Top resistors


Many threads with opinions on boutique coupling capacitors, but very little consolidated information on the sonics of resistors. Anyone care to share their thoughts on the attributes of their favorite brands & types for specific tube and SS applications? How much of a difference does a good resistor make?

My interest in the topic increased after recently installing the latest Texas Components nude Vishay TX2575 in several SS and tube phono & LS components. This was a proverbial "Ah-ha" moment-- a stray resistor dropped into signal path here or there, surprising with an improvement that equalled or surpassed the impact of a switch to a top coupling cap like V-Cap or Mundorf.
dgarretson
I have tried many resistors in the preamp that I build. I do like the Vishay but also the Shinko. It also comes down to the placement in the signal path. I prefer the SHinko sound because it has what I would describe as a more real sound. The Vishay is close, it has a more open sound. To describe the difference, when I listen to female vocals and the person whispers, the air coming out of the lungs and out of the mouth sound very real with the Shinko and not the same with the Vishay. You won't know the difference unless you compare them. In my preamp I can dial in 6 different pairs of resistors on the fly so I can hear the differences immediately.
Bigkidz,
Thank you for the update on Shinko resistors. I see Shinkoh Tantalum Resistors offered at Hifi collective. Are they the same as your Shinko resistors -Regards Jet
Halo All,

I am planning to buy the shinkoh resistor for my SS power amp. I have never use Shikoh before and some people mention old and new shinkoh are different.

PCX carries the shinkoh, are they the same or different one?


Thanks
I personally don't know the difference between old and new, my experience is recent within the past 3 years.  Also Caddock makes a very nice sounding resistor so for the prices of resistors, but several and try them for your self.  I mostly buy from Parts Connexion.  Happy Listening.
I’m sure everyone would agree that assessing sonic characteristics of parts in a complex audio system is extremely challenging due to component interactions, but here’s my experience.

Shinkohs and Riken Ohms are nice, but just too colored, in a nice way, to use more than just a few. Have tried the old Holcos, but despite added clarity, they were a little thin sounding in the system I had back then. The Dales are natural sounding as are the old Resistas, but neither of these are as transparent as the naked Vishays.

I think the resistor of choice is the TX2575. There may be some ultimate limits even on these. After swapping in almost 80 of these in the signal path of my 2 hybrid tube amps, 60 in the crossovers, and 70 in the phono stage, I had to put 2 Resistas back in to restore a little more midbass/lower mid-range warmth (the Dales would have worked equally well). That’s all it took. Sadly, I did lose just a touch of transparency.

There are always some tradeoffs. Everyone has there own preferences. It’s really amazing (maddening?) how much changing only a couple of parts can dramatically change the sound of a decent audio system. I’m hoping to be done with all this soon!