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Hi Guys,
I've decided to place my post here instead of over in the Tweaks | DIY section, as I seems rather quiet over there..., as per an earlier posting over there where I asked about one's option on replacing binding post, this one covers both the plating options | RCA input female jacks | Banana Plugs used on one's speakers cables.
As of late, I've noticed a thread where at least 5 speaker cables designers which when designing silver plated copper SCs, have more often than not, used gold plated banana plugs on their wares..., whereas many whom design pure copper SCs are using the opposite as in either silver or rhodium plated copper banana plugs. Am I to believe that this is how each banana plugs is ideally used?, as I'm thinking rhodium or silver plated copper ones are used as a means of adding more resolution | high end detail to the mix | whereas by using gold plated copper plugs onto pure silver or silver plated copper speaker cables, is to primarily reduce a certain amount of glare?, or to basically offset the tonal balance just enough to smooth things out.
I'd ask that those reading this, please take a moment to share your views in said matter, by merely looking closely at both the RCA inputs on the rear of your gear, as well as what's currently used on your own SCs | and respond in truth..., to what type of plating is on either said rca input jacks?, or your banana plugs or spades?, as this would in many ways not only assist me, but others whom stumble upon this post in years to come | some point of reference guide | much like the old ( and very uncompleted Joe's Tube Lore | of which doesn't cover very many unknown or explored tube manufacturers around the globe ) again which would benefit future generations.
So add your voice | as any and all ideals are meant to be shared openly | unless of course, I've read into it wrong?, where some are more willing to share more freely with those less informed than others.
TIA!.
O_o scar
Follow Ups:
nt
Understood..., yet we're taking about using silver plated copper, which isn't quite the same as pure silver | even pure copper can be cleaned or treated with some form of oxide degreaser on occasion, no?.
And sonically speaking gold or rhodium plating both tend to offer different sonic presentations, where one seems to boost the highs, and match systems which can be viewed as rolled off and darker sounding, while the other brings about a sense of refinement | lushness, yet at the expense of lacking detail, as well as speed of attack, whereas both silver plated copper as well as unplated or red copper offer a better integration of timbre | presence | beauty | resolution the other two lack.
In which case, I'd much prefer a more reality | balanced sense of musicality above all else, besides a little contact cleaning or polishing on occasion doesn't hurt anything, I've to assume it's nothing more than effort?.
Hey, Oscar
Silver. Using Bocchino TomCat RCA inputs on my Acoustat servocharge amps along with Bocchino Mayflower RCA IC's to the preamp.
TomCats and the Mayflower connectors are machined from solid blocks of copper and then silver plated. It makes for a very balanced sound. The details I've come to associate with silver, along with the neutral warmth of copper. Bocchino's design approach is 180 degrees out from the low-mass school of thought.
Hello Sondek,
First off I'd like to thank you again for your willingness to educate me on all those 6DJ8 | ECC88 types | as well as sharing some with me from your personal stash, as I ended up with 37 pairs, where I just located a third box of which I had hidden from myself just a few days ago.
Now onto the subject at hand..., weird thing is, I used to see said Bocchino connectors many years ago, when I used the Cable Research Labs stuff, and always felt to be wonderfully built, yet noticed his wares are no longer available at the Cable Company | yet read about them over on What's Best Forum, as Sablon Audio seems to use his very unique looking AC | IEC Connectors on his power cords, so I still tend to follow said threads or designs | while I've collected silver | gold | rhodium plated copper | alongside unplated or red copper RCA Input | Banana Plugs, it still seems somewhat difficult for me to know which type I'd like to end up with on my sole pair of SCs, which are silver plated copper themselves?.
As you've mentioned it comes down to the end result of knowing ( which I admittedly don't ) how to prefect the balancing act of which plating to use..., yet I guess since I've each of them here already, I should ideally start with rhodium, then silver, followed by the other three ( where the fifth set is actually chrome plated brass ) before placing shrink wrap over their barrels.
Logically listening critically has to become part of the process | but I'm up to it..., as there doesn't seem to be anything written in stone on which route to go anyways | it seems in hindsight one should be willing to trust their senses and try them all.
Thanks again for chiming in, as I've always seen your voice as one of reason.
I got a bad impression of rhodium 15+ years ago when I was cycling through all the various Oyaide outlets. I found the rhodium over bronze to sound tilted up, and overly bright. This was before they introduced their R1. Of the gold, rhodium and palladium plated outlets they offered at the time, I easily preferred the palladium version. It had the best overall balance, and if memory serves correctly, it was actually a palladium over gold plating. When they introduced the R1 and R0 I switched everything over to those as they easily bettered all their other offerings. I have an R1 at the wall, and then I changed out all the outlets in my PurePower regenerator to R0's.
Have been very, very happy with that setup. I should point out that the RCA's on my CAT preamp are rhodium plated and I can't say I have any objections there. What I do not know is what base metal is used, and also not sure how much their character is masked by the Bocchinos downstream from them. Anyway, twenty years ago I'd of thought you were insane if you told me the metal plating on outlets/plugs/bananas/RCA's made a difference in the sound, but I've learned better since then.
Like you, I've went with both the Oyaide R1 | R0 receptacles, only thing is I seemingly buy things twice ( which lead to me placing my extra R0 | WPC-Z in the audio trader here, hint, hint ) and ended up placing their P-004 | C-004 connectors onto a Puritan Audio Labs Ultimate power cord placed onto their PSM-126 power line conditioner, as I never thought about any of the Furutech outlets in the least.
Yet I've purchased more than a few of their cloned banana plugs, where my wife actually through the carbon fiber clones looked better than the originals | which is part of my confusion, as I've ended up with 9 octets of different brands with different platings, I don't have a clue where to begin?, hence said post.
But having heard a CAT SL-1 as far back as 1989, I hear even then I liked it's rather neutral presentation as opposed to many of the ARC based designs being released around this time, and even though it was my first effort of two using separates, I walked away with the tandem of an Audible Illusion M3A | Cary Sweet 807, as it was all I was able to afford at this time..., oddly enough said relationship only lasted 6 months, as the sound began rapidly changing, in retrospect it was because I didn't know anything about biasing the power tubes until 2004, maybe, just maybe, I should've read the manual?, yah think?.
I'll try the unplated copper banana plugs, followed by rhodium plated copper and lastly the silver plated copper ones. As I'm certain if nothing else, one of them should prove to be the right mixture or balance needed.
Thanks again, it's all food for thought | trail and error goes a long ways in knowing said truths.
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