Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/pathos-inpol-legacy-integrated-amplifier

I found it hard to ignore the partial dropouts—split-second reductions in gain—that accompanied every 0.5dB-step adjustment, as if the amp were stuttering. At the same time, a faint, percussive thwup emerges from the speakers with every stepped change. Harmonia’s Jesse Luna relayed my experience to Pathos HQ in Italy and got the following response: “The volume control is a laddered resistor network that uses premium Vishay Dale metal-film resistors and individual relays, so the signal goes through one resistor per channel and comes out 100% pure. Because they’re a mechanical device with a switching speed, there can be a very short delay between the devices responding.” For maximum sonic purity, Pathos’s engineers rejected the idea of inserting a mute circuit, transistors, or ICs into the signal path, at the expense of the tiny serial dropouts I mentioned. “These kinds of solutions would most definitely impact the overall sound quality in a negative way,” team Pathos asserted. I can easily live with that decision.What I couldn’t brook was the Legacy’s remote control. Even with a fresh battery, turning off the amplifier often required as many as a dozen power-button pushes. Curiously, that same button performed better—but still not reliably—when powering the Legacy on. The remote has gray icons printed on a mottled silver finish. Until you become familiar with the buttons and can operate them by feel, prepare to do a lot of squinting, if you are of a certain age. I eventually just kept the master volume at 60 and adjusted from there within the Roon app running on my MacBook A

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