Differences between carbon & conductive plastic pot. ?

Hi all,

What are the differences ? Are the conductive plastic ones more suitable in certain occasions ?


On the S800EQ project, it seems that the conductive plastic potentiometers are recommended; what if I decide to use the carbon ones instead ?

Thanks,

eD

You mean the Neumann W492 EQ.

I've been wondering the same thing. Audiox says that the carbon ones will get scratchy because the circuit is DC coupled. I was wondering if we could use blocking caps of some sort, and hoping some one wiser could chime in.

carbon pots wear out - the results being heard as a scratchy sound when you turn the pot. A few spurts of cleaner helps "fix" the problem for a while, then it comes back with vengeance. A worn out carbon pot feels gritty when it gets old.

If you've opened a carbon pot, you can literally see worn out tracks where the metal wiper arm slides over it.

Conductive plastic pots have super long life (compared to the carbon pots) and low torque.