Ultimate Attenuator

[BIG Dave]

Several years ago, the Ultimate Attenuator was the rage. Then there was lots of dicussion that it was not a true attenator, but a 30 ohm load resistor with a solid state re-amp. Haven't heard much about it lately, and the email address on the website comes back "Your message wasn't delivered because the recipient's email provider rejected it". There is one on the local Craiglist at a very attractive price (about 25% of what they cost new). Before I take the plunge, anyone have one and would like to comment? Is the company out-of-business?

 

[rbehm]

Ho Electronics , the original designer is still in business. He is in Vancouver B.C. He sold the mfg.
rights to someone in the USA . I'm not sure if they are out of business or not.
Ho will still make you one.
They are good ,however I would not use one with my older Marshalls ,they have been known to "spike" and take out the Tranny , that is what I've heard ,Ho say's no problem.
you could call Ho or E-Mail him .

 

[BIG Dave]

Okay, so Ho is still making them in Canada but the USA distributor (Magus Innovations - www.ultimateattenuator.com) may have shut down. I decided to go ahead and get the one off Craigslist, because the price was too good to pass up. It's the 100 watt model with the Plexi Switch. I compared it to my THD Hot Plate and (IMHO) the UA does sound better, especially at lower volumes. I'll probably go ahead and do the 100 volt AC outlet mod so I have a place to plug my '71 JMP50 into rather than the Variac I've been using.

 

[TM1]

Hi Dave, if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for that one? I remember my friend Peter Stroud raving about them about 10 years ago..I was going to get one thru Peter back then, but just never did. I remember they were in the $500. range.

 

[moonweasel]

EVERYONE raged about them here.

 

[BIG Dave]

Hi Dave, if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for that one?

Oh sure, why not? I paid $150. I thought they were going for $600 years back so I thought $150 was a good deal.

 

[TM1]

$150. Sounds like a really Great deal! Congrats!

 

[Gold Tone]

Ho is a cool old guy...looks crazy! like he's been breathing in way too many solder fumes! But a great guy with a lot of passion for electronics and music. He's been one of the go to guys here in Vancouver for decades and always a great deal.

I walked into his shop a couple of years ago asking about the UA...he was ready to build one for me to my specs right on the spot! Didn't go for it as attenuators aren't for me personally but after shopping a few, his is the one I would buy if I needed one.

 

[Fuzzface]

I have 3. One i got direct, and 2 recently second hand for very little. They all sound completely different when used at almost full effect i.e bedroom. The first one is stellar. The other 2 i really do not like. Odd.

 

[J T]

I have one with the Plexi mod works great