[GreenKeys] Incredible . . .

[Bob Camp]

Hi

The carbon comp resistors have more noise than the other resistors. The 
noise from the resistors masks the high order distortion of the 
amplifier. The ear is fooled into thinking the high order distortion 
has vanished.

Sound and the perception of sound is a very complex subject.

If you really want to go crazy take a real piece of gear like a 
Teletype machine and do a full spectrum audio snapshot. Then mask off 
the result with the various common filters. Next set the poor beast to 
typing an RY tape and do the same thing again. No two measurements will 
agree on just how much louder the gear got . Your ears will have a 
different opinion than the ears on the guy next to you. Go figure ...

None of this is to say that I'm going out and stocking up on carbon 
comp resistors....

	Enjoy!

		Bob Camp
		KB8TQ




On Oct 19, 2004, at 7:25 PM, Tom Jennings wrote:

> On Wed, 13 Oct 2004, Craig Sawyers wrote:
>
>>> But some of those tube-audio guys are NUTs... I talked to one
>>> who claimed to hear the difference between carbon comp and
>>> metal film resistors. Okay! C U later! said I...
>>
>> That is actually not so daft.  Look at the tempco of the resistors - 
>> carbon
>> comp resistors have several hundred ppm per degree tempco, and good
>> precision carbon film resistors about 10ppm per degree (down to 
>> around 3ppm
>> for precision items from Dale, Holco or Vishay).
>
>> Now OK - the tube guys say that the carbon comp resistors are the 
>> ones that
>> sound better, and that is where my scientific approach breaks 
>> down.....
>
> And that is PRECISELY what he claimed!
>
>> It seems that
>> most can clearly hear different loudspeaker cable and (I swear!) 
>> different
>> mains cable.  At the same time, in a multiple test where A and B were 
>> the
>> same loudspeaker design, listeners in general recorded them as having 
>> a
>> different sound.
> ...
>> If you can hear no difference - fine.  If you can (and most people 
>> can) I
>> think you will be somewhat surprised.  And there is at least a 
>> plausibility
>> argument why.
>
> There is of course a whole world of parameters not measured... but 
> what's
> the argument here?!
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