Path Audio resistor interest for 22.5 ohm

gmcman
gmcman Posts: 1,739
edited February 2019 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
I was looking into trying to add the four 22.5 ohm resistors into my crossover, however they are currently offered in 22 ohm.

Will .5 ohm make a difference? Hard to say but it's nice to keep the stock values.

Hifi Collective can get the 22.5 ohm from Path but will need a minimum order of 10, which would be at least 2 extra members plus myself if you count four per crossover for the 2.3TL, not sure how many others use that value.

The price will be the same as the 22 ohm @ 17.95 pounds or roughly $23.17 per resistor plus shipping.

I have an itch to try them in conjunction to the .5 ohm Path that's a reg stock item.

Just curious if anyone else is interested, let me know if you are.

I have four Duelund resistors now which two measure 22.7 ohms and two measure 23.2, there was a noticeable difference when the T2 tweeter had the 22.7 in which it was a tad brighter. This is why I didnt want to use the 22ohm in fear it would be too bright.

Little pricey for a resistor but just throwing it out there if anyone is interested.

Comments

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    edited February 2019
    That's strange that more resistance would be brighter
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    edited February 2019
    VR3 wrote: »
    That's strange that more resistance would be brighter

    I think you interpreted that the other way.
    I tried both ways, the 22.7 was brighter than the 23.2. The 23.2 just sounded off....I kept thinking there's more detail there, maybe I was just used to the normal 22.5, but that extra .5 ohm on the T2 was noticeable.

    The two that measured 22.7 sounded fine.

    Edited: I put the two measuring 23.2 on the T3.
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    I see, I misread it but that makes sense.

    I am awaiting my path audio resistors for the Utopias... Annnnyday!
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Doug, what is the sound sigature of the Path resistors?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • delkal
    delkal Posts: 764
    If you asked me if a 0.5 ohm resistor makes a difference when replacing a polyswitch I would say Yes. In the early Polks the tweeter was run almost full signal (after the lows were filtered out) without much resistor dampening ( 2 to 2.5 ohms). In this case a 0.5 ohm change is comparably large and can definitely make a difference.

    But for a 2.3tl that originally used a 22.5 resistor to quiet T2 and T3 I would say No. Since Polk originally used +/- 10% resistors a 22 ohm resistor is still less than a +/- 5%. Your resistors are well in spec.

    But that's only on paper and you say you can hear a difference.............Looking at the schematic tweeter 1 is run without any resistor in its path only the polyswitch and some capacitors. So it is basically full volume. I would suspect that is where you are getting your brightness from. What did you use to replace the polyswitch? How long did you allow your new components to burn in?

    A 22 ohm resistor will quiet T2 and T3 a lot. That is why I suspect your brightness problem is something else. But I don't doubt you can hear it and what do I know?



  • delkal
    delkal Posts: 764
    edited February 2019
    One more question. Did you measure the resistance of the original resistors you took off? What were they?
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    F1nut wrote: »
    Doug, what is the sound sigature of the Path resistors?

    I cannot accurately answer that as I have only used the .5 & .56 ohm in the padding (polyswitch) location. However, having tried Duelund, Mills, and a few others...I want to say they have a very slight rich side of a neutral tone. Not warm, but paired right now with the Duelund CAST 22.5, they overall tone still sounds detailed, but has a very faint sense of smoothness, not liquid-like, but...just slightly rich, hard to describe but hopefully that helps.



    delkal wrote: »
    But for a 2.3tl that originally used a 22.5 resistor to quiet T2 and T3 I would say No.

    I don't know how much the 22.5 ohm resistor affect the crossover network/cutoff freq...if at all, but you are using the 22.5 ohm in series to the tweeter. Changing that value by almost 1 ohm, .7 in this case, I would assume take the tweeter down enough to notice. The difference was enough to make you want that last bit of sparkle again and it was annoying after just a few minutes.
    delkal wrote: »
    What did you use to replace the polyswitch? How long did you allow your new components to burn in?

    The crossovers have been upgraded twice and have at least 1000 hours on this go around. The polyswitch location, or now the padding location, has had a Mills, Duelund CAST, Mundorf MOX, Mundorf Supreme, all sound good, the Duelund is clean and detailed, sightly bright or just has a larger amount of high freq energy. The MOX sounded slightly unnatural, the highs didn't sound right, the supreme was a little better than the MOX, the Mills sound good, hard to fault, but I feel in my system, the Mills kept a very small amount of macro detail from poking through. I say this because the Duelund seemed more transparent and I wanted more of that.

    The Path seems very neutral but I still hear the macro details, I'm very curous how a full-compliment of Path resistors would sound.
    delkal wrote: »
    A 22 ohm resistor will quiet T2 and T3 a lot. That is why I suspect your brightness problem is something else. But I don't doubt you can hear it and what do I know?

    My system isn't overly bright, I want to say my low ceilings could be adding to that but when I say bright, I'm more or less referring to going from one resistor to another that's .5 ohm higher. The Mills 22.5 measure pretty much right at 22.5, I'm familiar with that sound with all Mills in the circuit, but going to about 23.2 on one tweeter was just enough to take familiar recordings down enough to bug me.


    delkal wrote: »
    One more question. Did you measure the resistance of the original resistors you took off? What were they?

    I never measured the stock ceramic resistors, I want to assume they are at or near the specified values but I will check them in the near future.
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    Build quality is off the charts

    4ntkyqht2p9i.jpg
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    edited February 2019
    Doug, I'm in. Give me a call when you can.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    Sounds good, thanks.

    That totals 8 pieces, one more member and we can give it a go. PM me if you want a set of the 22.5 ohm resistors, they will take up to 6 weeks according to HiFi Collective.

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    Have you tried Parts Connexion?

    Qty 4 order, 2 to 3 weeks...….
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    VR3 wrote: »
    Have you tried Parts Connexion?

    Qty 4 order, 2 to 3 weeks...….

    I actually did inquire awhile back, was given impression non-stock items weren't avail.

    I reached out today and they are looking into it. May be a longer lead time but may not have a large minimum quantity.

    Thanks for the heads up.
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    They turned mine pretty quick but they also had an order they were able to add on to at the last minute...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • It looks like the SRS 1.2TL takes this resistor. I am getting ready to rebuild my crossovers. Count me in for two.
    It looks like Mills don't offer a 22.5Ω.
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    edited February 2019
    Nesmith98 wrote: »
    It looks like Mills don't offer a 22.5Ω.

    They actually do, look under Vishay Mills 12 watt. (MRA-12)

    Can add two if you still decide to use the Path.
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    According to Parts Conn, they need a min of 20. Looks like HiFi Collective still only requires 10 for a minimum. Worst case I may need to buy 2 extra, but if anyone has interest let me know.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    I'm still in. Come on people by all accounts these resistors are da bomb!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    Too many out going costs ATM or I would be all over these as well.
    :/
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Bumping this one.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • hauxon
    hauxon Posts: 161
    How did this end, did you make the order? Any report on sound signature?
    SRS 1.2 TL | SDA 2B Studio TL | NAD M51 preamp/dac | DIY SET 300B tube amplifier | Cambridge Audio Azur 851W | Chromecast Audio | RoPieee Roon Raspberry Pi endpoint
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    Only took four months to get them 😜
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • hauxon
    hauxon Posts: 161
    ..and is it better than butter on bread? :smiley:
    SRS 1.2 TL | SDA 2B Studio TL | NAD M51 preamp/dac | DIY SET 300B tube amplifier | Cambridge Audio Azur 851W | Chromecast Audio | RoPieee Roon Raspberry Pi endpoint
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    VR3 wrote: »
    Only took four months to get them 😜

    Well kind of like a 1000va transformer ;) Heck in two months I may be able to swing it if folks are still interested in doing this.
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    They have arrived! Installed last night and let them play for about an hour then listened to a few tracks.

    Initial impressions coming from the Duelund Cast is I thought they almost sounded attenuated but still maintained the clarity in the upper frequencies....slight sense of richness and blend well with the midrange.

    At first I didn't hear that extra "air" and thought I was going to lose the transparency but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.

    I'll give them a few more days but so far they seem to compliment the CMR's in terms of richness.

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,964
    Just keep in mind they need a couple hundred hours to settle in.

    I do agree they are tamer than duelund without sacrificing anything.

    Duelund is slightly bring with an expansive stage, as a general character
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.