Top resistors


Many threads with opinions on boutique coupling capacitors, but very little consolidated information on the sonics of resistors. Anyone care to share their thoughts on the attributes of their favorite brands & types for specific tube and SS applications? How much of a difference does a good resistor make?

My interest in the topic increased after recently installing the latest Texas Components nude Vishay TX2575 in several SS and tube phono & LS components. This was a proverbial "Ah-ha" moment-- a stray resistor dropped into signal path here or there, surprising with an improvement that equalled or surpassed the impact of a switch to a top coupling cap like V-Cap or Mundorf.
dgarretson
Many thanks Kirkus. I appreciate you taking the time to look at the schematic and offer such a thoughtful reply.

I have PRP's in the positions you mention. In your opinion, would it be worth swapping in low noise resistors or will the benefit be marginal? It's probably hard to know the results for sure, but thought I'd ask anyway. I'm willing to upgrade if it offers an improvement, but don't want to throw money at the situation when it doesn't do anything.
my opinion changing resistor doesn't make significant difference such we change tube or capacitor ,although they still have difference sonic character ,another good resistor that i recommend is Riken RMG ,i was ever been compare with vishay S102,the riken have better midrange reproduction & warmer sound than 102 ,but 102 have better tranparancy & clarity.i have never been compare to TX2575 yet
Mr Y- Any components(passive or active) that can be replaced in the signal path(or power supply) to provide a more transparent conduit (and gain) for the signal will have a cumulative effect. Many of us desire to provide as transparent a path, from the source to the speakers, for our music as possible. That entails replacing anything that adds or subtracts from the original signal. Some components(generally utilized in manufacture for the sake of economy) are known to induce noise, warmth or other colorations, and are targeted for elimination. What may seem insignificant or desirable to some, is found unacceptable to others.
yes i agree ,but warmer sound in riken rmg doesn't mean much of coloration like allen bradley ,but i mean they didn't sound too cold like S102 ,ussually more transparency ,more clean ,make sound become cold ,the sound like new mark levinson or 6H30 tube ,but this depend on personal taste.
IME Riken carbon-film resistors obscure detail relative to Caddock MK132(warm but resolving) and nude TX2575(even more resolving, but without etch or coldness.) Nude TX2352 is identical to nude Vishay S102. The higher-spec nude TX2575 has no Vishay-brand equivalent.

With various mods & most recently TX2575, I'm trying to decide if transparency, clarity, and resolution are the ultimate goals of the sport & can be pursued in absolute terms without compromising other aspects of sound. With TX2575 the answer seems to be yes.

After the latest round of changes, I borrowed some nice NOS tubes, in order to compare the impact of resistor subs and other mods to tube rolling. Tubes included RCA 6SN7GT grey glass, Sylvania 6SN7WGT 1951, Raytheon 6SN7GT, and Russian 6SN7/1578/6N8S. My anecdotal conclusion is that in a well-designed component, no amount of tube rolling(at least 6SN7 rolling) definitively improves sound like TX2575. Moreover, assuming availability of high-quality tubes that don't blur detail, the shifts occuring with tube rolling are quite different in character(more subjective)than the across-board-improvement associated with rolling a high quality resistor. (My baseline for tube evaluation is current-production $12 6SN7EH, which gets surprisingly close to the best of the above NOS.) Some tubes (Sylvania & RCA) add obvious affectations and discontinuities, that while possibly compensating for shortcomings in some components, probably don't belong in neutral & transparent gear.