Res Survey:....... Carbon film ...or... Metal Film ...............??

[nina]

Just a quick survey about your preference on the resister (in general - no matter brand it is).

!A. Carbon film ( e.g. Panasonic - ECG ERD-S2 series)

!B. Metal film

Optional: Why?




Thank you for your comment.

[nina]

I myself vote for A). the carbon film as it's more natural and easier to ear.

[Nuuk]

This is like asking whether you prefer salt or pepper! You should use the one that suits the recipe!

As a rule, I try and mix resistors in a circuit so that the sound of one type doesn't dominate.

The sonic signature of the rest of the items in your hi-fi system will also determine your preference for which type of resistor (and other components) sound best to you.

[steenoe]

Just a quick survey about your preference on the resister

Thats actually an interesting question, Nina. It would be very usefull with some more oppinions on that subject. I guess, Nuuk is right that it can be implementation dependent.
Some "high-end" companies use only carbon resistors in the signal path, like Holfi. Most of us just use cheap metalfilm, I guess.
Maybe it would be worth it, to experiment a bit with carbonresistors? More oppinions on this subject would be great

Steen.

[Nuuk]

I'm going to stick my head out of the trenches here and say that I like 'old' carbon films that have been left in the sun in a black bag for as long as possible! Don't ask me why but I feel that 'slow cooking' them like this makes fr a smooth sound!

Of course, I may have inhaled too many solder fumes in which case everybody bar Thorsten will think that I'm mad!

[demogorgon]

I will have to say nuuk, that sounds like one of the more peculiar aspects of diy i'v ever heard..

black bag-sun cooked old carbonfilms.. where do you buy those?

As a mater of fact, thats even weirder that peeling the plastic off caps..

as for me, i use metal film resistors, as i have percived it as being the most sonicaly neutral resistor. thats atleast what i'v heard, i havn't made any direct comparasons.

[Miniwatt]

black bag-sun cooked

That´s the DIY-aspect of course

[Panelhead]

I have tried the carbon films. Most have steel leads. All lot of the metal film are steel also. Purchased a couple thousand japanese carbon films on-line once. Threw them away after seeing they had steel leads.
My favorite is Allen Bradley. Use the old carbon comps for most solid state projects. The warm rich tone mates well with bipolars and jfets. Just buy a handfull and match them up to 0.1%.
For really critical applications like phono eq, I use AB cermet. These are red bodied 1/4 watters. Marked 2%. Also totally non-magnetic.
The quality of the lead material outweighs the material used as a resistive element. The steel leaded resistors are not good for sonics.

2 cents

George

[markp]

I perfer metal film resistors like Caddok and Holco. They are less noisy and sound less colored to me. I replaced all the old carbon comp resistors in my old Dynco ST-70 and it came alive with much better mids and highs and the hiss was gone.

[analog_sa]

as for me, i use metal film resistors, as i have percived it as being the most sonicaly neutral resistor. thats atleast what i'v heard, i havn't made any direct comparasons.

I tend to agree with whoever is doing the listening tests for you these days. Carbons may be very pleasant and musical but are certainly not neutral. At least in most systems. If you have Lowther speakers carbons may indeed offer salvation. Or at least sanity

At some stage i bought a whole lot of Kiwames. Doesn't seem like i've used any so far.