The Vishay Dale RN55D metal film resistors seem to be sort of a de facto standard for good sonic fidelity for line/preamp/headphone amp type stuff, without getting all exotic.
Or at least, for puposes of this thread, let's say I feel these are a reliable standard of "good enough."
It's kind of a bugaboo that DigiKey doesn't carry them - a lot of times they're about the only thing I need to order from somewhere else. A separate shipping charge quickly outstrips the cost of a dozen or so resistors!
Does anyone have an opinion and/or experience, sonically speaking, on the Vishay Dale's versus the metal films that DigiKey does carry, like the Phoenix, Panasonic, or Yageo? Thanks!
Peace,
Sanaka
Or at least, for puposes of this thread, let's say I feel these are a reliable standard of "good enough."
It's kind of a bugaboo that DigiKey doesn't carry them - a lot of times they're about the only thing I need to order from somewhere else. A separate shipping charge quickly outstrips the cost of a dozen or so resistors!
Does anyone have an opinion and/or experience, sonically speaking, on the Vishay Dale's versus the metal films that DigiKey does carry, like the Phoenix, Panasonic, or Yageo? Thanks!
Peace,
Sanaka
I guess DigiKey doesn't carry those anymore?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5566&highlight=
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5566&highlight=
I think BC (carried by digikey) is part of Vishay. I don't know if that signifies anything with regards to quality or not.
I'm fomd of the miniture .40W 1% resitors you can get from digikey (and Mouser too) on the grounds that the higher rating reduces any thermal value changes. I believe there are also .60W 1%ers that fit in the foot print of standard sizes. Same theory. The theory may be bogus, but it's mine so I'm partial to it. What's life without theories?
I'm fomd of the miniture .40W 1% resitors you can get from digikey (and Mouser too) on the grounds that the higher rating reduces any thermal value changes. I believe there are also .60W 1%ers that fit in the foot print of standard sizes. Same theory. The theory may be bogus, but it's mine so I'm partial to it. What's life without theories?
I'm building Rod Elliots P101 and was planning on using the Vishay Dale RN55 but was unable to find any of their RN series that were 1/4watt and small enough to fit the PCB. Since I was buying my Panasonic FC's from Digi-key I decided to buy everything from a single source and ended up buying all Phoenix 1/4watt metal film resistors. Sadly I can't give any input on the quality of the Phoenix resistors as this will be my first time using them. The P101 has been known to not be very particular about the components used so I feel confidents that these will work just fine.
Also you have to buy in increments of 5 and they come in around $0.18 (US) a piece.
Also you have to buy in increments of 5 and they come in around $0.18 (US) a piece.
In that case I would recommend Roderstein Resista resistors from percyaudio.com
They are only $0.25/pc. You can buy by a single piece and shipping should be very affordable.
I never tried those, but recently John Curl mentioned that those are his favourite resistors, suitable for high end applications.
They are only $0.25/pc. You can buy by a single piece and shipping should be very affordable.
I never tried those, but recently John Curl mentioned that those are his favourite resistors, suitable for high end applications.
Hi,
First of all the Resista resistors where made by a Roederstein subsidiary untill recently.
Production is now done by Draloric.
While I've used Resistas 1/4W and 1/2W as gridleakresistors and gridstopper resistors in tube circuits on countless occasions and they're certainly excellent, I think that there are better resistors around nowadays albeit at a considerably higher price.
The Resistas were most popular among High-end manufacturers in the mid-eighties and were frequently seen in gear made by ML, Counterpoint etc.
Around the same period a survey was done by the folk at HiFi News, here's an excerpt with the results:
RESISTORS AREN'T FUTILE....
Cheers,
First of all the Resista resistors where made by a Roederstein subsidiary untill recently.
Production is now done by Draloric.
While I've used Resistas 1/4W and 1/2W as gridleakresistors and gridstopper resistors in tube circuits on countless occasions and they're certainly excellent, I think that there are better resistors around nowadays albeit at a considerably higher price.
The Resistas were most popular among High-end manufacturers in the mid-eighties and were frequently seen in gear made by ML, Counterpoint etc.
Around the same period a survey was done by the folk at HiFi News, here's an excerpt with the results:
RESISTORS AREN'T FUTILE....
Cheers,
Did you ever get occasion to try/compare them, Peter?
They're not in the current catalog but searching the part numbers as Harvardian gave on that other thread reveals that they in fact have them in stock! For instance, BC3.32KZCT-ND is the # for a 3.32K. Replace corresponding numbers with desired value to find it. I've just added the 1.54K and 3.34K's that I need to my order
The values seem to follow the same series as the RN55D, as seen for instance on this page. They are minimum quantity of $1.66 for 5 ($.33 each).So... thanks Peter!
Killjoy99:
I haven't pored over the datasheets to verify, but my understanding is that the 1/8 watt rated of the Vishay Dale RN55 is at extreme temperature pertaining to the mil-spec. IOW, they easily dissipate as well as most 1/4 watt rated resistors. This also tallies with the fact that the V-D 1/8 watters' size are more like 'normal' 1/4 or .4 or even .6 watters. So, unless you expect them to get really hot, you can probably use the smaller '1/8 watt' V-D's.
Peace,
Sanaka
Hi,
Indeed, they're exceptionally "sizeable" for their wattage.
Just a word of caution for tube builders though: don't be fooled by their size into thinking they'll survive HV rails over 300VDC safely.
Has anyone tried Beyschlag resistors?
To my ears these are even better sounding than Resistas or Dales and don't cost an arm and a leg either.
Cheers,
Indeed, they're exceptionally "sizeable" for their wattage.
Just a word of caution for tube builders though: don't be fooled by their size into thinking they'll survive HV rails over 300VDC safely.
Has anyone tried Beyschlag resistors?
To my ears these are even better sounding than Resistas or Dales and don't cost an arm and a leg either.
Cheers,
Thanks fdegrove. I'm pretty sure I'll be stoked on the BC's
Have you tried other's from DigiKey like Phoenix, Yageo, Panasonic as well? Are they 'lower eschelon' compared with BC or Dale? I ask because since they don't have the BC's in the catalog anymore, it would seem that they might not carry them much longer. It would be cool to know if something else they carry is 'good,' or decent enough.
Peace,
Sanaka
Have you tried other's from DigiKey like Phoenix, Yageo, Panasonic as well? Are they 'lower eschelon' compared with BC or Dale? I ask because since they don't have the BC's in the catalog anymore, it would seem that they might not carry them much longer. It would be cool to know if something else they carry is 'good,' or decent enough.
Peace,
Sanaka
Killjoy99 said:
The 1/4 watt RN60 fit all the ESP boards I have tried. The boards are pretty compact as you know. But the Vishay Dale RN60s can be made to fit the P06, P09, P88. Since the RN60s are a tad longer than the board holes you do have to bend the leads back tightly underneath the resistor. This makes it sit up above the board a bit, but it does work. Resistors next to each other will almost bump into each other, probably limiting cooling, but I have not had this be any sort of problem. They seem to be running very cool in the boards listed. On the P88, the vertical mounted resistors have to be fanned out a bit to fit.
I liked the results and will keep using them.
I have not tried it on the P101 but I suspect it will work.
Not that I hear those posting in this thread clamouring to spend money on pricey resistors, but I thought I would mention my favourite Vishay source, Texas Components (web site of the same name dot com). They manufacture Vishay resistors on licence from Vishay, and being a small outfit with a customer focus, they're very pleasant to deal with. As far as product offerings, they manufacture the Vishay S102K resistor (Vishay's best) without the plastic case---unencapsulated, or nude, as it were, product code TX2352. Price is <$6 per 1% resistor unless higher ohmic (break point is ~20K, prices then increasing to about $24 for 500K). They also manufacture SMD bulk foil resistors, which presumably better even their unencapsulated S102K. Best thing about this company is that their minimum quantity for any resistor they sell is .... 1. Great for DIY.
The contact person with whom I deal is Arbie. You can email her at alopez at texascomponents etc.
Texas Components Catalogue (500k pdf!)
The contact person with whom I deal is Arbie. You can email her at alopez at texascomponents etc.
Texas Components Catalogue (500k pdf!)
I bult P101's with the cheapest 1% on Digikey that I could find. I don't think there is any thermal issue at all. The P101 is one of the coolest running amps I've ever seen, if you set it up per Elliot's notes. I've looked at the distortion residual on a scope when it was cold and after it was driven by a sine wave until it became as warm as I could get it -- no discernable difference to the eye. There is nothing wrong with using $6 1/4W resistors in the P101, however, I would suggest a higher priority would be non-inductive source resistors (if building the version with parrallel MOSFETs) and non-inductive zobel resistor (if you add a zobel). The Exicon appnotes are pretty emphatic about minimising inductance in these areas. I used the Huntington's from Digikey for this.
Re: Vishay S102
Hi Elso,
Percy gets his Vishay resistors from Texas Components and probably pays what others pay from this source. AFAIK, Texas Components is the only outfit that makes an unencapsulated S102K, which the company calls "audio" resistors. I suspect some audio nut like me approached them and said, say, would you make a resistor sans the plastic and ceramic case? And they did! Not many companies willing indulge our small-market high-maintenance requests, I suspect.
Percy told me a while ago he plans in the future to sell only the unencapsulated variety.
Elso Kwak said:Hi Tom,
Thanks for the interesting post. Salient thing is that Michael Percy is also sending these nude resistors without warning while I ordered Vishay S102s (encapsulated). Price is much higher though: USD11.50
Hi Elso,
Percy gets his Vishay resistors from Texas Components and probably pays what others pay from this source. AFAIK, Texas Components is the only outfit that makes an unencapsulated S102K, which the company calls "audio" resistors. I suspect some audio nut like me approached them and said, say, would you make a resistor sans the plastic and ceramic case? And they did! Not many companies willing indulge our small-market high-maintenance requests, I suspect.
Percy told me a while ago he plans in the future to sell only the unencapsulated variety.
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