October 2013
I'm working on an audiophile-quality all-transistor amp. I was told that carbon film resistors are less noisy than wire-wound precision resistors — which are more expensive. Could I hear the difference in resistors? Is there a theoretical noise difference?
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Carbon composition resistors are THE WORST THINGS TO USE in an audiophile amp as their "absolute value" tolerances range from 10-20%. Plus, their "absolute resistance" values are very susceptible to heating and cooling effects (i.e., they get warm and their resistance changes — sometimes dramatically!).
Instead of using wire-wounds, use metal-film resistors. Their tolerances are 5% or less, they're very stable overall, and aren't as susceptible to temperature effects like carbons, AND they're much cheaper than wire-wounds.
