Carbon film crossover resistors, need source

[ridikas]

I'm looking for a good source for carbon film resistors for speaker crossovers (l-pads). Higher wattage (5 watts) would be preferred, as well as close tolerance (1%-2%). 1 watt and 2 watt are OK as well, I'll be paralleling them to get 10-15 watts total. I need the final resistance values to be small, 1.8 Ohm, 2 Ohm, etc.

I'm aware of the following: Kiwame (KOA Speer), Riken, Takmam Rex, and Amtrans. The problem is that most suppliers either don't stock the correct values to make small resistances, or the proper power handling. I would prefer to buy from a distributor like Mouser, Newark, Digikey, etc.

 

[Enzo]

What is the reason for carbon film as opposed to wirewound? Surely the tiny inductance can;t be it. Or if it is, a small compensation in the rest of the circuit would put it back where you want. They come in 1%, and you can get the desired resistance in a single part, reducing wiring or parallels. I am a sucker for those aluminum housed ones like Dale makes. But if you prefer through holes, they come in ceramic too.

 

[davidsrsb]

Paralleling leaded resistors gives less power rating than you expect as much of the heat loss is through the leads.
Just use a 2R2 wirewound and parallel it to get the value you want.

 

[Damon Hill]

There >are< very large carbon film power resistors, but they're generally for radio transmitter loads in an oil bath. I'd think they'd be extremely expensive, too (low production runs). Given carbon film's mediocre specs, I'd much rather go with a quality non-inductive wirewound.

 

[Mark Johnson]

Digikey sells these Yaego 3W carbon film resistors but their tolerance is 10%.

 

[ridikas]

Wirewound are OK. I've been using Mills in countless projects over the years. Mills are my second favorite WW resistors. The hard to find RCD are my favorites.

That being said, WW resistors sound great for woofers, midwoofers, and midranges... But I'm not a fan when it comes to attenuating the tweeter. They sound hard and bland at the same time.

I've had good results paralleling metal film resistors: Roederstein MK3, Philips MRS25, Holco, PRP, etc. These sound very nice. Crisp and detailed. But with metal film it's very important to test. Some of the Caddocks, as well as the popular Vishay RN60D will make you run out of the room holding your ears. Nasty harsh.

I've tried some cheap carbon resistors from a resistor kit and so far they sound terrific. As detailed as the metal film ones, but softer. I wanted to get some higher quality ones to do further testing.