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Best sounding resistors

I'm working on building another DIY preamp and am interested in opinions on the best sounding resistors, and specifically what sound characteristics you thought the resistors conveyed. These will be used in a balanced SS preamp with an op-amp based unity gain input buffer (instrumentation style) feeding a Khozmo shunt attenuator, with an output/gain stage using differential jfet input and single-ended class A mosfet output. 

I know there are plenty of people that think a resistor is a resistor and it's a total waste of money to buy "audiophile" parts. I have personally experienced a noticeable difference between various resistors, so I don't really want to get into that argument. And please don't ask about double blind testing or proving the difference with measurements. 

I'm particularly interested in your experience with the following types.

Amtrans AMRG
AudioNote Non-Magnetic Tantalum
Caddock MK132/MK232 thick film 
Riken RikenOhm carbon film
Takman REX carbon film
Takman REY metal film
Vishay Z-foil

I have some experience with the Takman and Vishay Z-foil resistors, and have already ordered a Khozmo attenuator with Takman REY shunt resistors. I will install the series resistors and am currently planning on Vishay Z-foil. The Takman REYs were Arek's (Khozmo proprietor) recommendation. 

My current preamp (DIY) uses mostly Vishay Z-foils and I do love the detail and airiness these provide, but the new preamp I am building requires a lot of values that are not currently available in the Z-foils. It also requires considerably more resistors, and the Z-foils are quite pricey. I am currently leaning toward a mix of Z-foils and Takman REY parts, but I'd love to hear about your experience and opinions.

Thanks,
Jay
128x128jaytor

Showing 6 responses by jaytor

jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
@pragmasi - Good to know. Thanks for pointing that out. I wasn't aware of that. 
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
@bigkidz - thanks for your feedback. That's helpful. 
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
Thanks. Is there an online retailer for the Charcroft CAR resistors?
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
@pragmasi - Thanks for your response. I agree the Vishay thin films sound great. I am going to try to use these in as many places in the signal path I can. 

I am using the Salas DCG3 circuit for the output stage (in a balanced configuration) and this works best with a source impedance of 5K, so that is what I selected for my attenuator. But I am running fully balanced (two attenuator banks per channel), so this will help with the resistor noise. 

@petg60 - Thanks for the suggestion of Hifi Collective as a retailer. 
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
@cal3713  the Audionote Tantalum resistors that are on sale are the magnetic variety. I've seen a few posts from people when I was researching resistors who tried those and were not happy. I think the non magnetic versions are supposed to be much better. Probably why they are phasing out the magnetic versions. 

I've ordered a combination of Vishay and Charcroft z-foils for all the signal path resistors and Takman REY resistors for the rest. Based on my experience with my current preamp, I'm sure I'll be satisfied with these. 
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
742 posts
 
I haven't done direct A/B comparisons of different resistors in the same circuit, but I have noticed that circuits built with different resistor types tend to sound different. Specifically, the Z-foil resistors add a lot of clarity and detail (removing a veil as some describe it), but they don't sound as warm and rich as some other resistors. 

Cheap carbon resistors tend to sound a bit dull with less detail. Better carbon film resistors add some warmth and richness. 

These differences are fairly subtle and I doubt very much I'd be able to tell the difference replacing a single resistor (although others have claimed otherwise), but building an entire preamp using higher quality resistors definitely improves the sound. 

As an example, check out the reviews of the Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE base model and with upgrades. The with Stage 2 upgrades. One of the key differences with the upgrades is replacing most of the signal path resistors with Z-foils. 

Several months ago, I completed a DIY preamp where I used Vishay Z-foil resistors (Takman REX shunt resistors in the attenuator) for all signal path resistors. This preamp turned out to have significantly improved detail over the Parasound JC-2 preamp I had been using. It's not often that I have replaced a single component and heard such stark differences. Obviously there were other differences in the circuits, connectors, wiring, etc., but I believe the higher quality resistors had a lot to do with the sound quality improvements.
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