What cables do you use in your systems?

[Julf]

i swear i did not expect anything really.

That is not how expectation bias / confirmation bias works.

 

[DonH56]

There's a thread over on another forum claiming rhodium does not sound as good as silver and other better conductors.

Sounds to me like rhodium is the current flavor (material) of the month in some places, less so in others. At least they didn't make up a new element...

Wonder if they'll go through the rest of the list:

"Rhodium is one of the of the six platinum group metals: platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium and ruthenium. It is also classified as a noble metal, meaning that it does not react to oxygen easily, acts as a fantastic catalyst and is resistant to corrosion and oxidation."

I have a vague memory of asking why platinum was not used more and being told it was not considered exotic enough. All I could think of was the catalytic converter's platinum catalyst in my car...

 

[BDWoody]

I think the manufacturers you have in mind are snake oil pushers.

I have a rhodium plated razor..
It is still amazing at about 70 years old now.
Great for a razor. For connectors? Maybe not so much...

 

[VintageFlanker]

Now my interest is on RCA plugs because i do not think that all are the same ... some are better I have to find out which ones.

If you care about perfect contact, this one:

But don't expect it will sound better.

Almost all manufacturers use rhodium for the most expensive products.

Because the myth still lives. Some claim silver plated is better, others, no plating at all, others, bare wire etc etc. That is how subjectivism works. A ton of mystical beliefs, often contradictory, without any technical arguments to back up.

My point is that some connectors provide less resistance contact.

Do you think a bare wire will have less contact surface in a binding post than in a banana?

 

[Sal1950]

TBH, I don't even know what 7.2.4 is.
7 mains, 2 subs and 4.....uhhh....vibration effects machines?

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/dolby-atmos-speaker-setup/index.html

And we haven't even gotten into 3 layer Auro layouts. LOL
http://manuals.denon.com/AVCX8500H/EU/EN/DRDZSYpvilxnds.php

 

[Speedskater]

I am partial to rhodium plating.

'rhodium plating' has many manufacturing and environmental challenges. So in theory it's a good idea, but in practice it's not.

 

[gino1961]

In that case, I am sure those manufacturers can show measurements of those improvements.

i love Cardas cables and they use Rhodium for their best ones. For me it is more than enough
I like so much the idea of something completely immune to corrosion or abrasion ... sorry for the poor english

 

[Julf]

i love Cardas cables and they use Rhodium for their best ones.

Your emotional attachment to the brand is noted, but don't confuse "most expensive" with "best".

For me it is more than enough I like so much the idea of something completely immune to corrosion or abrasion ...

It is fine to like the idea, as long as you realize it might not give any advantages in practice.

sorry for the poor english

No prob - English is my third language too.

 

[gino1961]

If you care about perfect contact, this one:

View attachment 39367

But don't expect it will sound better.

i know these but i do not like them ... my top choice would be WBT products Wonderful They are also locking type like these above
Second place Cardas parts

Because the myth still lives. Some claim silver plated is better, others, no plating at all, others, bare wire etc etc. That is how subjectivism works. A ton of mystical beliefs, often contradictory, without any technical arguments to back up.
Do you think a bare wire will have less contact surface in a binding post than in a banana?

as i said i look at what top manufacturers do I like what i have got now. Problem is that changing speakers and lately with vintage speakers the quality of the binding post is very bad indeed. Spring clips that often do not work properly and that force me to use bare wires.
As i said i like what i use now better than what i was using before. Maybe i am just hearing things ... but i like them

 

[gino1961]

Your emotional attachment to the brand is noted, but don't confuse "most expensive" with "best"

yes. I like them a lot ... i confess i had an amazing experience but they were above my budget ... listening to my cheap cd player was like listening to a turntable ...

It is fine to like the idea, as long as you realize it might not give any advantages in practice

i think that most of the problem comes from the RCA standard ... i am pretty sure that if BNC were used instead much less problems with cables.
I like BNC standard more

No prob - English is my third language too

i know ... you usually speak both English and German very fluently. Many years ago i used to visit Apeldoorn for some meetings. Very nice place especially in the spring/summer

 

[Julf]

yes. I like them a lot ... i confess i had an amazing experience but they were above my budget ... listening to my cheap cd player was like listening to a turntable ...

Sighted listening, no doubt? Again, I suggest studying expectation and confirmation bias. OK, it is possible that your old cables had really corroded and badly inserted connectors.

i think that most of the problem comes from the RCA standard ... i am pretty sure that if BNC were used instead much less problems with cables. I like BNC standard more

My favourite is XLR (as used on balanced connections).

i know ... you usually speak both English and German very fluently. Many years ago i used to visit Apeldoorn for some meetings. Very nice place especially in the spring/summer

Ah, again expectation bias.

Yes, I have been living in Amsterdam for over 22 years, but I am not Dutch. I am originally from Helsinki, my first language was Swedish, second Finnish (as in "now, for something entirely different... ). Dutch is my fifth language (after German - now mostly lost).

As to Apeldoorn, it is nice, but a bit too quiet for me...

 

[gino1961]

Sighted listening, no doubt? Again, I suggest studying expectation and confirmation bias. OK, it is possible that your old cables had really corroded and badly inserted connectors.

It could be I do not like RCA ... the tolerances are too high ... the matching often not optimal

My favourite is XLR (as used on balanced connections).

usually standards used by pros are reliable ... also the fact that long cables can be used it is nice
I have also some balanced units ... i am using cheap cables branded Planet Waves ... they are fine to me

Ah, again expectation bias.
Yes, I have been living in Amsterdam for over 22 years, but I am not Dutch. I am originally from Helsinki, my first language was Swedish, second Finnish (as in "now, for something entirely different... ). Dutch is my fifth language (after German - now mostly lost).
As to Apeldoorn, it is nice, but a bit too quiet for me...

I see ... unbelievable ... i have huge problems with just english ... my speaking english is the one of a monkey
However i would love to be english by birth ... really. It is such an advantage that is amazing ... just think at the pleasure to travel the world and meet people who try to speak your language ... and you can correct and play with them anytime ... making them feel inadequate. Great ! i am joking but it is really an advantage.

 

[VintageFlanker]

just think at the pleasure to travel the world and meet people who try to speak your language ... and you correct them anytime ... making them feel inadequate. Great !

What's great about that part?

i am joking

Alright.

 

[HammerSandwich]

FWIW, Benchmark & Blue Jeans appear to use the same locking banana plugs. $7.25/pair at BJC for DIY. (But I'd pay the extra for BJC's ultrasonic termination over DIY set screws.)

 

[amirm]

Posts deleted. Please stay away from politics, etc.

 

[HammerSandwich]

I was wondering what ultrasonic termination was. (Don't they still use set screws as the bananas aren't specific to their use? I think this is to used to unite two positive or negative wires together.)

Perhaps for strain relief. From BJC's speaker-cable page:

Ultrasonic welding allows us to literally fuse the copper wire to the brass banana plug body without using the heat of conventional gas or arc welding, for a tremendously strong physical connection, low contact resistance, and low susceptibility to corrosion.
<snip>
Our ultrasonically-welded terminations include locking banana plugs (same appearance as pictured below, but without the internal setscrew arches)

Marketing wank? Perhaps, though BJC seems pretty solid in the no-BS area.

I highly doubt this will make any sort of difference either way but I agree that the sort of premium price Blue Jeans charges for professionally made cables (as opposed to DIY) is worth it should one choose to go that route. Once again robustness and reliability should not be taken for granted.

Agreed. If a DIY cable with these locking plugs costs $20 of materials + my time, $35ish sounds utterly fair for a finished product. And I can't do the ultrasonic connection at home. I haven't heard complaints about set screws failing in Speak-on connectors, but this cold welding might help reliability with corrosion & vibration. I certainly can't picture how it would hurt.

 

[dropbear]

Well, most of the Nakamichi bananas are fake on eBay. They claim to be made of "copper" but most are magnetic (meaning: brass or even worst, iron). I had a ton of these. I cut one or two and discovered it was some kind of grey metal beneath the "gold plating".

Or maybe all changes you believed to perceive are nothing but placebo.

Not most, all of them, all those "Nakamichi" plugs on Chinese market sites are fakes. Nakamichi does not manufacture banana plugs, if you look at their website you will see only plugs they have are generic RCA plugs, speaker cables are merely bare wires.

 

[gino1961]

i really envy professionals ... they have speakon for speakers and power and xlrs for signals and end of the game
all very practical, convenient and cheap

 

[RayDunzl]

I have a set of (assumedly) fake locking Lemo plugs in my setup. Pull on the barrel to release.

They free up a set of XLR at the preamp for other use.

The real ones were just too dear when I looked.

At least, they seem to be high quality fakes, and weren't really cheap, either.

Lemo FGG.1B.304.CLAD62Z clone, to be exact.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/LEMO/FGG1B304CLAD62Z?qs=MSOc8y6NhWfnXBUWLXHRFA==

Whoa... $41 each

Oh.

"Founded in Switzerland in 1946, LEMO® took its name from the company's founder, engineer Léon Mouttet. Originally a manufacturer of contacts in noble and rare metals, the company took a major step forward in 1957 with the introduction of the push-pull self-latching connector."

 

[Killingbeans]

The fact that fakes abound it is a sign of their quality.

The Chinese copy anything that sells quickly and with a large profit. It's not necessarily a sign of quality.

Gold plating is plenty fine for home audio (and probably even nickel). After all, how many times is a normal RCA cable connected and disconnected in its lifetime?

Don't trust companies like Nordost as a guidepost for anything. They are so deeply soaked in snake oil that they haven't seen daylight for decades.
From what I can tell Deltron makes one of the more popular banana plugs: 4mm Standard Banana Plug. That would be my choice. They have a background in industrial and medical applications which makes them way more sympathetic in my book.