Resistor Directional ????

[gpauk]

Now reverse it back to the original orientation.
And get someone else to confirm, or otherwise that the sound has really changed back to the "bad version".

It was probably the resoldering of the resistor and the re-overheating that changed the sound.

If you set out to conduct an experiment like this then you must be prepared to complete the comparison on a fair and by an unbiased method.

But, he used the standard SSST* protocol....


* Simple Subjective Sighted Test, thanks to PMA for the definition.

 

[PMA]

Very important, audiophile oriented test methodology 😉

 

[scottjoplin]

Too many people with too much time on their hands 😱

 

[nezbleu]

Pretty lucky, there was a 50% chance the resistor was already the right way around, it could have sounded worse instead of better when he turned it around! Luckily, my audiophile reading tells me they are never inserted the right way around at first, kind of like dropping a buttered slice of bread.

 

[nezbleu]

Directionality isn't the whole picture - it's the orientation to be precise.

In that case leave the soldering iron alone and just turn the whole unit (on three axes) until perfect sound ensues.

 

[myhrrhleine]

not all resistors are symmetrical some are made asymmetrical.
Its rare, but it does happen.

 

[scottjoplin]

What? like a transistor?

 

[radtech]

Audiophilia Compulsive Disorder.

 

[nezbleu]

not all resistors are symmetrical some are made asymmetrical.
Its rare, but it does happen.

I don't disagree, but do you have an example?

 

[Rundmaus]

I don't disagree, but do you have an example?

One example could be an oxidized end cap pressed onto the resistive element, which could under certain circumstances create a semiconducting 'junction' with partly diode-like behaviour.

But again, in this improbable case the resistor is faulty, not intrinsically directional.

Regards,
Rundmaus

 

[wwenze]

In that case leave the soldering iron alone and just turn the whole unit (on three axes) until perfect sound ensues.

You might need to flip the thing too.

 

[leadbelly]

You might need to flip the thing too.

No, flipping the soldering iron is very painful.

 

[nezbleu]

One example could be an oxidized end cap pressed onto the resistive element, which could under certain circumstances create a semiconducting 'junction' with partly diode-like behaviour.

But again, in this improbable case the resistor is faulty, not intrinsically directional.

Regards,
Rundmaus

All true but I was wondering whether someone had an example of a resistor design that was intentionally asymmetric. Maybe some feed-through power resistors? Something where a physical asymmetry could conceivably cause a measurable "directionality".