the sound source. There is no coloring through transformers or active circuits, and it tends to be perceived as a very "honest sound". This has been particularly appreciated in combination with the company's SET (direct thermal triode) amplifiers.

The effect of high-precision stepped attenuators

The 28-step resistive ladder system used for volume control is designed to maintain constant impedance for each setting. This makes it difficult to lose the elongation of the high frequencies and the clarity of the contours even when the volume is lowered. In fact, when the volume is turned down, there are comments such as "the sound is not thin" and "the low frequencies are necessary and sufficient".

Musicality-oriented positioning

The AT-03-3A is not just a volume control, but a device that carefully depicts the nuances and textures of music. There is a tendency to emphasize the direction of reducing noise and coloring, which is common when used in conjunction with active phono stages and preamps, and to make the positional relationship of the instrument and the prospect of spatial depiction.

The AT-03-3A is a high-precision attenuator suitable for users who want to faithfully deliver the information of the sound source while minimizing incidental noise caused by amplification through a transformer or amp. The design maintains clarity in the high range and stability in the low range even when the volume is reduced, a feature consistently praised by magazines and users alike.