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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
johnss
570 posts
 
I have used the Vishay bulk foil for years, in both tube and SS gear. They add no character of their own to the sound. If a user installs them and finds them bright, all the Vishays are doing is letting through the sonics of that circuitry or device. Using carbons is a band-aid for a different problem. You have never heard LP playback unless you have listened to a phono stage all done with vishays. see link below. best.

http://www.vishaypg.com/docs/49997/49997.pdf
reb1208
518 posts
 
Johnss: Which Vishay bulk foil are you referring to?

The Vishay S102C (non nude version) I tried in the signal path in a direct coupled position between amplification stages. This resistor is highly colored in that it strips music of harmonics resulting in a tonally inaccurate sound. The Vishay (TC) TX2575 is much more tonally accurate , harmonics are presented intact. The sound of a maraca sounds like a percussion instrument through a TX2575. Through a S102 (non nude) it sounds like gravel inside a soda can.
theaudiotweak
2,797 posts
 
Try painting the nudes with AVM its part of my Blue Period.
Tom
johnss
570 posts
 
Vishay VSRs.

Similar to the S104.
the biggest improvement are the shunt resistors (47K, 100K etc) where they are loading the output of one of the stages.

http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/vishay/vsr.pdf

Also keep in mind they will let through what ever is in the signal path, so if you are using in SS gear, you likely will need to add bypass caps to the power supply if not already there.
larryi
3,997 posts
 
I haven't done any experimentation myself, but, I know people, including small manufacturers of ultra high quality components, who say there is no such thing as a best or top resistor, capacitor, or any such component. I asked one why he worried about a certain "cheap" resistor becoming unavailable, and he said that he had tried many others, such as Vishay 102Cs, and for his circuit, in his opinion, they sounded dry and analytical. I heard the same from another small manufacturer.

It would be much easier if there were such a thing as a clear upgrade path, but, that is not the case. I heard an "upgraded" version of an amp I am familiar with that sounded shockingly bad compared to the original. It turned out that the upgrade consisted of just parts substitutions of Black Gate caps for the cheaper caps the manufacturer used. In this particular application, the Black Gates were NOT appropriate.
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