John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II

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In an inorganic chemistry building, down the hall was a room housing someone's experimental apperatus. I was asked to go see why the electronics was irratic sometimes. They thought it was related toa precision voltage divider... a 5 dial rack mounted unit by a well known mfr..... I saw the swiches on the divider were all silver with three finger contacts. If you use the dials/switches they would self clean any oxide and give very low contact R to keep the divider accurate. I rotated the switches several times and then all was good to go. they didnt have any more irratic behavior. Now they expercise the switches periodically.


THx-RNMarsh
 
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They have pretty close to the same diameter as an RCA. Don't know who blasted you and why, but I've been using them extensively and had excellent results. Admittedly, I'm designing for performance, not fashion or superstition.

Link to the three pin versions I use for balanced interconnection:

http://www.mouser.com/Connectors/Au...778cz?P=1yvsm2e&Keyword=rean+tiny+xlr&FS=True

Yes those are the ones.

It was in one of the test and measurement threads. I thought they'd be ideal for the bench top connection. Apparently they're not good enough because they are not standard.

What do we have soldering irons for?
 
As a manufacturer (at times in my life) I can tell you WHY we don't change out RCA connectors for something else.
We need COMPATIBILITY with existing audio cables, or else we have to supply special cables for every need. Quality RCA connectors work very well, last virtually forever, and sound OK if not great.
 
NAIM is an exception that actually did it for EXCLUSIVITY as well as for upgrading quality. They WANT you to buy electronics within the NAIM brand, so they don't mind having to supply special cables as well. I knew Julian V. very well, we were good friends, and spent time at our different houses. He did it in spite of the problem of EXCLUSIVENESS.
Before this, Mark Levinson, not finding a quality RCA connector, as far back as 1976, changed to LEMO connectors (what a mess that created), but by 1978 or so, Tiffany quality RCA connectors became available to OEM manufacturers, and we went that way. I have never regretted it.
 
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Naim also did very well out of selling cables to the converted. After all, if you don't use their speaker cable your amp might very well oscillate! The local Naim dealer did very well out of the launch of a new cable line last year as people spent thousands upgrading.

Julian was almost the Steve Jobs of Hifi in that respect. Not sure we will see his like again.
 
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