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Post by Jacqui on Apr 2, 2012 19:44:14 GMT
Can any one throw any light on Leads, I'm talking twin phono 1/4 Jack to twin rca like these below. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-2-RCA-MALE-PHONO-MALE-2-x-6-35MM-1-4-JACK-PLUG-CABLE-LEAD-MONO-6-3MM-/310355626323?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item4842a30953Is it true they sound better with gold plated connectors?, I've been told that  but don't actually know if that can be heard by the average listener/ear, does any one use them? If so I'm looking for some leads like these in the picture, with the sealed plastic connectors, I have some heavy duty with the metal connectors but can't find them gold plated, also I want the ones with the sealed plastic tips as I have heavy duty ones with the screw metal type from (proel) but spend the whole time screwing them back up, they always seem to work loose. I often unplug a player and the fitting has worked loose, I've searched the net, but can only find gold ones with the twin RCA both ends, not with 1/4 Phono Jacks as well, meaning you still need phono jack adapters. Oh about 1 or 2 metres length required, from the UK. Obviously if you guys say the gold ones make no difference I can get those type in the piccy  Jacqui |
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Post by frankie on Apr 2, 2012 21:39:03 GMT
I have 5 metre leads not gold and have had no problems.[from sound module to amp].
Try to avoid using adapters as these are another problem area.
They seem pretty expensive, have you tried the music area in department stores.
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Post by Jacqui on Apr 3, 2012 9:41:47 GMT
Yes I've tried all the local dealers, I wonder if the gold ones make any difference there must be some reason they do them, until you hear your sound with both how can you tell. It would be good to know. |
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Post by frankie on Apr 3, 2012 10:29:40 GMT
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Post by frankie on Apr 3, 2012 10:42:16 GMT
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Post by weeo on Apr 3, 2012 10:45:37 GMT
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Post by JohnG on Apr 3, 2012 10:55:26 GMT
Hi Jacqui,
To some extent what Frankie says is true.
I've tried a few ultra Hi-Fi leads and can't say that the cost warrants the expenditure in terms of improved sound quality.
However, the one thing that is true about them is that gold doesn't tarnish or corrode.
Virtually every (all?) other metal does.
So where plugs are left connected into sockets for long periods, e.g. with the home hi-fi set up, the connection gradually deteriorates because of corrosion.
Simply unplugging and re-plugging can usually cure the gradual diode effect that can build up over some period.
My PC speakers are left plugged in for long periods, but I occasionally twist the jack plugs in their sockets. If the speakers are live then I can usually hear a very soft crackling as I turn them. After a few twists this crackling disappears. It's because the contacts are now clean. Do I notice that they sound better after than before? Can't honestly say that I do!
There are positive attributes also given to using high purity copper in the cables themselves and the metal used for the plug.
It's most unlikely that in anything but the very best hi-fi system, would most people be able to hear any difference at all. The differences, if they do exist, are subtle in the extreme.
So is it worth buying cables with gold plated contacts? Yes, if you can afford them, simply because they make a better electrical contact between plug and socket and maintain that good connection over years.
Any help?
JohnG.
P.S. Just seen the link you posted Frankie, it says it all.
As an afterthought:
If the connections are going to made and remade thousands of times over their lifetime then with gold they will wear out much more quickly. That's why most plugs and sockets on mixers aren't gold plated. They're made with a hard nickel (I think) to withstand the repeated make and break.
There's not a lot of point having the plug gold plated and the socket made of plain nickel. The nickel will still corrode.
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Post by frankie on Apr 3, 2012 11:03:21 GMT
John what about the plug cleaning paste and tape they had for manual exchanges,PABX and test desks.Is that still around ?
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Post by JohnG on Apr 3, 2012 11:12:04 GMT
Haven't looked, to be honest.
Maybe Radio Spares or Maplins does something similar.
Unless it is highly corroded I don't bother, as most connectors are designed to be "self-wiping".
I always buy high quality microphone leads with high purity copper and good connectors, they just last and last. Same goes for speaker cables and connectors for the mixing desk. Buying cheap here doesn't save money in the long run I've found.
JohnG.
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Post by frankie on Apr 3, 2012 12:00:38 GMT
Haven't looked, to be honest. Maybe Radio Spares or Maplins does something similar. Unless it is highly corroded I don't bother, as most connectors are designed to be "self-wiping". I always buy high quality microphone leads with high purity copper and good connectors, they just last and last. Same goes for speaker cables and connectors for the mixing desk. Buying cheap here doesn't save money in the long run I've found. .JohnG. Also the ones with spining tips that you have to belt in with a hammer and punch without snapping the terminals ! |
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Post by oliver101 on Apr 3, 2012 12:34:43 GMT
Gold is one of the best conductors of electricity there is, therefore you get lower resistance and less sound loss. It is also quote hard compared to copper, which is what normal household cables are made of, but too expensive to use for that purpose. You are all right those of you that have said that gold plated contacts would make no difference to normal ears playing on a normal system.
Hope this helps.
Ian
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Post by JohnG on Apr 4, 2012 8:04:08 GMT
Sorry to contradict Ian, If you check your metallurgy (I did this as part of my electronics apprenticeship nearly 50 years ago) you will find that silver is the best conductor, copper second best, then annealed copper and then gold, then aluminium and so on. You can check this out here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductivity in the first table. But copper corrodes quickly in air, as does silver, which is why they aren't used for the plugs and sockets (connectors). Gold doesn't corrode, so a thin electroplating over the contacts (a few microns thick) serves well. But gold is soft and will quickly wear away if the plug is frequently used. In this case go for hardness. Brass is often used for the terminals which, being a copper/tin alloy works fairly well (actually solid aluminium is better I seem to recall). But brass can corrode rapidly, as people will know who have any brass ornaments, or, think of brass band instruments, they have to be regularly polished to remain bright. And brass is relatively soft. Just think what happens to the head of a brass screw if you over-tighten it. Putting a little aluminium in the alloy also makes it more resistant to corrosion and also helps conductivity compared to tin. If you can afford it, cables with silver conductors would be the ultimate! But the coefficient of conductivities are so close between silver and copper it certainly wouldn't be noticeable. Except, perhaps, to a bat. And the price. So high purity copper cables (OFC) with good quality connectors (I try to use Neutrik ones whenever I can), and, if they are infrequently used, then gold plated plugs AND sockets. Otherwise go for nickel connectors. Nickel is of relatively low resistance and hard enough to withstand repeated makes and breaks. JohnG. |
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Post by weegeo on Apr 4, 2012 8:19:52 GMT
Just to split hairs `what do we mean by `corroding`as i understand `non ferrous`metal doesn`t corrode and as the metals mentioned are all `non ferrous`they in fact don`t then corrode but they do `discolor`and therefore develop a `skin`or greasy residue on the metal shafts hence cutting down the electrical connection.
Not often one gets to disagree with a legend lol
Btw have a great Easter everyone
weegeo ----------------------------------in the corner polishing the metalwork lol lol
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Post by frankie on Apr 4, 2012 8:32:17 GMT
Just to split hairs `what do we mean by `corroding`as i understand `non ferrous`metal doesn`t corrode and as the metals mentioned are all `non ferrous`they in fact don`t then corrode but they do `discolor`and therefore develop a `skin`or greasy residue on the metal shafts hence cutting down the electrical connection. Not often one gets to disagree with a legend lol Verdigris |
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Post by JohnG on Apr 4, 2012 10:30:22 GMT
Just to split hairs `what do we mean by `corroding`as i understand `non ferrous`metal doesn`t corrode and as the metals mentioned are all `non ferrous`they in fact don`t then corrode but they do `discolor`and therefore develop a `skin`or greasy residue on the metal shafts hence cutting down the electrical connection. Not often one gets to disagree with a legend lol Btw have a great Easter everyone weegeo ----------------------------------in the corner polishing the metalwork lol lol Sorry to disagree again, Corrosion can happen to any metal, and some other materials, except gold. Rusting can only happen to ferrous metals. The formation of iron oxides. Corrosion is the gradual destruction of material by chemical interaction with its environment. Virtually every metal, and a few other materials, suffer from oxidisation. Even aluminium, after some time, forms a dull oxidised surface layer unless alloyed with certain other metals. Even then, eventually. That's why they paint or varnish aircraft. Unless they coat the Dural with pure aluminium. Can't remember the properties of Hiduminium (nickel/aluminium alloy) though, the alloy developed for Concorde, designed at BAC Weybridge where I worked. I did a little work on the early mock-ups of the aircraft in the mid-sixties over near the R&D dept., where Barnes Wallace (bouncing bomb fame, nothing to do with Grommit) worked. What a really nice elderly man he was then. A real joy and a great privilege to meet. He was working on swing-wing aircraft design at the time and showed us his early working models. The early TSR2 was being built there too. I spent four years in British Aircraft Corporation, as an apprentice, learning this stuff and building VC10s and BAC1-11s too. Well, the electrics and electronics. Cockpit, radar bay and generators. Disagree at your peril!    JohnG. |
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but don't actually know if that can be heard by the average listener/ear, does any one use them?
