Top resistors

Vishay VSRs.

Similar to the S104.
the biggest improvement are the shunt resistors (47K, 100K etc) where they are loading the output of one of the stages.

http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/vishay/vsr.pdf

Also keep in mind they will let through what ever is in the signal path, so if you are using in SS gear, you likely will need to add bypass caps to the power supply if not already there.

I haven't done any experimentation myself, but, I know people, including small manufacturers of ultra high quality components, who say there is no such thing as a best or top resistor, capacitor, or any such component. I asked one why he worried about a certain "cheap" resistor becoming unavailable, and he said that he had tried many others, such as Vishay 102Cs, and for his circuit, in his opinion, they sounded dry and analytical. I heard the same from another small manufacturer.

It would be much easier if there were such a thing as a clear upgrade path, but, that is not the case. I heard an "upgraded" version of an amp I am familiar with that sounded shockingly bad compared to the original. It turned out that the upgrade consisted of just parts substitutions of Black Gate caps for the cheaper caps the manufacturer used. In this particular application, the Black Gates were NOT appropriate.

I built my Hagerman step up using basic bulk Vishays. There are only 2 resistor locations directly in the signal path. With the basic Vishays the sound was good, but not as transparent as I had hoped. I tried the (very expensive) nude Vishays in those 2 locations and things opened up dramatically. Maybe too much.

I then put a Riken Ohm into the second location, leaving the nude Vishay in the first, and it warmed things up nicely without losing that transparency.

As it turned out my cartridge loads as 220 ohms, which was the value of that second nude Vishay that I replaced with the Riken. So I replaced that loading resistor with the nude Vishay and got another leap in transparency, even though it was not directly in the signal chain.

So I have found that resistors do in fact play a role to tune the sound in a sensitive circuit. I have also found that those white paddle Caddocks are very nice, though also very expensive. Used judiciously for tuning these can be a great improvement, but they are far too expensive to use everywhere.

you'll get the biggest bang for the buck using them in the shunt positions or interstage loading points. If you really want to hear what they sound like, solder an RCA on each end and instert in a length of interconnect betwen a source and pre amp.

dont forget, as the level of the noise floor is reduced, any low level details will come through (good or bad). These are among the quietest (lowest noise) resistors available.

best

The dissing of the Vishay S102 by Reb1208 is rediculous. This resistor is extreamly clear, smooth with a slightly sweet treble. To say it sounds like gravel inside a soda can negates anything this person says about anything that pertains to sound perception. Tweaker