Is there a simple way to bypass a pot in a headphone amp?

I have two Nuforce monoblock headphone amp. I really like them except the pots are shit. They hiss in certain positions and that is coming and going. I tried all all usual stuff: deoxy, turning them like 1000 times, it helps for a while.
What I would like to do is to turn them into HP power amps and use passive volume control.
I can solder pretty clean but have no understanding of the amp topology, it needs to be almost idiot proof.

Ai found the following in DIY forums:
"replace the pot with the same value resistor.
AKA if you have a 50k pot, then remove the pot and run a 50k resistor from rca in to ground. Then run the rca wire to the input of the amp."
Have some idea what it would mean but if someone can explain it would be great.
I want to set both amps on max.

 

I can't help with your specific question, but if the pots don't misbehave when set to maximum, they would effectively be bypassed. You can then put a passive attentuator in front of the inputs.

Another thing to consider is whether or not the amps are at their ideal gain when set to max volume. @atomicbob recommends setting an amp's pot to unity gain for optimum sound, and then using a passive attenuator at the input.

 

I mean... the dummy solution is to just turn them to max. That's effectively a bypass except for the very tipmost bit. Or you can solder a tiny wire bridge past the post.

Also, if these are the HA-200's I might have some alternative output modules I could send you if you wanted them.

 

Thank you gus.

Unfortunately one of them does hiss in the max position the other one quiet. The silly part is that in almost any position one of the pots is bad.

Yes, they are HA-200. Soldering is not a problem but what do you mean past the post?
"alternative output modules" thank you very much for your offer, I will PM you when I am back in Canada if I do not fix it in the meantime.

 

Ugh, really terrible wording on my part. I meant you just have to bridge the input to output of the pot.

Ignore the values, I just grabbed a pic from google. The 12V is your source. The pot will have 3 pins on it: in/out/ground. Bridge the in/out with a small wire (red line) and you've essentially disabled the pot. You can find ground just with a continuity test from a multimeter, then simply bridge the other two pins.

As for the output modules, take the cover off and send me a picture of the headphone jack area. I *think* it's for the HA-200 but I might possibly be getting it mixed up with something else.

 

Identified two pins in each channel with the least resistance between them when the pot is on max. Will solder the wire between those pairs and see what will happen.

 

I'm sure you've got it right. But after soldering and before hooking anything up, just double check from way back at the input jacks that you don't have any shorts from signal to ground. The resistance between signal and ground at the inputs should be the full value of the volume pot. Wouldn't want to damage your source!