"Non Inductive" resistors.

Aball...Thanks. That's what I thought.

Herman...Two of those in parallel (for 4 ohms) would have a 40 watt rating! I really was thinking in terms of a simple wirewound 4 ohm 10 watt costing 39 cents each. (Parts Express, but I don't want to pay shipping on this!)
I really was expecting someone to lecture me about why the resistor needs to be non-inductive.

Herman...Not really. Since "audiophile quality" non-inductive resistors are quite inexpensive (compared with inductors and capacitors) I have never given much thought to why non-inductive was important. The financial considerations of patching up a free set of junked speakers caused me to question the reason, so I thought I would ask the question and see if anyone can come up with an explanation. Isn't that what Audiogon is for?.

Theaudiotweak...As I said, I have always used "Audiophile" resistors (not necessarily North Creek items). But I don't know why, and I rather doubt that it would make any difference for these little boxes. When I replaced the crossovers of my Maggie MG1.6 I used $4 resistors, but that was only 2 percent of the project cost, and not worth much thought.

Theaudiotweak...
1. I asked because some people (like you) insist that resistor type affects sound. Although it doesn't make sense to me, I am open minded enough to listen to other points of view. So far I am unconvinced.

2. Please you tell me what constitutes an "Audiophile" resistor, apart from how it is described by the vendor, and the price.

Tom...It might take a 10K speaker system, and comparable electronics to hear the difference between resistors! Since I am into the business of installing resistors anyway I just might try an experiment: comparing a 38 cent resistor in one speaker with a $4 resistor in the other. Cheap thrills!

Herman...I confess, that was me about the wire twisting. It was indeed an "inane" question, and intended as such, but only a slight extension of some ideas put forth here. (eg: wires on Dixie cups). Let's not take ourselves too seriously.

This question about non inductive resistors is for real. As Tom suggests (and because the cost is trivial) I will do a tradeoff between resistor types.

PS...I just saw the posting about the sound of Alnico magnets. That's as good or better than my wire twisting thing.

OK. OK. I will try the North Creek resistors.

I guess that the supposed superiority of these resistors is based on characteristics other than inductance, which would obviously be of no concern.

Tom...These speakers will never sound great, but they do need all the help they can get:-)

Maybe that's why the Maggie MG1.6 sound good. Crossover consists of one inductor and one capacitor for the woofer, and one capacitor (implemented as a parallel group) for the tweeter. And NO RESISTOR unless you choose to insert one. This also made the cost to upgrade using top of the line components quite reasonable.

Of course Magnepanar designs and makes their drivers, (perhaps excepting the ribbon) and can play around with the driver designs to get the results they want. Most speaker system manufacturers have to make do with drivers that are designed and made by others, and then try to achieve the sound they want by complex crossover networks.

PS: Except for tweeter crossover (2000 Hz and up) I am a firm believer in low level electronic crossovers and biamplification.