I bought the V1 via Douk Audio's EbayUk shop wanting a passive attenuator for my Dac to connect straight to my Audiolab M-PWR power amplifier. The main reason so I could bypass any further character being added into the chain from op amp/resistors/capacitors/valves ect as I already have active preamps that do exactly that and to good effect.
The V1 XLR does the job and very well. There is no further colouration to the Dacs sound, the V1 is neutral. The only other point of sonic influence in between the dac and the V1 will be cable choice and so I made good choices there too so to avoid any weakness in the chain from the start.
I am very pleased with the results. The signal to the amp now mostly depends on the quality of the Dac and a little on cable choice and I get exactly what they give straight to the power amp.
The build quality is heavy duty, a good solid little box. Suitably sealed so the Alps potentiometer is very well protected from dirt, dust, and moisture. Well made.
Unless you wish to add valves and preferred op amps to your chain for personal tastes then I would put the V1 XLR at the top of your list for an passive attenuator to achieve a purer signal straight from your Dac of choice and while there maybe other passive attenuators on the market, I can say from my research and now experience that the V1 is probably one of the best value options for build quality and purpose.

Works perfect.

Works great. Sound good.

I really don't leave many reviews but since i'm on adderall and finally got my speakers working again, I'm really excited to share. This volume knob works incredibly well with my system.Mac --> ODAC --> Nobsound VOL --> Schiit Vidar(1) --> Ascend Acoustics Sierra 1sPrior to this nobsound vol control I was using a Schiit Asgard 2 Headphone Preamp. It sounded pretty good as well but the volume control was noisy and you can hear clicks and distortion in the speakers as you're turning the knob. The nobsound also seems to have a wider soundstage compared to my Asgard 2. I was worried that going with a passive preamp would sacrifice some gain but that is not the case. In fact I can turn the volume louder while getting less distortion than compared to the Asgard.There's a review stating that they experienced some issues where the volume knob wasn't linear with the audio gain. Like they noticed the gain jumping significantly from only slightly turning the knob. I was worried I'd run into the same issue but that hasn't been my experience. The knob feels very solid and the gain does seem pretty linear to me.5/5 stars. I couldn't be happier. I also now have something small enough to set on my desktop.

I am impressed by the build quality of this volume control. I do not experience the difference of gain in each channel that some have reported..... WHEW! I put a small gold paint dot to help see the volume setting in my dimly lit listening room.