Metal or Carbon Resistors - Which is better?


A passive preamp paired with 300B amplifier and TT as main source. 

Passive preamp comes with two options,

a) Metal film resistor - 1% accuracy 0.5W type

OR

b) Carbon composition resistor - 5% accuracy 0.5W type

Which one would you choose and why? 

lalitk

I suppose it would also matter which specific brands were offered too.  A local builder of very high end custom electronics likes certain vintage carbon composition resistors for the rich and warm sound he favors.  Most of his builds use the likes of vintage Allen Bradleys, for higher builds it might mean vintage IRC resistors, and so very special builds employ Western Electric parts.  

I'd choose metal film in places like power supplies, more likely to choose carbon in signal path. For most mods I've been using Takman carbon film and/or Texas Components TX 2575 naked bulk metal foils, Takman combo of warmer voicing and precision, TX highest resolving/transparent resistor out there, very neutral, some may hear it as analytical. All these resistors have their place, have to weigh out the recipe.

The one with the better implementation. Implementation matters of material rype

@larryi @sns 

You’re both spot on and get my dilemma. No matter what I choose, it’s going to be a bit of tradeoff, resolution and precision vs. romance and presence. 

Sometimes the right choice isn’t about specs, it’s about what makes the music feel right. 

Neither, I usually use carbon film, at least in the signal path, Vishay, TE or Takman.