Looking for a 2-channel high end volume control


I am working on a balanced design and I need a gain control with two channels. I currently am considering the Cirrus Logic CS3308/18. Details here: https://www.cirrus.com/products/cs3308-18/

However, unfortunately, the Cirrus is an 8-channel gain control and they apparently do not have a 2-channel version of this chip.

Is there a chip of comparable quality that can simultaneously perform gain control on two channels?


tubular7
I use the CS3310, a 2-channel Stereo control. It’s part of a Chinese "passive preamp" with 4 inputs, remote control, mute, and it also has Balance control that doesn’t affect the sound quality in any way.

The "blurb" on ebay claimed Jeff Rowland also used it. Skeptical, I checked the Rowland site: sure enough, Rowland’s $17,000 preamp does use it.

Before I got it, I was using an ALPS 10K motorized pot, which is 40 years old, bu works perfectly. I still haven’t completely decided, but I think the old pot delivers a bit more detail... but lacks a balance function.

I need remote control, but I haven't yet found a chip-based system that can match a simple pot. Even my Meridian preamp, a "high-end" brand, veils the sound noticeably.
PS — I should have included this extensive info:

https://www.digikey.com/htmldatasheets/production/486737/0/0/1/cs3310.html


Cirrus discontinued this product, as of Feb 4, 2022 (sic) —but it’s still available
Interesting to learn about the Muses, I've not come across that manufacturer before. Spec is very similar to the Cirrus and TI although the Muses has a gain stage built in (but not great distortion figures).
In all honesty I'm not even sure whether 99.9% of people would ever notice whether it was a pot, IC or switched attenuator. In terms of noise the ICs score lowest, pots are pretty good when they're brand new. Pots are worst on left/right tracking and longevity. And switched attenuators are either expensive and have limited steps (passive types) or expensive and complicated (log relay types). If 'high end' means best sound quality then none of the ICs really cut it... I'm only saying that because 'high end' is in the title of the thread.


I never heard of Cirrus, but there is DACT, Goldpoint, Elma, Shallco, Noble, Penny and Giles, and etc, all of which make excellent two-channel balanced attenuators in your choice of impedance. (I am sure I left out a few other quality brand names.)  Depends upon how much you want to spend.  In addition to conventional resistor-based attenuators, like those mentioned, you can also think about attenuators based on light intensity and a photo-electric cell.  (I guess that is what danager points out above; I personally would stick with resistors.) No reason to mess with an 8-channel device when you only need 2.  If you don't already know much about attenuators, you might want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the pluses and minuses of the various types, e.g., series, shunt, or ladder type, and e.g., stepped attenuators vs continuous types, etc.