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I have seen a lot of inline volume controls made for 3.5mm jacks, but I'm wondering if there's such a thing built for a 1/4-inch jack. Does such a thing exist? Or will I have to get a 3.5mm version and then add adapters to both ends? (and if so, does adding such adapters carry any risk of reducing quality?)

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There is no more risk of quality loss than is present in any adapter connection. The cables themselves are effectively the same as long as you use similar quality cable with equivalent shielding, it's just a difference in connection. What is the situation that you are trying to reduce the volume for? Generally 1/4 inch connections are used on more professional devices that should have their own volume or gain adjustments. There might also be impedance mismatch issues that could cause the inline volume control itself to not function ideally.

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  • We've got a PA system that outputs to speakers along with a JK Audio AutoHybrid -- a device that broadcasts the same signal over the telephone. The trouble is that the phone line output is too quiet, but the speakers are almost too loud. Turning up the volume on the amp would solve the too quiet problem but would make things too loud over the speakers. So I figured I could set the amp volume to max and then have separate volume controls on the left and right speaker cables.
    – SoaperGEM
    Jun 4, 2013 at 18:26
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    @SoaperGEM - ok, now I have even more questions. The AutoHybrid takes a balanced input and should be unrelated to the level coming out of the amp. How are they on the same lines such that a signal attenuator would be helpful? It sounds like something is not wired up properly. Also, this will NOT work with powered lines out of the amp. There is far too much signal after the amplifier and you will either fry, get significant quality issues or simply have it not do much if you put a line level attenuator on a powered speaker line.
    – AJ Henderson ♦
    Jun 4, 2013 at 18:48
  • I am assuming that turning up the volume on the amp would also raise the volume on the AutoHybrid, though I haven't actually tested that because I didn't want to make the speaker signal too loud. I know that the two speakers come out of the amp with 1/4" cables, while the AutoHybrid is plugged in via a short XLR cable. I think it's the "line" output but I'm not positive (I don't have it in front of me right now). The real question beneath the question here is how do I make the AutoHybrid louder, because it's basically un-usable at its current volume.
    – SoaperGEM
    Jun 4, 2013 at 19:00
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    @SoaperGEM This is turning in to more of a discussion than comments are really designed for. If you want to join me in chat, I might be able to provide some more direct help.
    – AJ Henderson ♦
    Jun 4, 2013 at 19:06

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