[MattCassidy]

Hey Malcolm, despite my best efforts I cannot help but be intrigued by these resistors, where would one source riken or other better ones from?

Matt

[AKSA]

Matt,

Parts Connexion have these Rikens, and they might even be on 'close-out' at around $US2 apiece.

This series resistor (27K I believe you found?) is CRUCIAL for sonics.  The signal passes through it to the tube, whereas in shunt mode the pot actually bypasses the signal and any nasties it confers are isolated to the wiper, which happily sits at ground and thus far from the actual signal path.

The resistor needs to be non-inductive - this is important.  Many metal films have an etched spiral winding on ceramic, and this is, in fact, inductive and not advisable in this application.  The carbon comps are good, but must be quality, like the Allen Bradley stuff.  Beyschlag is very good, quite transparent, but a tad dry.  The Rikens add a little distortion, all low order, and have a sweet sound.  Some have found that it's too much, so you simply use a Riken of 10K and a Beyschlag of 7K (NPV 6K8) in series.

You choose - the joy of DIY!!

Hugh

[stvnharr]

If you want the best resistor go for Vishay S102.
You can get them from Michael Percy.   The high wattage ones are 11.50 ea., but there are also .3W ones for 3.50.
There's also CaddockMK132 for 3.75.
Obviously, you need to order more than just a couple resistors to make anything cost sensible.

[kyrill]

1) Has a nice story per type of resistor
2) is the address i buy my tantalums for every r in the signal[ath of the Gk1 or Aksa's
1) http://www.angela.com/catalog/resistors/Resistors.html
2) http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/resistors.html

[fred]

Exercise a bit of caution when trying different resistors, and do not always assume that a "high quality" resistor will necessarily improve the sound.

I say this because of my own experience with my GK-1.  I had purchased a number of Riken Ohm resistors to use in my GK-1 at initial build.  After I finished building it, and after several weeks of break-in, I noticed the high end was not there (e.g. cymbals had almost disappered from a favorite song). I wrote Hugh and described my problem.  He recommended replacing the Riken's with the stock resistors.  I did this, and voila!  the cymbals returned, and more importantly, the sound opened up in general.

Lessons learned:
1) start off with stock components
2) switch out limited numbers of components at a time - preferably one
3) trust Hugh -  my cautious, time-limited approach will be to stick with Hugh recommended upgrades (Nirvana, N+, and someday Nirvana GK-1).  

This latter lesson may not apply to those with more time and energy to devote to the hobby than I currently have.

[Lost81]

Anyone read the blurb on the parts connexion website regarding their tantalum resistors? I almost ordered them until I read the confession that they are slightly magnetic.

Link. Scroll down for text.

AudioNote UK and AudioNote Japan are two separate and different business entities, right?


-Lost81

[SamL]

The Panasonic FC caps which is popular among many diy over www.diyaudio.com are slightly magnetic as well. Maybe the magnetic lead is ideal for high RF environment?

Sam

[SamL]

Have anyone tried Welwyn RC55 0.25w resistors? http://www.welwyn-tt.com/pdf/datasheet/RC.PDF
Just wonder if they are good for audio - such as ladder atteunater. Too bad the local supply only stock the 0.25W series as they are not too expensive.

TIA,
Sam