Top resistors

Clabe, good to hear about your improvements. Prior to switching to fast recovery diodes in the Vel, I was always hunting around with the sub set-up and volume level. Afterwards everything just fell into place.

For a cheap and effective mod to SBAM, consider replacing the small .1uf polyester bypass caps around the op amps with ebay russian FT-1 .015uf teflon in parallel with .1uf K71 styrene. Clip off the steel leads and replace with good wire. Beyond that, the BAM benefits from upgrade to low-impedance, high-capacity SLA batteries. Few people understand that with an optimal power supply, op amps can sound as good as any tube or discrete SS device.

Vishay TX2575 are made from the new Z foil that was developed in Israel. They are suppose to be even lower noise yet. They cost $9.40 each. I have them on order for my Altmann/ DD Dac combo hybrid which is currently using the standard Vishay metal film nudes. Throw another $60.00 at this and hear what differences there may be. Tom

Audiotweak, please post your findings regarding TX2575 vs. TX2352.

I'm bumping up this thread as I just completed a comparison of resistors in the gridleak position of a tube pre-amp.

The contenders:

Vishay S102C
Tc TX2575
Dale RN65
Takman Rey
Shinko Tantalum
Holco (old stock)
Caddock USF340 (TF020)
Generic Metal Film
PRP

This was quite an interesting undertaking as I was not expecting to hear drastic differences. In the past I heard differences between resistors but mainly in the high frequencies (cartridge loading application)

The Shinko Tantalum was by far the most inaccurate resistor of the lot. Dale RN had the most bass and midrange warmth. TX 2575- the biggest disappointment of the lot. A laid back/bland/lifeless sound. S102/PRP/Takman/- not worth the time of day. Holco- now this is an interesting part. Very lively/dynamic/textured presentation with great inner detail and prat. Unfortunately it adds a fullness to vocals and mid-bass that ultimately becomes distracting.

And the winner......by a w-i-d-e margin is the Caddock USF340 (TF020). Clearly the most transparent/musical/involving resistor I've had the pleasure to hear.

Very interesting. It's been awhile since I made the comparison, but for me Caddock TF020 is a close second to TX2575. IIRC TF020 was initially strident on top, but eventually settled down. Nothing bland about TX2575-- just clean and clear.