Yes, resistors can actually introduce measurable waveform distortion, slightly coloring the reproduced audio. First time I head of this and I'm not new to electronics, either, so it really surprised me. However, it turns out that if the resistance varies with temperature, then the instantaneous change in temperature with the phase of the signal can actually distort it! That is, the resistor warms up as the signal increases in strength and cools down as it crosses zero. You can imagine how tiny this effect is, especially at high frequencies, but yet it's significant. Thankfully, it's possible to compensate for it. The question is: how much can one hear it?
This helps explain why replacing the moulded quarter inch plug on my cheapish JVC headphones with a replacement that I had to solder on when the connections broke inside, actually sounded that little tiny bit better, with a better defined treble, a little more focus, a better stereo image. I wasn't expecting to hear any difference at all and wasn't looking for it, so thought I was imagining it. However, when I bought another pair of JVC headphones (same model) and also replaced that connector when it started playing up, I noticed the same thing. Incredible. I never bought a third pair, having upgraded to something better by then that sounded better and was more reliable, too.
This happened in the early 1980s with me listening to music recorded on a budget tape deck recording off the radio off a cheap tuner from the line out of a stereo cassette radio* so not exactly high quality audio, but was all I could afford at the time. Would have been fascinating to compare before and after with a high quality CD source connected to a good quality amplifier.
Designers of high end audio equipment will be aware of this effect and others which have an effect on audio quality and compensate for them. This kind of quality design is where a lot of the money goes and why this stuff is expensive to buy.
Fantastic explanation of this fascinating phenomenon at this channel I've just discovered and subbed. Check it out.
*I refuse to call these things by the idiotic name of "boombox". I didn't use the tape deck in that since it wasn't very good quality at all. In fact, I still have it and it's in good condition too, with the telescopic aerial still intact after 43 years! I now just keep it as a collectors item.
This helps explain why replacing the moulded quarter inch plug on my cheapish JVC headphones with a replacement that I had to solder on when the connections broke inside, actually sounded that little tiny bit better, with a better defined treble, a little more focus, a better stereo image. I wasn't expecting to hear any difference at all and wasn't looking for it, so thought I was imagining it. However, when I bought another pair of JVC headphones (same model) and also replaced that connector when it started playing up, I noticed the same thing. Incredible. I never bought a third pair, having upgraded to something better by then that sounded better and was more reliable, too.
This happened in the early 1980s with me listening to music recorded on a budget tape deck recording off the radio off a cheap tuner from the line out of a stereo cassette radio* so not exactly high quality audio, but was all I could afford at the time. Would have been fascinating to compare before and after with a high quality CD source connected to a good quality amplifier.
Designers of high end audio equipment will be aware of this effect and others which have an effect on audio quality and compensate for them. This kind of quality design is where a lot of the money goes and why this stuff is expensive to buy.
Fantastic explanation of this fascinating phenomenon at this channel I've just discovered and subbed. Check it out.
*I refuse to call these things by the idiotic name of "boombox". I didn't use the tape deck in that since it wasn't very good quality at all. In fact, I still have it and it's in good condition too, with the telescopic aerial still intact after 43 years! I now just keep it as a collectors item.
